I have been looking for the best way to store dried mushrooms and came across the idea of using honey to store them. In theory it sounds like it should work fine, but I have heard very mixed and vague reviews about this all over the internet and I'm curious as to what you guys have to say about it.

so does anyone have any experience with this, or have any thoughts on if this does or does not work well?

For how long are you planning to store them? I've eaten shrooms that were well over 2 years old and they were just as potent as when they were new.

I also wondered about this, but was concerned about the honey fermenting and turning into a sort of mead. I can't have any alcohol so that would effectively ruin and mushrooms stored that way for me.

well I had heard that fermentation only occurs if the mushrooms are put into the honey fresh and not dried. But I could be wrong.

@DMTripper
Are you saying that you ate mushrooms that were stored in honey or just dried? I would be surprised to find out that dried mushrooms unpreserved could last that long.

..tried that as a teenager, and it fermented and made this horrible goo that almost put me off honey or mushrooms..
drying to crisp then freezing is the way...

@nen888
did you make sure the mushrooms were dried properly? I've heard that moist mushrooms is why this doesn't work for some people but I'd like to be sure.

..they probably were not completely dry, true..i thought at the time the honey might be a preservative..
after getting the technique of drying with a fan and freezing as powder (still active 2 years later) i didn't try honey again...

Just crisp dry.

ive heard talk of dry, whole mushrooms placed in a jar and honey poured over them. in time it was said that blue streaks would grow thru the honey. i would love to see a photo of this!

Honey and mushrooms can work for long term storage .
Super dry mushrooms ground to a powder and mixed with honey.
I would say almost indefinite shelf life . I say this because
There is a jar of this stuff that I made quite a few years ago thats still
Just as potent as ever . Its still floating around still effective hasn't gone bad at all.
Stored at room temp. Had some about 3 months ago.

So how come the psilobin is preserved in honey? is it something in the sugars that helps it from breaking down?

I put about an ounce and a half of cubes into a 500ml jug of honey and stirred it around so that all of the mushrooms (I put them in whole) were coated and surrounded with the honey. After being in the fridge for a month or two the honey went hard but the shrooms are still cracker crispy dry inside in the honey when you break them in half. To use them I have to first put the honey jar into a sink of warm water to loosen it up a bit. I don't use the honey mush for actual means of tripping though, it's more of a potency boosting sweetener for the tea I make from regular dried cubes.

Edit** I forgot to mention the mushroom honey and regular dried cubes I've got are both from the same batch and are just over 3 years old now. They have not lost any potency.

I believe it's because the honey makes a 100% airtight seal around the mushrooms and keeps them from oxidizing. The honey will pretty much never go bad at all unless there is moisture in the mushrooms. Honey on it's own will not expire, so as long as the outside materials put into it have no way of going bad, the stuff will pretty much last for ever.

I've also eaten unpreserved dry mushrooms that were stored at room temp for over 2 years twice. Both times they were fully as potent as they were originally. As long as your 'shrooms are crispy dry they should last a long time.

That's good to know! I'm going to store some that way soon then.

Yes, water is the enemy here. I pre-dry them in air and keep then them in a container with calcium chloride, dryer than the Atacama desert.

I've read so many threads recently I forget where this was, but some thread said to steam the dried mushrooms to neutralize an enzyme that continues to break them down even when dry - then dry them again and they are basically good forever.