The Art of Preservation: Maximizing Shroom Shelf Life
Magic mushrooms will eventually go bad, but when stored correctly, they can remain viable for 12 months or more before losing potency or becoming unsafe to consume.
All psychedelics will lose their potency over time while in storage — magic mushrooms are no exception.
Unfortunately, while other compounds might simply become less powerful, shrooms can potentially become dangerous to consume if they go bad.
Here’s a quick PSA about what makes magic mushrooms go bad, how to tell if your shrooms are rotten, when to AVOID eating them, and some tips for getting the maximum shelf-life possible from your shroom haul.
What Causes Shrooms To Go Bad?
Magic mushrooms, like all other organic material, are susceptible to mold and bacterial rot. When this happens, your shrooms are no longer safe to consume.
Even without rotting, the active ingredient, psilocybin, will degrade over time, leading to reduced potency. Mushrooms older than 12 months, even when stored under optimal conditions, will lose roughly 15–30% of their original potency.
This drop-off is even more significant after 2 years in storage — with losses reaching upwards of 50% from their initial potency.
Generally speaking, mold and bacteria are only an issue if your shrooms are exposed to moisture during storage. If they're stored fresh, the moisture inside the shrooms themselves will cause them to rot. This is why it's critical to dry your mushrooms immediately if you plan on storing them longer than about 3 days.
Other factors that cause mushrooms to rapidly lose potency include:
UV Light Exposure
Oxygen Exposure
Heat Exposure
How Long Do Mushrooms Last?
The safe lifespan of shrooms depends primarily on the storage method and the type of shrooms you have:
Fresh mushrooms — shortest shelf-life (3–5 days)
Dried mushrooms — moderate shelf-life (6–12 months)
Microdose capsules — moderate shelf-life (12–18 months)
Mushroom chocolates — moderate shelf-life (12–18 months)
Mushroom honey — long shelf-life (2–3 years)
How Do You Store Magic Mushrooms Properly?
The best way to store magic mushrooms is to keep them in a sealed container that minimizes their exposure to oxygen, heat, UV light, and bacterial or fungal spores.
Vacuum sealers are the ideal method of storage if you have access to one of these devices (you can pick one up for around $70 on Amazon). By removing all the air using the vacuum pump and storing them in a light-proof container, you'll get the maximum shelf-life possible from your mushrooms.
For those who don't have access to a vacuum sealer, a ziplock bag that's had as much excess air removed before sealing it up is the second-best option.
Mason jars or other airtight containers also work well, but try to use the smallest container possible for the volume of shrooms you have. This helps reduce the volume of air inside the container (remember, oxygen will degrade psilocybin over time).
For extra assurance against mold/bacteria, toss in a few desiccant packs before putting them in storage. I usually save those little desiccant packs that come with new shoes or electronics and throw them in with my dried mushies for long-term storage.
Never store fresh mushrooms longer than a few days. Fresh mushrooms rot quickly, so either eat them or dry them out as quickly as possible.
Should You Store Mushrooms in the Freezer?
There's a lot of contention in the mushroom community about whether or not you should store your shrooms in the freezer.
I used to store my shrooms this way for the long haul until I found the following study that assessed the effects of storage temperature on psilocybin degradation (Spoiler: storing at room temperature appears to preserve psilocybin much better than freezing).
The study reviewed the effects of storing fresh and dried mushrooms under 5 different conditions and found the best way is in the dark at room temperature. The starting potency of the mushrooms for this study was 1.5% psilocybin.
In light at Room Temperature (68ºF) — Within one week, psilocybin content dropped to 0.96%. After a month, it lowered to 0.72% and then 0.67% and 0.45% at the 2-month and 15-month follow-up, respectively.
Dark Conditions at Room Temperature (68ºF) — Concentrations lowered to just 1.3% at the one-week mark and stayed at ~82% by the 2-month mark. At the conclusion, it still maintained a slight lead over the others with 0.477%.
Refrigerated (~40ºF) — Refrigerated samples were down to 1.2% after a week and varied from 0.85–0.817% between the one-month and two-month follow-up. After 15 months, psilocybin content was around 0.45%.
Frozen (-4 ºF) — The lower the temperature goes, the worse the storage solution seems to be. The one-week, one-month, two-month, and 15-month follow-ups for this one were 1.01%, 0.78%, 0.72%, and 0.45%. While performing marginally better than the fridge option at later check-ups, it performed very poorly on the onset before degradation appears to have slowed.
Extra Frozen (-112 ºF) — Magic mushrooms aren’t that ground turkey you haven’t worked up the courage to cook yet; freezing is the worst way to store your shrooms over time. The immediate loss is still better than you’d expect from storing them in direct sunlight, but not by much, and the losses between the two are very comparable.
How to Tell If Magic Mushrooms Have Gone Bad
Regardless of the storage method and timeframe, understanding what signs to look for to identify shrooms that have gone bad or are dangerous to consume is essential.
There are four things you should look out for before consuming shrooms that have been stored:
Visible mold growth
A sweet or musty odor
Spots on the surface
Wet or squishy texture
Any signs of discoloration
If your mushrooms are rotten, throw them out — some of the mold and bacteria that infect magic mushrooms are toxic — such as Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Cladosporium, which can cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, convulsions, and liver damage if consumed.
1. Visible Signs of Mold
Visible mold should be a clear indication that your shrooms are no longer fit for consumption. You might notice fuzzy growth on the shrooms that are white, black, gray, or colored.
Any shrooms that have evidence of mold growth should be discarded immediately, as should any that were stored with the affected shrooms. Mold can be dangerous to ingest, depending on the strain, and it isn’t worth the risk.
2. An “Off” Odor
Mushrooms already have a bit of a smell to them. They’re earthy and a little bit musky.
If your stored shrooms develop a pungent, sweet, or funky odor — chances are they’ve been infected by bacteria or yeast. Any off-odors should trigger you to ditch your entire stash, as bacterial infections can be life-threatening in some cases.
3. Soft Spots
Soft spots developing on your shrooms are another sign that they have gone bad. The spots are likely to have developed bacterial colonies. Unfortunately, this means you need to discard them. Rotting mushrooms cannot be saved by drying out or any other means.
4. Wet or Squishy Texture
When mushrooms are dried, they become hard and crispy. If your shrooms become soft or squishy in storage, it most likely means there is still some moisture inside that’s started to rot. This usually means some form of bacterial growth. When mushrooms become subject to bacterial rot, they can no longer be saved by being dried out.
5. White, Brown, or Black Discolorations
Finally, if your shrooms change color or have areas on the surface that are discolored, you should get rid of your stash immediately. Discoloration could result from bacteria, mold, or yeast, all of which could be dangerous if ingested.
The exception here is a blue discoloration, which is perfectly normal. In fact, the blueing reaction is one of the key methods used to determine that a sample of mushrooms contains psilocybin.
Magic Mushroom Blueing
One of the most common misconceptions I see among novice mushroom growers is confusing the natural blueing reaction with mold growth.
When the cell walls of magic mushrooms are damaged (such as after picking or handling), the psilocybin contained inside reacts with the air to form a series of blue-colored compounds called quinoid-psilocyl-oligomers — which are formed when psilocybin is exposed to oxygen. These compounds are similar to indigo — a natural blue-colored plant dye.
This reaction looks sketchy to the uninformed but is very distinct from mold growth (which can also be blue in color).
Is It Safe to Eat Expired Shrooms?
Old mushrooms are safe to eat as long as they aren't moldy, mushy, or smelly.
The downside of eating expired (but not rotten) mushrooms is that they're going to be weaker than usual. You'll likely have to eat more mushrooms to get the desired effect (but be careful because it's difficult to tell how much potency shrooms have lost until you start eating them).
Many users have incorrectly assumed that their old stock has lost potency and increased their normal dose as a result. This is a recipe for a bad trip or an overwhelming experience. It's wise to start with the same dose you normally would and only take more 1–2 hours later if needed.
Advanced Mushroom Storage
Simple drying and freezing is the simplest (and likely best) method. But there are some other, more creative ways to preserve the potency of your mushrooms.
One of my personal favorites is making psilocybin honey.
Honey is an excellent natural preservative. Samples found in ancient Egyptian tombs that are thousands of years old are still intact and good to eat (though I probably wouldn't try it).
Honey is also a decent solvent that can be used to extract the psilocybin from magic mushrooms and hold them in suspension.
Here are the steps I use to make psilocybin honey:
Grind dried mushrooms into a fine powder.
Mix thoroughly with honey in a sterile jar.
Seal the jar and store in a cool, dark place.
Use as needed. Avoid opening the jar more than absolutely necessary (to prevent oxygen from entering).
Other Advanced Storage Methods:
Tinctures — soak your dried (or fresh) mushrooms in high-proof alcohol, then strain).
Capsules — Grind to a fine powder, pack into capsules, and store in a sealed container.
Mushroom Tea Ice Cubes — Prepare a strong tea and freeze in an ice cube tray until ready to consume.
Mushroom Chocolates — Melt some chocolate and stir in dried, powdered mushrooms as it cools. (Avoid heating mushroom powder directly!)
Desiccated Mushroom Bricks — Dry your shrooms until brittle and compress them together into bricks to reduce air pockets.
Summary: Tips For Storing Magic Mushrooms Long-Term
Dry your mushrooms completely before storage.
Use vacuum-sealed bags, Ziplocks, or other airtight containers.
Add desiccant packs to eliminate residual moisture.
Store in a cool, dark place away from UV light.
Avoid storing your mushrooms in the freezer. Somewhere dark at room temperature is best.
Check for mold, bad odors, and discoloration before consuming.
Consider advanced methods like psilocybin honey for extended preservation.
Further Reading:
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