The Edible Mushroom That Turns Toxic If Consumed With Alcohol

By now, you probably know the deal with mushrooms: Some of them, including the kinds you buy from the supermarket, are perfectly safe to eat, and utterly delicious to boot, while others will cause you to die a horrific, painful death if you so much as nibble on them. This is easy enough to grasp, but sometimes fungi like to throw you a curveball. Some varieties, like the Chinese mushroom Jian shou qing, are delicious if prepared properly, but will give you hallucinations of tiny people if eaten raw or undercooked. The inky cap mushroom is also tasty, but cannot be consumed with alcohol under any circumstances.

The inky cap mushroom, or Coprinopsis atramentaria, is a small, unassuming mushroom until it starts to mature or is picked, at which point it begins to dissolve into black ichor. Its flavor is quite mild and pleasant, at least once it's cooked and not melting into tar-colored goo, but — and we cannot stress this enough — it should never be eaten with alcohol. That's because it contains a mycotoxin called coprine, which blocks the absorption of ethanol by your liver. The symptoms aren't usually fatal, but they are decidedly unpleasant: sweating, hot flashes, headaches, and things of that nature.

So how should you approach this strange little mushroom? Well, we know we're belaboring the point, but do not eat them with alcohol — in fact, don't even consume alcohol within two days on either side of eating inky cap mushrooms. This is, admittedly, complicated by the fact that you can only eat inky cap mushrooms on the day you forage them, as they'll dissolve into inedible slime before long. But hey, everyone talks about the importance of meal planning, and surely that includes foraging expeditions as well.

The good news is that once you get your hands on some inky cap mushrooms, you can use them just as you would any pack of creminis or portobellos you bought from the supermarket. You can sauté them as a wonderful side for a steak; you can toss them in an omelet or a quiche; you can add them to pasta for a rich mushroom bolognese; and, of course, they bring deep umami flavor to a stew. Just make sure you skip the glass of red wine.