Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

The types of mushrooms you can (and can’t) eat

Foraging for edible mushrooms is a fun, but sometimes deadly activity: Know what to look for

Lindsay Parrill
By

Mushrooms are one of the luxuries of adulthood. I’ve never met a single child who likes mushrooms, including myself. But oh, when I discovered what I was missing, I certainly made up for lost time. Meaty, earthy, savory, and luscious, mushrooms are not only delicious, but a joy to cook with, and full of health benefits.

In recent years, as getting back to nature and homegrown food has become popular again, people have taken to the woods to forage and gather their own mushrooms. A fun activity, to be sure, but also a potentially fatal one. As delicious as many mushrooms are, there’s also a big list of ones that can kill you. The sneaky piece of it all is that it’s often difficult to tell the difference between those that are good, and those that are evil.

Recommended Videos

So if you find yourself with an urge to gather your own mushrooms, be sure to tag along with an experienced forager, or the consequences could be fatal. To get you started, though, here is a list of popular mushrooms that are safe and delicious, and a list of those that are definitely not.

Related

Be careful out there.

Edible mushrooms

A serving of assorted mushrooms.
  • Button – The most common grocery store mushroom, Buttons can be brown or white.
  • Oyster – Uniquely and strikingly shaped, Oyster mushrooms have a slightly sweet and mild flavor.
  • Enoki – Enokis have a long and slender shape that resembles bean sprouts. They are common in Asian cooking.
  • Chanterelle – Bold, brightly yellow chanterelles are fruity and delicious, with a slightly peppery note.
  • Porcini – Thick and sturdy, Porcinis are delicious in a number of preparations — even pickled!
  • Shiitake – Once known primarily for their use mainly in Asian cooking, Shiitakes have recently started to make their way into Western cuisine.
  • Black Trumpet – Most often dried, the Black Trumpet is also known as Black Chanterelle and the Horn of Plenty.
  • Morel – Looking like tiny brains on thick stems, Morels are nutty, earthy, tender, and meaty. An absolutely delicious delicacy.
  • White Beech – Growing in clusters, these mushrooms have a nutty, umami flavor when cooked, but can cause an upset stomach if eaten raw.
  • Chicken of the Woods – Resembling the dress of a Flamenco dancer, this mushroom is bright, frilly, and, you may have guessed, tastes like chicken.

Poisonous mushrooms

H. Krisp/Wordpress
  • Death Cap – Simple and ordinary in appearance, the Death Cap one of the most poisonous mushrooms in the world.
  • Deadly Conocybe – Dainty and deadly, these delicate little mushrooms can be as toxic as Death Caps.
  • Destroying Angel – One of the most toxic species in the world, these pure white mushrooms have many edible look-a-likes, making them that much more dangerous.
  • Satan’s Bolete – Distinct in appearance and easy to identify by their bright red stems, these mushrooms will make you terribly ill.
  • Jack O’Lantern – Given its name due to its bright orange color, this mushroom can cause intense illness.
  • Deadly Webcap – Similar in appearance to edible Funnel Chanterelle and Waxy Caps, Deadly Webcaps can cause complete kidney failure if consumed in large amounts.
  • Angel Wing – Innocently named and beautiful, the Angel Wing can cause fatal encephalopathy.
  • Inky Cap – This odd little mushroom is perfectly edible if eaten without alcohol. However, if mixed with alcohol, it can cause increased heart rate, digestive issues, and tingling in the limbs.
  • Autumn Skullcap – Looking quite dangerously ordinary, Autumn Skullcaps contain very high levels of amatoxin and will often cause liver failure.
  • Brown Roll-Rim – The Brown Roll-Rim is particularly nasty in its sneakiness. After immediate consumption, you may never know what harm it caused, but it will slowly cause your immune system to attack and rupture its own red blood cells.

Of course, knowing the names won’t help you identify edible mushrooms in the wild, so check out this handy guide. (Just remember, a lot of edible mushrooms have poisonous look-a-likes, so you’ll want to be really careful before eating anything.


Types of Mushrooms Infographic by Outforia

Editors' Recommendations

Lindsay Parrill
Lindsay Parrill
Contributor
Lindsay is a graduate of California Culinary Academy, Le Cordon Bleu, San Francisco, from where she holds a degree in…
Why Peranakan cooking is the unique Southeast Asian food you need to try
Kebaya in New York is one of the few restaurants in America serving this dynamic cuisine
Kebaya food on table.

While Southeast Asian cuisines like Thai and Vietnamese have become widespread in America, Southeast Asia is hugely diverse, with countless local cultures, traditions, and specialties. Kebaya, a recently opened colorful and modern restaurant in New York, is a unique establishment that's one of the few places in America that specializes in a highly regional Asian food — Peranakan cuisine.

Helmed by Chef Salil Mehta of Singlish and Singapura and Margaret Goh, a second-generation Peranakan-Singaporean and New York-based food consultant, Kebaya is a rare journey into a culinary world that's relatively unknown in mainstream America.

Read more
13 foods for hair growth: Eat your way to more enviable locks
Eat your way to better hair with the 13 best foods for hair growth in 2023
man looking at hair loss

Hair loss may seem somewhat inevitable as we age, but many young men also struggle with premature hair thinning and loss. While we can’t stop time or biological aging, and we can’t change other significant factors such as our genetics, we can improve the health of our hair and prevent hair loss by ensuring we are eating a well-rounded, balanced, nutrient-dense diet full of foods for hair growth.
Related Guides

Best Hair Loss Products
Best Foods for Healthy Skin
What to Eat After a Workout

Read more
Sotol is the super sustainable alternative to tequila that you’re going to love
Sotol is gaining ground, and given its sustainable nature, it's likely only going to become more popular
Los Magos Sotol field image.

While agave spirits like tequila and mezcal continue to surge in popularity, that may not last forever. Due to sustainability issues — not to mention recent chatter about all the additives in many tequilas — a new player is almost surely going to enjoy some of the limelight. That player is sotol, sometimes known as sotol tequila, and thanks to a more regenerative growing process, this Mexican spirit is poised for a breakout.

It helps that sotol is delicious. While similar to tequila, it's made from a different plant species. Tequila is made from agave, harvested whole, and ultimately replanted, a process that involves a roughly seven-year turnaround time. Sotol, on the other hand, is made from a wild and spiny evergreen plant that grows naturally in arid areas.

Read more