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RE: The Shaggy Bracket: A Woodland Discovery with Healing Potential

in FungiFriday3 months ago

It kind of reminded me of a beet. I've read they have some trace toxins sometimes mainly hydrazine but if you cook them that compound usually escapes and its only really toxic if you eat them all the time. And for beefsteak mushroom the levels are only trace compared to other mushrooms like the false morel that has quite a bit of it. Still people in Europe eat the false morel after boiling them then throwing away the water. So you're not likely to ever get poisoned by beefsteak mushrooms.

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Thank you, I have not come across research showing hydrazine in polypores yet as they are mainly composed of polyphenols, polysaccharides, terpenoids, and sometimes oxalates, which in excess can be irritating and is also present in some superfoods like quinoa and beets. But yes, false morels contain hydrazine and are toxic even in small amounts. As you said, some people are confident in preparing and consuming them. I think it’s because they get used to it, similar to how we eat cassava roots and tops, which contain cyanogenic compounds but, with proper preparation, are edible and delicious. :)