Peppermint. Is he edible?

Pepper fungus is a fairly rare tubular macromycete, which, as a rule, grows one by one. However, there are also small groups. Pepper fungus grows very rarely on open dry soil in coniferous and deciduous forests. You can find it from the middle of summer to mid-autumn.

Description

Do not confuse the pepper mushroom (it is depicted in the third photo) with peppermint. They have nothing in common and even belong to different families. Peppermint in appearance looks like a buttercup. It has a convex head, which eventually flattened. Her skin is moist and smooth. After the rain, it becomes sticky. Typically, the hat is painted in a reddish-brown or yellowish-brown hue.

Tubular layer has large pores. Its color is close to the hue of the hat, only slightly darker. Leg thin at base, rounded, solid inside. It can be curved or straight, reaching a height of about 8 cm and a diameter of 1 cm. Its surface is the same color as the hat (sometimes it can be somewhat lighter), matte, smooth. The fungus pulp is brittle and friable, colored yellow, without any smell. However, it tastes very bitter, resembling pepper. It is because of this that he got his name.

Discussions about edibility

Strangely enough, but a relatively small pepper mushroom has become a subject of serious controversy. You can see his photo in this article. The opinions of the fans of "quiet hunting" were divided into diametrically opposite. Some mushroom pickers recognize this macromycete as inedible. Others argue that although it is little known, it can not only be eaten in marinated and salted, but even fresh or dried. Some use peppermint (dried), ground into powder, as a spicy seasoning for various dishes.

According to the fans of this fungus, it is underestimated, and inedible is recognized because of the bitter taste. Long cooking makes it possible to use it for food, although it is impossible to completely remove the original flavor. Often, even a well-cooked pepper mushroom gives bitter food. Nevertheless, he has many admirers. His taste for many seems exquisite, because it gives the dishes spicy sharpness.

Opinion of specialists

Pepper fungus is ambiguously evaluated by scientists. Many experts say that it is absolutely safe. However, some biochemists scientist unequivocally evaluate it as poisonous. They claim that the composition of this macromycete contains rare and highly toxic compounds that do not degrade when heated. When you eat this fungus, they accumulate in the body. These compounds gradually destroy the liver cells and provoke mutations in them. The result of these processes can be oncology or cirrhosis. And their causes are very difficult to establish, as between years of consumption of peppermint and disease. Therefore, the disease is written off to something else, and the fungus remains "edible". The first sign of pathology is the severity and discomfort in the right hypochondrium. In view of the foregoing, there can be only one recommendation. While experts clearly did not prove the safety of peppermint, do not take risks, eating it.