Charcoal burner (russula)
Russula cyanoxantha
mushroom
⚠️ Toxic look-alike
Never eat this mushroom unless you are certain it is not its toxic look-alike.
When its cap tends toward green, it can be confused with the death cap, the deadliest of the amanitas. The charcoal burner has flexible white gills that bend without breaking and feel greasy, and a solid white stem with no ring or volva. The death cap has a white, skirt-like ring on the stem, and the stem rises from a white, sac-like volva, often hidden in the soil: always dig out the base. Its first signs, vomiting and violent diarrhea, appear only 6 to 24 hours after the meal, when the liver is already damaged; it kills without a liver transplant. Have every harvest checked by a pharmacist or a mycological society.
If in the slightest doubt, leave it. If you feel unwell after eating it, even several hours later, call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) or 911.
A purple, green or gray cap, mild white flesh tasting of hazelnut, pan-fried or grilled.
- Origin
- Broadleaf and conifer forests of Europe
- Season (United States)
- July to October
- Preparation
- It is cleaned with a damp cloth, without soaking, the earthy stem base cut off, then pan-fried for about ten minutes; like all wild mushrooms, it is eaten cooked, never raw. If you pick it yourself, have the mushroom checked by a pharmacist or a mycological society before eating it.
- Molecules
- Mushroom beta-glucansIn small amounts, not counted Ergothioneine
- Did you know?
- It is the only russula whose gills bend without breaking and feel greasy to the touch.