People can eat food cooked or raw. When it comes to cooking, there are many benefits. Not to mention how good it can taste depending on the spices you use.
There are also benefits to eating raw foods. It just depends on the person and what they prefer to eat.
One food people love to cook and add to their food is mushrooms. Sometimes, mushrooms are eaten raw, but there are debates about whether it’s safe.
In this article, we will figure out if it is safe to eat raw mushrooms and what the risks come with that.
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Is It Safe To Eat Raw Mushrooms?
For the most part, it can be better to cook raw mushrooms rather than eat them because of the texture and how tough raw mushrooms are. However, some mushrooms can be eaten raw.
Sometimes, you might even find them in a salad!
Below we will touch on what mushrooms can be eaten raw and some that should be cooked instead.
What Mushrooms Can Be Eaten Raw?
While it is preferable to cook mushrooms, some can be eaten raw. These include:
- Shiitake Mushrooms can be eaten raw. For one, it tastes a little like a mixture of garlic and pepper, so that alone should sell you on eating this mushroom raw. Think of adding these to maybe a pasta salad or any kind of salad.
- Another type of mushroom to eat raw is white mushrooms. While they do have a high agaritine content (which we will touch on later), they can be eaten in small doses. If you buy the mushrooms from a supermarket, where they have been kept in a fridge, then these are safer. This is because the agaritine content is much lower in these.
- Oyster mushrooms can be eaten raw. The only drawback is that they are on the spongy side with a metallic taste, so if that doesn’t appeal to you, it’s best not to eat these types of mushrooms raw.
And these are the top three mushrooms that can be eaten raw.
What Mushrooms Shouldn’t Be Eaten Raw?
Despite there being mushrooms, you can eat raw; some should not be eaten raw under any circumstances.
This list doesn’t include mushrooms that shouldn’t be ingested by humans at all. These are just better cooked.
This includes:
- Reishi mushrooms are very tough, so it’s better cooked. This way, they are softer when you bite into them.
- Porcini or penny bun mushrooms are also tough so if you want to eat them more easily, cook them!
- Morel mushrooms are mushrooms that shouldn’t be eaten raw because they have mild toxicity. If eaten raw, it will give you stomach pains, so it’s best to cook it. Cooking it gets rid of the toxin.
- Honey mushrooms shouldn’t be eaten raw because when consumed raw, It causes stomach aches, cramps, and nausea.
Remember, all these mushrooms are best eaten cooked. Some should not be eaten at all and will be toxic even when they are cooked because they are not meant for human consumption.
What Are the Risks of Eating Raw Mushrooms?
There can be risks involved when you do anything, but there are some activities that can increase your risk. Eating certain raw foods, like mushrooms, can increase your risk of illness.
One of the biggest risks of eating raw mushrooms comes from the chemical agaritine, which is a carcinogen.
When something is a carcinogen, it means that they have a possibility of causing cancer.
While there needs to be more research done, consuming a lot of something that is a carcinogen could eventually negatively affect you.
The best way to eliminate this is by cooking it, which will help reduce the amount of agaritine in the mushroom.
Also, if you are picking raw mushrooms (ones that you can eat) and just eating those, they could contain bacteria from the dirt or whatever is around them.
So, the risk is minimal. The biggest issue might be how tough raw mushrooms can be compared to how soft they are once they are cooked.
How Can You Cook Mushrooms?
So, assuming you cook mushrooms, you may wonder just how you can do that.
Well, there are quite a few ways to cook mushrooms, and in this article, we will discuss some of the most popular ones.
The following ways are popular ways to cook mushrooms:
- Sautéing mushrooms might be one, if not the most popular, method of cooking mushrooms. It just involves heating a pan, using some butter or oil to coat the pan and then cooking the mushrooms. Only takes a few minutes to do this.
- Believe it or not, mushrooms can be cooked in the oven. Just cover them in oil and then put them in a pan. Once it’s in the oven, cook them at about 400 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes.
- The quickest way to cook mushrooms is in the microwave. All you have to do is put the mushrooms in a bowl and microwave it on high for, say, 2 to 3 minutes. Then take them, and you’re ready!
- Finally, the last way you can cook mushrooms is by grilling them. You can use skewers if you want, or just put them on a grill pan. Once they are on the heated grill, cook them until browned. Grilling time can depend on the type of mushroom, so when in doubt, go check.
Final Thoughts
And there you go, all your food lovers out there! Now you know whether you should eat raw mushrooms.
While there aren’t many risks to eating raw mushrooms, they tend to taste better when they are cooked.
Just remember that certain mushrooms should be cooked and not be eaten raw because of the physical issues they can cause.
Hey, better to be safe than sorry. No one wants their delicious food to end up making them sick.
You might also be interested in the following:
- Can You Eat Raw Corn?
- Can You Eat Raw Tofu?
- Can You Eat Raw Onion?
- Can You Eat Raw Sweet Potato?
- Can You Eat Raw Potatoes?
- Can You Eat Raw Zucchini?
I have been smoking and grilling meat from an early age and enjoy sharing my knowledge and expertise through the hundreds of articles I have written about BBQ. I hope to make everyone’s BBQ journey that little bit easier.