Wormy mushrooms: Dangers of soaking and picking in summer

Listening to ill-considered advice can get us into significant trouble. These mushrooms are not good at all—despite what many people say, soaking them in salt water won't help us. Let's finally explain once and for all what the deal is with these wormy mushrooms.

Have you ever wondered why fall is the best season for mushroom picking? It turns out it's not just about the abundance of harvests. Mushrooms picked in the summer can be dangerous in some ways, and listening to an old, false adage that the specimens with worms are the best is a perfect way to end up with serious stomach problems. There's no room for risk in picking and eating mushrooms, and thanks to this article, you will become well-acquainted with the subject.

There's absolutely nothing odd about going mushroom picking in the summer. After all, the fact that more mushrooms usually appear in forests in the fall doesn’t mean we must wait until October. In the summer, we can also return from a hike with baskets full of beautiful and healthy specimens. And there's just one catch. Summer mushrooms are much more often wormy than fall ones.

According to many "specialists," wormy mushrooms indicate good quality. Great—and there may be some truth to it, but that doesn't mean we should eat the same mushrooms ourselves. This is an important rule: wormy mushrooms are not good for humans. Remember, what is suitable for animals is not always good for us. Our digestive systems are different!

According to some mushroom pickers, the problem of worms in mushrooms can be solved by soaking them in salted water. To a certain extent, this works: the worms indeed flee from the brine, and our harvest is dewormed. Does this give us a hundred percent certainty that the mushrooms are ready to eat? No! Besides the worms—the flies, wireworms, or springtails—mushrooms contain their feces. These can also be potentially dangerous, and salt water won’t help!

You might be wondering what to do with the already-picked, wormy mushrooms. Unfortunately, there's only one solution: throw them away. Remember—there’s no room for any risk when it comes to mushrooms!