Wood ear mushrooms seem to be a benign food, but if you make some of the mistakes below when using them, they can produce some disease-causing toxins, potentially posing a risk of cancer.
Wood ear mushrooms are small and rough, but they are a very important spice for Vietnamese families. They are an indispensable ingredient in bamboo shoot soup, fried spring rolls, stir-fried dishes, soups… But did you know that wood ear mushrooms are not only delicious, but also very beneficial for your health?
In Oriental medicine, wood ear mushrooms are sweet and neutral, and enter the spleen, large intestine, liver, and kidney meridians. They have the effect of cooling the blood and stopping bleeding due to impact or injury. In modern medicine, wood ear mushrooms contain vitamin K, calcium, magnesium, vitamin E… Eating wood ear mushrooms in moderate doses and regularly is very good for reducing blood clots, preventing arterial occlusion due to thrombosis, helping to replenish blood, preventing iron deficiency anemia, and beautifying the skin.
Mistake 1: Soaking wood ear mushrooms in hot water
Wood ear mushrooms, also known as black fungus, often grow on dry tree trunks, rotten wood, and dampness, so the rate of mold is very high… that’s why the process of soaking and washing wood ear mushrooms before eating is very important.
Wood ear mushrooms should be soaked in cold water because at low temperatures this food will gradually expand, mold and dirt will dissolve in water and be easy to clean.
On the contrary, you should not soak it in hot water because the wood ear will expand quickly and will not have much time to gradually absorb like cold water, causing the mold to not have time to dissolve in the water. In addition, wood ear soaked in boiling water will become soft, sticky, not crispy, and not delicious.
Mistake 2: Eating fresh wood ear mushrooms
Do you know why grocery stores often sell dried wood ear mushrooms, instead of fresh ones? The reason is because fresh wood ear mushrooms contain morpholine – a substance that causes skin itching and swelling when eaten.
When dried, wood ear mushrooms gradually lose morpholine, so eating wood ear mushrooms when dried is safer.
Mistake 3: Eating wood ear mushrooms soaked in water for many days
Soaking wood ear mushrooms will help this food expand, become softer, cleaner and easier to process. However, wood ear mushrooms should only be soaked for a short time, soaking for many days will easily cause deterioration and produce aflatoxin – this is a type of mold toxin that causes liver cancer and damages liver tissue.
Wood ear mushrooms should not be soaked for more than 8 hours, otherwise the bacteria will multiply many times. There have been cases of death due to eating wood ear mushrooms soaked for many days, so everyone needs to be very careful.
To ensure health safety, people should only eat dried wood ear mushrooms soaked in cold water for 15-20 minutes, washed, and cut off the stems before processing.
Mistake 4: Eating too much wood ear at once
Wood ear should only be used as a spice, not eaten in large quantities because this food is rich in fiber. If not chewed thoroughly, it will not be digested by the stomach, causing intestinal obstruction.
It is best to eat wood ear mushrooms in moderation, using up as much as you cook.
Mistake 5: Thinking that everyone can eat wood ear mushrooms
Wood ear mushrooms are delicious and nutritious, but not suitable for everyone. Especially for people with diarrhea because wood ear mushrooms are cold and nourish yin, so they can make the condition worse. In addition, wood ear mushrooms are also mushrooms, so they can cause allergies in people who are not suitable. People with allergies should be careful when eating them. Pregnant women should also not eat a lot of these foods.
