Deadly poisonous edible mushrooms
When I came across these beauties, shouts of joy echoed throughout the Kernavė forest! I had found false morels before, but those were small, and these, behold, are GIANT FALSE MORELS (Latin: Gyromitra gigas)! And this is one of the first spring mushrooms that many rush to hunt and cook. But before cooking, it's important to talk about why these mushrooms are called poisonous edible mushrooms. Mushrooms are super chemical laboratories, capable of producing all sorts of substances, some of which turn into medicines, while others can be lethal. False morels, like most of their relatives, contain the toxin gyromitrin, which in itself is not so bad, but once it enters our stomach, it turns into a mortally dangerous toxin that can cause serious trouble – it destroys blood, causes kidney and liver failure, and can even damage the central nervous system. So, false morels are deadly poisonous mushrooms. A. Gaidamavičius, in his post about these mushrooms, states that almost a quarter of poisonings in Europe occur from people eating false morels.
So how are they eaten? The good news is that some toxins are heat-sensitive and water-soluble. And this one is exactly that. So if you're absolutely itching to eat these mushrooms, you'll need to prepare them properly. FIRST, you need to boil them at least twice for 10-15 minutes in a large amount of water, with a little baking soda. And for heaven's sake, do not stay above the pot – the pot must be covered, the room well-ventilated, because these toxins evaporate when the mushrooms are boiled, so you can inhale them. After boiling, rinse them under running water. After such procedures, about 0.002% of gyromitrin should remain in the mushrooms, although the exact amount of gyromitrin is difficult to determine, as it depends on the growing conditions of the mushrooms. So it's up to you to decide whether you will still eat false morels with possibly some remaining gyromitrin, which, I've heard, does not leave the body.
Well, if you're trying mushrooms for the first time, the rule is this - first, you need to know what you're eating, then start with a small amount of that mushroom and observe how you feel for a few hours. If after a few hours you're not experiencing diarrhea, vomiting, or stomach cramps, then everything might be okay.
