Safe picking: Battling worms in your fall mushroom harvest

Uninvited guests are often found inside while cleaning the collected mushrooms. Many people are familiar with this scenario. For some, this means discarding the mushroom altogether. Others try to find a way to remove the unwanted tenants from the mushrooms. There is a method that allows for the quick removal of worms from mushrooms.

First, it's worth considering whether it's safe to consume mushrooms with worms. Experts, including mycologists, do not recommend collecting visibly worm-infested mushrooms. Old, soft mushrooms gnawed by worms or with holes in the caps shouldn't end up in our baskets, as they've likely already been a meal for insects. However, it's often not visible if the mushroom is "inhabited." What then?

If the mushroom is only partially worm-infested, you can cut away the contaminated part and, to be sure, use a method to help remove any possible unwanted tenants. Cut the collected specimens and place them in a bowl of cold salted water (three tablespoons of salt per litre of water). Then, leave them in this bath for 2-3 minutes. During this time, the worms should come out of the mushrooms independently, and sand and other debris will also settle at the bottom of the container.

It's worth remembering that eliminating the worms doesn't completely solve the problem because remnants from the creatures might remain in the mushrooms, which can contain substances harmful to humans. Moreover, mushrooms absorb water like sponges, so after such a bath, they won't be suitable for frying, freezing, or drying. This method is useful before preparing mushroom preserves in jars.