The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1882-10-11
The Common Mushroom and Its Poison.

Inc common musnroOm anu lts ISisoh
The current belief is that, while many
fungi are virulen,ly poisonous, others, IN
cluuing the common mushroom, are free
from poison and may be eaten in any
quantity. When mushroom eaters show
symptoms of poisoning, il Is accordingly
assumed that blunder has been made,
and noxisus species taken for or with
wholesome ones. The fact that an eminent
English funglologist is numbered among
those who lost their lives by the alleged
mistake, would seem to throw grave doubt
upon the blunder theory, unless 1t be true,a
some have held, that the edible species are
mimlcked by those that are poisonous so
closely that the most expert is liable 10
isjudge them. The fear that this may BE-
the case deters many from making any
use of this savory and nourishing but
| treacherous vegetable.
At this season, when the fields abound
| with wild mushrooms and when multi
,udes might find in them cheap and en-
joyablc addition to the daily bill Of fare if
they were not afraid to eat them, II Is n
matter OF considerable Importance to have
the real standing of fungi as food stuils
made clear.
According to recent Investigations by
Professor Pontlck, OF Breslau, the question
seems to be- not how to distinguish poison
Gus from harmless species, but how 10 treat
mushrooms of every sort in such a way AS
10 remove or neutralize the poison which
they all contain, with the proper precau-
tion OF using this class OF TODD stutls ut all
times with moderation.
Professor Pouiick finds that repeated
washing with cold water removes most OF
the poison of mushrooms, and cooking,
especially boiling, dissOlves out the rest.
The water in which mushrooms are boiled,
however, is always poisonous, more SO
even than raw mushrooms. Experiments
made upon dogs showed that If dog ale
one per cent of its own weight of raw
mushrooms it fell SICK, but recovered one
and half per cent produced violent Ill.
ness; and II the dog ate two per cent of its
weight, the result was always death. OF
boiled mushrooms dogs ate ten per cent Of
their weight without harm. When the
mushrooms were well washed with cold
water, u larger quantity could be eaten raw
without bad effects than was possible with
those that were not washed; but simple
washing never removed the poison entire
ly. Dried mushrooms were found to be
dangerous tor twenty days, and also the
water In which such mushrooms had been
DOlleu. lnty were uol really stlC uutil nj
ter four months drying.
The moral Is: treat all mushrooms as
poisonous carefully throw out the water
in which they have been washed or boiled;
cook them well, and never eat them in
large quantities If men are no more saS.
cepuble than dogs are TO the poison, a
man can as safely gorge himself with well
boiled mushrooms as with beef or any
other highly nirogenous food, When
otherwise cooked, or when the species is
doubtful sparing use Is always prudent.
The fact that all mushrooms and allied
growths are more or less poisonous should
be no bar to their use as food, proper care
being taken in the cooking and eating,
Phe common potato is no! free from poi.
son; and the juice of the root from which
tapioca is made is virulent poison. The
latter poison is expelled by heat, ana the
former is IN quantity too small TO be harm
full, as is the case with many other useful
vegetables.
In preparing mushrooms Tor the table,
safety is assured, not by locking for speCI.
fic characteristics supposed to indicate
harmlessness but in considering all rs
poisonous and requiring judicious treat.
Bent to destroy or remove their noXIous
qualities. This properly attended to,
mushrooms and many other fungi are not
only edible, but really delicious and valua-
Bile food stutfs.-ScieRtifc Americdn.