Taste of mushrooms...

[sobriquet]

It has dawned on me that I don't really know what 5 grams of dried mushrooms looks like or how much volume it represents.

How much material does one actually need to eat for an average of 5 grams dried weight (yes I know it can be weighed, but I want to get an idea of the volume it represents. As much as a toasted slice of bread, tablespoon, etc. ) ? Is it easy to have in one quick mouthful?

Does it taste good, bad, like anything else?

Are there ways people get around taste if there is a mushroom flavour phobia (apart from gelcaps)?

Thanks.

[mu!]

Why dont you just weigh up 5 grams of material and look at it, then you'll know what 5 grams of material is supposed to be like. Seems like the obvious thing to do, unless i misunderstood your post.

Alkaloid-to-weight ratio will be variable too, so there's something to think about.

To me, 5 grams of cubensis looks like about 3/4 tablespoons. Hope that helps

Edited January 6, 2007 by without

[gerbil]

I try and keep away from making comments in regards to plant ingestion in relation to tastes, but I suppose i'm not this time hehehe ... In all honesty I feel the taste should be the absolute least of your worries (not even a worry at all actually). I may be being a bit prejudging (is that the word i'm after???) but if you can't handle the taste, how will you handle the experience that follows?

My perception and ideals change as time moves on, and I am hypocritical in many situations.

Primarily I work with plants and the associated natural world (not necessarily visionary), to me the plant is part of the experience, the bitterness is part, the nausea is part, the vomiting is part etc., whatever it may be. I try and not adulterate something in it's natural form if I want to specifically learn from that material...for example if I wanted to learn about Shiitake mushroom, I'd eat them alone, not in a soup or splashed with oil.

But I suppose that is my personal preference in my walking journey to reach that small little dot that I can vaguely make out on the horizon.

Argh frustration...I can visualise what I wanted to communicate in this post but I can't put it into words so I'll stop here lol I probably didn't make much sense, or at least what I wanted to visually communicate with you.

Wish you all the best with your path you are following

edit:

Gelcaps would probably be the only option to really avoid the taste as it's bypassing the taste buds (but wait for the burps????)...other than that the possibilities that come to mind are acidic teas (&/or sweetened with honey); else mixing with a small hot food dish which probably isn't recommended, but melted chocolate with ginger and plant mixed and set into homogenised doses would be a good option, search for a post by t st tantra if the ginger mush chocolate interests you.

Edited January 6, 2007 by gerbil

[sobriquet]

Why dont you just weigh up 5 grams of material and look at it, then you'll know what 5 grams of material is supposed to be like. Seems like the obvious thing to do, unless i misunderstood your post.

Alkaloid-to-weight ratio will be variable too, so there's something to think about.

To me, 5 grams of cubensis looks like about 3/4 tablespoons. Hope that helps

I think you might have misunderstood.

I don't have the material to weigh up and look. I mean it depends on density and such. 5 grams of feathers looks different to 5 grams of gold in terms of volume if you see what I mean.

But yes thankyou for the estimate of 3/4 tablespoons. Its definitely a manageable amount and I'd have no troubles with that much.

[sobriquet]

I try and keep away from making comments in regards to plant ingestion in relation to tastes, but I suppose i'm not this time hehehe ... In all honesty I feel the taste should be the absolute least of your worries (not even a worry at all actually). I may be being a bit prejudging (is that the word i'm after???) but if you can't handle the taste, how will you handle the experience that follows?

My perception and ideals change as time moves on, and I am hypocritical in many situations.

Primarily I work with plants and the associated natural world (not necessarily visionary), to me the plant is part of the experience, the bitterness is part, the nausea is part, the vomiting is part etc., whatever it may be. I try and not adulterate something in it's natural form if I want to specifically learn from that material...for example if I wanted to learn about Shiitake mushroom, I'd eat them alone, not in a soup or splashed with oil.

But I suppose that is my personal preference in my walking journey to reach that small little dot that I can vaguely make out on the horizon.

Argh frustration...I can visualise what I wanted to communicate in this post but I can't put it into words so I'll stop here lol I probably didn't make much sense, or at least what I wanted to visually communicate with you.

Wish you all the best with your path you are following

edit:

Gelcaps would probably be the only option to really avoid the taste as it's bypassing the taste buds (but wait for the burps????)...other than that the possibilities that come to mind are acidic teas (&/or sweetened with honey); else mixing with a small hot food dish which probably isn't recommended, but melted chocolate with ginger and plant mixed and set into homogenised doses would be a good option, search for a post by t st tantra if the ginger mush chocolate interests you.

Thanks gerbil. Excellent. I understand exactly what you mean about the getting the whole experience thing.

I have no problems with small amounts but it's a texture thing when there's alot of it. It's hard to explain but it's like the scratching of nails against a blackboard - some people can sit through hours of it without problems and others cringe even at the thought of it.

The rubberiness of fresh mushrooms and its particular texture is something that I'll have to work at.

What is the texture of dried mushrooms anyhow? Does it retain any rubberiness?

[nil]

the texture of dried mushrooms imho is somewhere between hay and horseshit with a hint of slimy algae. ;)

Edited January 11, 2007 by evolutionNth

[sobriquet]

the texture of dried mushrooms imho is somewhere between hay and horseshit with a hint of slimy algae. ;)

Hehe... cool. As long as it isn't rubbery

[nil]

Edited January 11, 2007 by evolutionNth

[spiders]

5 grams is a lot if someone hypothetically set out to eat 5 grams of dried cubies - maybe a plateful or more.

[ajna]

i can imagine in a couple of small glasses of watered down OJ would be easy enough. might find it comes on faster though, so some time between the two probably wouldn't hurt.

do u have ground turmeric or anything in the kitchen? probably similar consistency if you could gage 5g from that

[mushhunter]

Hehe... cool. As long as it isn't rubbery

cant stand the taste of mushrooms but luv eating them lol

what works is semi dried shrooms roll them up in a ball as small as u can like a pill and wash them down thats if its the good ol goldboys your talking about i cant see why one would want to do that kind of thing with edibels i think around 5,6 average sized shrooms dreid is rougthly a gram, 5 grams dried is alot to consume cheers

[MORG]

I'd say five grams dried might almost fill the area of a CD if chopped fairly small laid out in single layer and not packed tight.

Dried shroom rehydrates quickly in the mouth. Not rubbery, but it gets mushie real quick.

Edited January 6, 2007 by MORG

[spiders]

after a while your body seems to recognise the taste and makes you wretch and nearly chuck every time you eat one - kinda annoying when your trying to get through that much... I find that washing them down bit by bit with a beer is a good method.

[KlUe]

Keep in mind that mushrooms are about 95% water (please correct me if i'm wrong), so most of their weight comes from there - in the end dried shrooms weigh very little.

Taste can depend on how you're consuming.... In the past i've dried them and put them in a tub of honey - this is a good way to eat them if the taste turns you off, as well as preserving them for a while.

I agree with bluemeanie, after a while your body automatically recognises the taste and you have to prepare to keep your food down!\, no matter what you're masking the taste with.... especially because its not always about the actual taste but their consistency in your mouth.

[wandjina]

I haven't seen 'em around for awhile, but BBQ-flavoured Smith's chips do an impressive job masking the flavour of mushrooms. An old friend used to make sandwiches...big chip on top and bottom, freah cubie in the middle. Texture still there, but flavour not at all apparent. It was many years ago, but I was amazed how well the fungi-flave was concealed.

I've never liked mushrooms...mostly a texture thing, especially when they're all spongy (fresh) and when you bite down all this fungussy fluid fills your mouth. *gag*

Alternately, adding a small ammount of water to dried and powdered fungus, allows one to kneed them into a dough and then mould 'pills'.

[watertrade]

The first time I had them a friend made me a cheese sandwich with the mushies chopped up into small pieces. It seemed to work pretty well.

chomp chomp chomp quick drink... chomp chomp.... .... ...

I think most things work if you don't think about it...

chomp

[XipeTotec]

if speaking gold tops, dosage can differ considerably depending on desired results. If you are a first timer, and have never consumed any other entheogenic drugs..then a guide/watcher or other participants are almost essential. Even the most seasoned of worshipers may desire a guide at times.. Your watcher or similar should defiantly have had experience with mushrooms. A small to average dose would be wise.. a good first dose for dried goldtops (and dont quote me on this as I am not responsible for any outcome resulting from this advice) would be approx 5-6 large, or 7-8 medium, boiled for approx 20 mins into a tea. best if about 1 cup sipped over 20 mins or so. it can be boiled down to a shot, and shotted, but this can come on all at once and can provide a testing and arduous come-on. Keep in mind, this is a mind altering drug, if you have never done anything alike, you wont know what to expect. A common misconception is that you will just see visual hallucinations. It also causes changes to almost every faculty of your mind, not something that everyone is wired to cope with. It is most important that you feel mentally prepared for it. The fact that you are in these forums somewhat displays a deeper interest in the substances than your average drug fiend, so that could be a good start. Whatever your desired outcome it should be kept in mind that these substances can be a huge benefit in developing awareness of yourself and the world around you (amongst other benefits) but this can also come at a risk, as you are altering your brain chemistry, and you possess a mind that needs to be able to cope with that. Research as much as you can, ask questions in here, but understand, this will only help to an extent, and that words can not clearly define that which you may experience on mushrooms. In regards to taste, dried gold tops are quite tolerable, and a tea made from them is not unpleasant, flavoured with a bit of honey.Good luck with your endevours, whatever they be. A Big P.S. Make sure you know what you are eating.

[Ace]

Very well spoken Shroomytoonos

What do people recommend for a newb to this area with no access to an expirienced sitter? I figure that as long as you have someone who knows what is happening, can keep you relaxed and knows where to turn when the shit hits the fan, you should be fine. But what about someone who wishes to start off completely on their own? Is this a big no-no? What if this person had been preparing for a month or two in advance and was very well read on the effects? Hmmm... just some questions I've been pondering...

[Dirty Old Man]

One moderately heaped teaspoon of finely powdered, bone dry fungal material weighs roughly 1 gram.

[gerbil]

edit: not comfortable with giving advice :D

Edited January 11, 2007 by gerbil

[psilosophical]

My mates personal preference is to make tea, add honey/sugar and enjoy. No worries about texture then, and the taste isn't bad at all in his honest opinion (depending on the amount of sugar or honey added). Otherwise he finds dried are a bit easier to get down than wet but they get a bit stringy like celery which can suck. He makes sandwiches and loads on tomato sauce which almost completely conceals the flavor. I am sure a generous amount of nutella, peanut butter or vegemite possibly with honey too would make it quite bearable. theres plenty of ways of doing it, just experiment and you will find what works best for you. keep practicing i say

Edited January 11, 2007 by freedom

[auto]

I figure that as long as you have someone who knows what is happening, can keep you relaxed and knows where to turn when the shit hits the fan, you should be fine. But what about someone who wishes to start off completely on their own?

I felt no sitter was better than someone who hadn't crossed over. My poor cat

We came out alive, though I vaguley recall lying head down on the stairs, nude on the bathroom floor, gnawing my notepad, sucking the microrecorder, turning the lights on - turning the lights off, speaking in tongues (so to speak) and writhing on the bed.

Dib, dib, dob, dob. Don't pick up the phone or leave the house. You will be quite insane.

Edited January 11, 2007 by auto

[Ace]

haha - sounds like you had quite an adventure auto I'll be sure to tell my foaf

[XipeTotec]

Very well spoken Shroomytoonos

What do people recommend for a newb to this area with no access to an expirienced sitter? I figure that as long as you have someone who knows what is happening, can keep you relaxed and knows where to turn when the shit hits the fan, you should be fine. But what about someone who wishes to start off completely on their own? Is this a big no-no? What if this person had been preparing for a month or two in advance and was very well read on the effects? Hmmm... just some questions I've been pondering...

thanks ace... there are times when having a couple of valium on hand to deal with anxiety that can arise during come-on may be a good idea(mind you, I have never done this, it is just a theory). I think defiently have someone the 1st time. In regards to having no sitter and preparing for a month or two... it certainly could be done, and chances are that you would be fine afterwards, but there is also the possibility of really flipping out during your trip. It is good sometimes to just have someone there to reassure you that you will be fine. Also in regards to being well read on effects... that did not prepare me in anyway for the effects of psychedelic drugs. Anyway, thats my spiel.

Edited January 11, 2007 by shroomytoonos

[Ace]

Good stuff ShroomyMcToonos

I'll be very careful in explaining this to him - I know it's a very interesting area to be looking into, and he will probably organise a sitter (I mean, I could always be a good mate and help - though I dont break the law or endorse it ). Either way, I think he is prepared as much as possible, but like you said, no words can prepare you. Though he seems pretty well versed in the mj, and he often uses this to seek out similar states (though it is a very different effect) using that. Hopefully this will help ease him into the expirience...