# Does cooking degrade psilocybin? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 10, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cooking-degrade-psilocybin/462977 "2008-09-10T19:25:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cooking-degrade-psilocybin/462977/1 "2008-09-10T19:25:45Z")
Say I’ve got a mitt full of shrooms, but I don’t like the taste of the things. Could I like, fry them in butter and enjoy them with a nice steak without losing the magic? ---
**Author:** ![Debon\_Err](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ea924/32.png) [@Debon\_Err](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debon_Err)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cooking-degrade-psilocybin/462977/2 "2008-09-10T19:33:17Z")
And even if it doesn’t, would eating them with other food dull the effect, as it would with alcohol? ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cooking-degrade-psilocybin/462977/3 "2008-09-10T19:46:04Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Say I’ve got a mitt full of shrooms, but I don’t like the taste of the things. Could I like, fry them in butter and enjoy them with a nice steak without losing the magic? The “recommended” usage around here is to make tea out of them (boil for about 20 minutes, if I recall correctly). Doesn’t help much for the taste, but there is still plenty of effect left after doing that :eek: Frying probably involves higher temperatures, so I can’t answer for that, but you can probably get away with a stew or curry. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cooking-degrade-psilocybin/462977/4 "2008-09-10T21:01:10Z")
I would go stew or curry. They are definitely water soluble, and things that are water soluble tend not to be oil soluble (although plenty of exceptions abound). I’ve done the tea thing, with mixed results. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cooking-degrade-psilocybin/462977/5 "2008-09-10T21:18:03Z")
I’m sure the answer is on [erowid.com](http://erowid.com), but I’m not going to research it at work. 😉 IIRC, heat much higher than boiling does destroy psilocyn (the compound that your body converts to psilocybin), but it’s been over 10 years since I’ve researched it. It wouldn’t dull the effect, again, IIRC, because 80% of alcohol is absorbed via the small intestine, and the rate is slowed when the stomach is full because the pyloric valve closes; not because it is diluted. However, psilocyn and psilocybin can be absorbed in the stomach. ---
**Author:** ![Influential\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Influential\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Influential_Panda)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cooking-degrade-psilocybin/462977/6 "2008-09-10T21:47:07Z")
> [@Santo\_Rugger](#): > > IIRC, heat much higher than boiling does destroy psilocyn (the compound that your body converts to psilocybin), but it’s been over 10 years since I’ve researched it. But you’re only going to find psilocyn in fresh mushrooms, not dried, and even then the amount goes down naturally every hour they’re out of the earth. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cooking-degrade-psilocybin/462977/7 "2008-09-10T22:07:15Z")
> [@Influential\_Panda](#): > > But you’re only going to find psilocyn in fresh mushrooms, not dried, and even then the amount goes down naturally every hour they’re out of the earth. Does it have half life, or is it linear? ---
**Author:** ![Influential\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Influential\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Influential_Panda)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cooking-degrade-psilocybin/462977/8 "2008-09-10T22:14:41Z")
It breaks down when exposed to heat and oxygen. I presume it’s a linear progression. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cooking-degrade-psilocybin/462977/9 "2008-09-10T22:22:09Z")
> [@Influential\_Panda](#): > > It breaks down when exposed to heat and oxygen. I presume it’s a linear progression. So…a little off topic I guess, but…dried product acquired from a thrid party will be “unpredicatable?” ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cooking-degrade-psilocybin/462977/10 "2008-09-10T22:37:08Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > So…a little off topic I guess, but…dried product acquired from a thrid party will be “unpredicatable?” Yes, but also because you don’t have a good idea of what strain it is, what medium it was grown in, the temperatures it was exposed to during growing and drying, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Influential\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Influential\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Influential_Panda)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cooking-degrade-psilocybin/462977/11 "2008-09-10T23:12:17Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > So…a little off topic I guess, but…dried product acquired from a thrid party will be “unpredicatable?” You mean to say you expect magic mushrooms to be predictable? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cooking-degrade-psilocybin/462977/12 "2008-09-10T23:37:02Z")
I swear to Og, every time I open this thread, TWO identical tabs with it come up instead of one. It’s only this thread! Is it the 'shrooms? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cooking-degrade-psilocybin/462977/13 "2008-09-10T23:45:18Z")
> [@Influential\_Panda](#): > > You mean to say you expect magic mushrooms to be predictable? Why do you think they call it sillycybin? 😛 Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cooking-degrade-psilocybin/462977/14 "2008-09-11T23:51:32Z")
We used to eat them on chips with really hot salsa- did wonders for the horrible taste. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cooking-degrade-psilocybin/462977/15 "2008-09-12T00:02:56Z")
I recall a camping trip about 15 years ago where we mixed them with the Rice-a-roni. I do not believe they were added at the beginning of the cooking, but after the boil, broken into small pieces. Alas, such things were always a rare treat and I haven’t seen hide nor spore of a shroomie in almost that long. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Algorithm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/algorithm/32/12204_2.png) [@Algorithm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algorithm)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cooking-degrade-psilocybin/462977/16 "2008-09-12T00:04:41Z")
Boiling in water for 15 minutes or so, then straining the mushrooms out and adding tea got me as high as eating them fresh. Second time I made tea, I got lazy and didn’t strain. The mushrooms had gotten tender and floppy enough to be swallowed like liquid (it was really thick and gross), and I didn’t notice any decreased effect from straining out the bodies. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cooking-degrade-psilocybin/462977/17 "2008-09-12T00:25:48Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > We used to eat them on chips with really hot salsa- did wonders for the horrible taste. > > 🆒 Damn, that must have been some nasty salsa.