I've taken dried mushrooms many times now. But they've always been sort of soft, they still gave a little. And they've always tasted fine, even good.

I've had these here mushrooms now for over 6 months, and they have gone from dry-soft to dry-brittle--where they crack and crumble when touched. Some of my other mushrooms have started to smell weird and fogged up the ziploc bag they were in with some kind of fine powdery substance. Not sure if it's its own spores or some other fungus...

I'm hesitant to try to the brittle ones. Can someone validate or invalidate my hesitation?

Even if the dry-brittle ones aren't moldy, has anyone noticed a qualitative difference between the experiences of eating dry-brittle vs dry-soft mushrooms? Thanks.

In my experience, softer ones tend to mean they are fresher because they have been recently dried and small amounts of moisture still remain in them.

As the dried material ages, it gets more brittle as it continues to dries out and lose remaining moisture. If not stored well, the drier material might be a little weaker because it has more time to oxidize but it should still be active.

Mold and bacteria require moisture so the drier you can get them from the onset, the better and safer they are from a preservation standpoint. There is no such thing as too dry.

A practical example is the difference between a cold cut meats (i.e. salami) versus beef jerky. The beef jerky is much drier and will last a lot longer. Beef jerky does not require refridgeration. The moisture content of the cold cut requires cool temperatures/refridgeration or it could still spoil even though it preserved. The reason for this is moisure allows bacteria and mold to grow.

Also, spores are black/purple in color and the bruising is bluish-green. If they are any other colors and those colors transfer onto your skin if you rub them, or they smell like anything other than mushroom, then be cautious. If it is mushroom colored powder, it is just mushroom particles embedded in the plastic.

Otherwise, i dont foresee any safety concerns. Our noses are pretty good at detecting rot - if they are off, they will smell like rotting food.

I pick mushrooms annually, after about 3 days of picking i make sure they are brittle and extreemly dry.. The term is "cracker dry". One they are completely dry they are safe for storage and keep there alks for much longer once this way. A little moisture around fungi can cause other mold to grow. If the white powder isn't from crushed stems I would be suss.

cracker dry.... you want as little moisture in them as possible, ideally, none.

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THIS

There is no such thing as a "too dry mushroom"

How exactly did you store them for the 6 months?