Mushroom Monday - Gross Mushrooms

Here are some gross tasting mushrooms for this #mushroomonday

Here is Tylopilus felleus aka the bitter bolete. They are huge boletes that look like boletus edulis from a distance.

They have white pores and they don't even stain when you cut them. No staining usually points to the edible boletus edulis.

Here's a tiny little one growing out of an old walnut.

When they are first starting out they look like a white king bolete. Unfortunately I was tricked by them and took one home to cook it and taste test it. I should have nibbled it first out in the field. After cooking it I realized the smells coming out of this mushroom resembled burnt rubber. When I took a tiny taste test it tasted just like it smelled with an aftertaste of rotten walnut. I have read that Tylopilus felleus can be pickled and used with cocktail drinks in place of green olives. Perhaps the pickling process removes their bitter taste just enough to be edible.

Many of the boletes in my area are gross, here is another bitter tasting one called Tylopilus rubrobrunneus. Its common name is reddish brown bitter bolete and it has a slightly different bitter taste than burnt rubber, this one is has more of a rotten bark taste to it. I have read that these also can be pickled and used with drinks. I would rather just use a green olive instead though.

Here is Russula praetervisa commonly called the bypassed brittlegill.

The common name suggests you should bypass this mushroom to look for something better. The taste is described as a mix of oil, rubber, and fish with a bitter aftertaste. Technically it is edible but its too gross tasting to eat lol.

Finally a somewhat decent edible bolete called the bicolor bolete. The trick with these is to cut the stem/cap to see if it bruises quickly or slowly. If it bruises blue very slowly then you have a nice edible bicolor bolete. If it bruises blue instantly then it is a slightly toxic lookalike called Boletus sensibilis which looks like it though usually lacking the red stem. Also note the pores under the cap on both the bicolor and sensibilis bruise blue immediately so look at the stem/cap flesh to figure out the cut test. Bicolors have a nice taste to them with a hint of blue cheese aftertaste. Be sure to completely cook them as you will get a stomach ache if they are slightly raw.

Finally the prized boletus edulis aka penny bun. Sadly I found them too late and they were dried out with worms in the stems. The key to finding them quickly is to go out after hot summer rains to look for them in the forests and fields. Bitter boletes look very similar so you have to do tiny taste test nibbles out in the field to make sure you don't bring back the burnt rubber tasting Tylopilus felleus.