Posted by pinksharkmark (196.3.74.236) on October 10, 2000 at 13:30:34:
In Reply to: Ounces, not grams. I have this feeling that you need ounces, not grams. nt. posted by Q on October 10, 2000 at 09:52:22:
Freshly picked mushrooms are typically 90% water. This figure varies from species to species, but is a pretty good rule of thumb.
You are correct that for FRESH mushrooms, a standard recreational dose is around two ounces or so. But let that same two ounces of mushrooms dry out completely (as you would for long-term storage) and you end up with about 5 grams of DRY mushrooms.
Five grams of DRY mushrooms is the generally accepted recommendation for a standard "recreational" dose. Again, this varies depending on the species of the mushroom in question and the relative recklessness of the consumer, but is a pretty good rule of thumb.
The problem with trying to base doses on "wet" mushroom weight is that the mushroom starts to dehydrate as soon as it is picked. Unless the mushrooms are stored in honey, they will lose weight to dehydration every day, eventually becoming completely desiccated.
A dose of two ounces of fresh-picked mushrooms might therefore be only half as strong as a dose of two ounces of mushrooms that have dried out for a few days and lost 50% of their weight to dehydration.
pinky