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Are these mushrooms poison?
An old Italian cook told a Globe photographer recently how to tell if foraged mushrooms are poison (the ones above, from a local farmers' market, are safe, by the way).
Bring a pot of water to a boil with a quarter at the bottom. Add the oyster mushrooms, simmer 20 minutes, and drain them. If the quarter turns black, don't eat the mushrooms!
Foragers and biologists: Explain the chemistry here.
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A ridiculous wives' tale. Mushroom toxins are widely diverse and no single "test" can determine the toxicity of an unidentified mushroom.
I hate to be a buzzkill, but the ONLY way to know if a mushroom is safe to eat is to have a positive ID, preferably one verified by multiple sources. And even then you cannot be sure it won't have a negative effect on someone, since people can be sensitive even to edible species.
If you want to forage for edibles, you must become an expert: read guidebooks, join a mycological club, and learn from others which species are safe and which are to be avoided.
If someone is lost in the woods and has to find sustenance, is there a way to taste a little bit of the mushroom? Is there something in the tongue that would recognise poison and of course spit it out/
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.