Bitter To The Last Bite - The Bolete Tylopilus Mushroom

Bitter To The Last Bite - The Bolete Tylopilus Mushroom

By a.d. elliott | Take the Back Roads - Art and Other Odd Adventures

Dear Henry,

This is one of the Tylopilus bolete varieties. They are undeniably beautiful, deep purple caps balanced on thick, pale stems, and, like most boletes, they are considered non-toxic. (There is a bolete with red pores that is said to be dangerous, though it doesn’t seem to be widespread, and I’ve never encountered one.)

That said, there is a wide gulf between non-toxic and edible.

Any bolete with a purple cap is spectacularly unpleasant to eat. And when I say unpleasant, I mean bitter to the point that your tongue tingles in protest.

You could not eat this mushroom.
Not even if you were starving.

Ask me how I know.

Once, Fish and I, armed with the reassuring knowledge that “all boletes are non-toxic,” picked one, sautéed it, and sat down to eat it. The smell while it cooked was heavenly, rich and earthy, exactly what a mushroom should be.

The taste, however, was horrific.

It was so aggressively bitter that we immediately wondered whether we had made a dangerous mistake and misidentified the mushroom. We hadn’t. It really is just that inedible.

I have since heard (entirely unverified and unresearched) that Tylopilus species are sometimes used in bitters. I also once made an offhand joke on social media about eating one, and I regret that. Anyone who tries will not enjoy the experience.

This I can say with confidence.

They may be bitter to the last bite, but they do make excellent photographs.

xoxo,
a.d. elliott

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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life

She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.

You can also browse her online photography gallery at shop.takethebackroads.com.

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