Don't trust wormy mushrooms: Debunking common foraging myths

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 considered the best season for mushroom picking? It turns out it's not just about an abundance of harvests. Mushrooms picked in the summer can be dangerous in some ways, and listening to an old, false adage that the specimens in which we found worms are the best is a perfect way to...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 have to 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 "but." Summer mushrooms are much more often wormy than fall ones.

According to many "specialists," wormy mushrooms indicate good quality. Excellent—and there may be some truth, but that doesn't mean we should eat those mushrooms ourselves. This is an important rule: wormy mushrooms are not suitable for humans. Even more so, the "nibbled" ones. Remember, what is good 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. This works to a certain extent: the worms indeed flee from the brine, and our harvest is dewormed. Does this give us absolute 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!