A general rule is if it has pores instead of gills, you’re probably in the clear.
Except for that one in Europe, that shit will megadeath you.
In all seriousness, the general rule I’ve heard for foraging wild unknown things is:
cut it open and rub it on your skin, wait an hour, if it gives you a reaction, stop here.
touch it to your lips, wait a while, if it gives you a reaction, stop here
touch it to your tongue, wait a while, if it gives you a reaction, stop here
chew a bit and spit it out, wait a while, if it gives you a reaction, stop here
swallow a small amount, wait a few hours, if it gives you discomfort, stop here
if you’ve made it this far, it’s likely ok, do so at your own risk tolerance
Roots are generally OK, particularly if you have access to double boil them.
For mushrooms:
pores are generally safer than gills
don’t eat it if it’s bioluminescent
don’t eat if it oxidizes quickly when you cut it open
don’t eat it if it bruises blue or red
learn how to detect what a bolete is. Boletes are generally safe, unless it breaks one of the rules above
Slime: Just say no.
make sure there’s not a mushroom growing on your mushroom. Double the mushroom is not double the fun.
learn what a destroying angel looks like, even when it’s young. Appreciate it from a distance, but give that fucker 5 feet of space at all times.
I am by no means an expert. I’m just a rando guy from Appalachia with some wild ass Russian buds and we do some funky shit down here. Take everything I say with as much trust as you give to anyone on the Internet.
When in doubt, take it to an expert and even then, consume at your own risk tolerance.
There was a guy a few years ago who tried to live off grid. He died, having left behind a journal detailing his final days. In it, he logged the exact process you outlined above for various things he foraged, which included wild potato seeds. Turns out those things pass all the above tests, but contain a deadly neurotoxin that builds up over time (that even modern science didn’t really know about). Poor guy starved because he was too weak to even crawl.
nature be scary fellow humans. Be careful out there.
Sure. Go for healthy animals. There are also several nasty viruses that have passed from animals to the humans who ate them. But shit happens. Given a random plant or a random animal, I’ll take the animal
A general rule is if it has pores instead of gills, you’re probably in the clear.
Except for that one in Europe, that shit will megadeath you.
In all seriousness, the general rule I’ve heard for foraging wild unknown things is:
Roots are generally OK, particularly if you have access to double boil them.
For mushrooms:
I am by no means an expert. I’m just a rando guy from Appalachia with some wild ass Russian buds and we do some funky shit down here. Take everything I say with as much trust as you give to anyone on the Internet.
When in doubt, take it to an expert and even then, consume at your own risk tolerance.
There was a guy a few years ago who tried to live off grid. He died, having left behind a journal detailing his final days. In it, he logged the exact process you outlined above for various things he foraged, which included wild potato seeds. Turns out those things pass all the above tests, but contain a deadly neurotoxin that builds up over time (that even modern science didn’t really know about). Poor guy starved because he was too weak to even crawl.
nature be scary fellow humans. Be careful out there.
https://www.theverge.com/2013/9/13/4726722/into-the-wild-author-reveals-chris-mccandless-cause-of-death
That some guy ISNT JUST ANY GUY! 😤
All that to find whether a random plant will poison you
Animals are so much easier: is it an animal? It’s good to eat
Oh, my friend, I suggest you look into fugu, mad cow or chronic wasting disease.
Sure. Go for healthy animals. There are also several nasty viruses that have passed from animals to the humans who ate them. But shit happens. Given a random plant or a random animal, I’ll take the animal