Yes, you can eat raw mushrooms, for the most part. We’re talking about the common white button mushroom but it can apply to nearly every edible mushroom, as long as you’re okay with the flavor and texture. Is it safe? Keeping in mind the agaritine debate, we should think about just how often we eat mushrooms.
For the most part any edible mushroom can be eaten raw, at least in theory. There are tougher mushrooms like the oyster mushrooms that really need some cooking to soften up, as do boletus-type mushrooms (like the Penny Bun or Porcini).
Can you grow white button mushrooms indoors?
Growing white button mushrooms is a great project for a beginning gardener because their spores grow quickly and easily. Since they can be grown indoors, you can plant them at any time of the year.
One inquiry we ran across in our research was “Are white button mushrooms poisonous to humans?”.
One frequent answer is, Some varieties of edible fungi, including the common white button mushrooms, contain traces of certain carcinogenic compounds in their raw form. Shiitake mushrooms, for instance, have trace amounts of naturally-occurring formaldehyde, which is toxic to humans.
White button mushrooms are available year-round. White button mushrooms, botanically classified as Agaricus bisporus, are one of the most cultivated varieties in the world and are a widely used member of the Agaricaceae family.
Where are white button mushrooms grown?
White button mushrooms are commonly found in fields and grasslands all over the world, but they are also highly cultivated and varieties within the Agaricus bisporus account for about ninety percent of the mushrooms cultivated in the United States.
White mushrooms grow on composted soil among a wide range of other fungi and bacteria, which play essential roles in the process, as they break down raw materials before the mushrooms can grow ( 3, 4 ). You can find them fresh, frozen, canned, dried, or even in powdered form.
Are edible mushrooms as good as they are cooked?
In the video I lined up a bunch of choice edible mushrooms that typically taste much better than the standard button mushroom when cooked. However, none of these mushrooms are as good raw as they are cooked. However, none of these mushrooms are as good raw as they are cooked.
This includes the common white or button mushroom —your everyday supermarket variety that is commonly found raw at restaurant salad bars: A study in the 1990s found that agaratine has a carcinogenic effect in the bladder of rats, while another study found cell mutation effects in mice that could lead to cancer.
What kind of mushrooms grow in the Pacific Northwest?
The bulk of the mushrooms produced in the area are in the Agaricus family ”“ the ubiquitous white and brown buttons plus the large portobellos that have become popular grilled-steak substitutes of late. The region also produces what are called “specialties” or “exotics” ”“ shiitakes, oysters, maitakes, beeches, enokis and pom poms.