Are Mushrooms Kosher?

Yes, mushrooms are kosher. A mushroom is a fungus, and in general, natural fungi are kosher. Since bugs are not kosher, you should make sure that your mushrooms aren't infested with insects before eating them. Rinse the mushrooms and check a few samples to make sure that no creature calls these mushrooms "home." For this reason, the brown area under the top of portabella mushrooms should be removed.

If the mushrooms are canned, you should look for a symbol of kosher certification on the label, since non-kosher ingredients may have been used during the process, or the mushrooms may have been on the same production lines as non-kosher foods. The kosher certification agency also ensures that the mushrooms are not infested with insects.

Since you asked about mushrooms, I should mention that the sages of the Talmud (Brachot 40b) discuss the blessing to be recited before eating mushrooms. Mushrooms, though they grow on the ground, do not receive their nutrition from the soil as plants do. Therefore, the proper blessing for mushrooms is not ha'adamah ("Blessed are You... who creates the fruit of the earth"), the blessing said on vegetables, but rather the default blessing, "by whose word all things came to be."

You can find more information on Kosher and on the blessings recited on various foods in our Kosher Section.

Enjoy your mushrooms!

All the best,

Rochel Chein for Chabad.org

By Rochel Chein

Mrs. Rochel Chein is a member of the chabad.org Ask the Rabbi team.

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45 Comments

Diane Gerber Arcadia March 6, 2024

Hello and many thanks. I was reading about cordyceps mushrooms that are parasitic and take over the body of a caterpillar, worm or insect. So although I read from one source that they are therefore, not kosher, I see other sources that offer "kosher" organic cordyceps powder. If it is from lab-grown cordyceps that use grains instead of insects, that would be understandable. However, some sources claim they are kosher and come from the mountains, which would mean they do grow out of insects.Do you have more info on this? Reply

Tamimah Hunter August 16, 2022

Do we have to remove the gills from the smaller version of portabella / Agaris bisporus called "baby bella" in stores? Or is rinsing and visual inspection enough? The smaller version is less expensive, but removing the gills is tedious and was wondering if was overdoing it while at it. Reply

Rochel Chein for chabad.org July 21, 2016

Supplements Supplements with reliable kosher certification should be used, to ensure that all fillers and additives are kosher, and that they equipment used to process them has not been used for non-kosher products. Reply

jonny July 10, 2016

Do cordyceps or other mushroom supplements need a hechser if there are no other additives? Reply

Anonymous August 19, 2015

Crawfish isn't kosher because it does not have scales. Leviticus 11 states that anything without fins AND scales is an abomination. So if it is missing scales it is not kosher and this includes shrimp, crawfish, catfish, lobster, crab, etc Reply

Anonymous February 27, 2015

kosher seafood? technically a crawfish does have a fin and a scale is nothing more than layered calcium plates so a crawfish does have scales why isn't it kosher? Reply

Dean Hekel January 8, 2022

in response to Anonymous:

Wrong, shrimp and crayfish do not have scales. They have a carapace just like insects. Lobster, shrimp, and crayfish have more in common with insects than a fish. But, you eat and see what HaShem says about it. Reply

Anonymous ny, ny October 29, 2012

porcini thank you, I was also wondering about dried porcini can I just buy them anywhere? or do they have to be specifically produced under supervision? how can one check them once they have been rehydrated? Reply

Ed Clark Brooklyn , NY October 29, 2012

Checking porcini for worms, etc. The best way to minimize the waste to discard when cleaning porcini is to carefully choose them: the smaller the better, & ALWAYS firm to the touch. Porcini that are soft to the touch are GUARANTEED to be unfresh & home to zillions of larvae (or "worms" as some prefer to call them.
Reliable sellers of porcini in this country often sell them cut in half, to facilitate inspection for parasites.
Some porcini have been partially consumed by slugs before they're harvested. The slugs deposit no eggs or larvae, & such partially consumed porcini are perfectly good & kosher to eat... provided they contain no parasites.
If you buy or find whole porcini that are firm to the touch, cut them in half to begin inspection. Also look for tiny telltale holes on both sides of the cap, & all over the stem, especially at the bottom of it.
When slicing porcini, cut away & discard any parts of the mushroom showing tracks, the paths the larvae take when eating their way through the mushroom. Reply

Nina Cohen New York, NY October 28, 2012

porcini mushrooms I grew up in Europe and love porcini, is there a kosher brand?
Or can I or how would I check dried porcini mushrooms? Reply

Anonymous jasonville, usa October 16, 2011

torah and israel You don't have to be jewish to keep torah. Reply

Rabbi Yisroel Cotlar September 14, 2011

Re Joining to Israel See How did Naomi's sons marry non-Jewish Moabite women? regarding Ruth's conversion.

It's important to note that the Torah prohibits only male Moabites, not females, from joining the Jewish Nation. Reply

Mark SLO, CA September 12, 2011

Joining to Israel Zach I think I like your comments, and it appears that Brian/Meira do not wish to provide Biblical support for the contention that you must be "religiously" circumcized to join Israel. I wonder how orthodox Jews deal with Ruth, who was a Moabitess and would be thus twice forbidden according to "religious" understanding from becoming part of Israel. The answer is that she completely rejected her paganism, the same process by which it was possible for a wife to be taken from pagans in Deut 21 -- if it's not a "convenant" with pagans (what got Solomon/David in wife trouble) then it clearly is a matter of her total acceptance of the God of Israel and his Torah. Ditto for Egyptians that came out with Israel during the Exodus. Meira and Brian you might consider forgetting about absolute (or religious) truth and focus instead on whether there is a cohesive Tanakh context that helps you reason from the words your Creator gave you, including what is kosher because it clearly matters to God. Reply

Zach Omaha, NE August 9, 2011

Response Kosher/ not Kosher should not really seem too confusing, for the most part it's pretty well laid out in Scripture.

As to your other comment- It depends on how you want to define a Christian. If a core Christian principle is "do not murder", then is a murderer, especially of Jews, really a Christian? Probably not.
Also, Enoch actually "got out of life alive," as I understand it, possibly others as well, as will those alive at the time of Meshiac's return, They/we may not die. Reply

Meira Shana Vista, CA August 7, 2011

"Traditions of men" - Zach This hasn't anything to do with whether mushrooms are kosher -- but Christians murdered millions of Jews because Jews refused to convert!!

Now I'm learning from today's Christians that those were "not Christians" -- so history is confusing. Almost as much as kosher/not kosher, if you're looking for absolute truth.

100% Absolute truth is on one thing only in Life: "No one gets out of this Life alive."

Orthodox Jew or Atheist or whatever other people call themselves. Reply

Zach Omaha, NE August 5, 2011

"Traditions of men" Brian, can you offer any Biblical support for your second paragraph?
I have actually eaten the Passover meal with a Torah follower, who became religiously circumcized, but did not convert to Judaism. Is it not enough that He studies and obeys the Torah? He must also be exclusive to the tribe of Judah? I'[m confused, where in the Bible does YHVH say "You must identify with Judah"?
Again people, the Torah is for ALL ISRAEL, NOT JUST THE TRIBE JUDAH AND some OF BENJAMIN AND LEVITE ("Jews"). The sooner that is admitted, the sooner we can stop these nonsensical traditions of men that say you can only obey YHVH if you identify yourself with a certain one of the twelve tribes, namely Judah, Reply

Mark SLO, CA August 4, 2011

Torah law for Gentiles Brian, what did you mean, we are not to be Judaizers? Reply

Brian D. Schuh Norwood, OH August 3, 2011

Torah law for Gentiles Meira, I did not mean the word "peculiar" in the sense you took it. I apologize for the misunderstanding. Maybe the word "particular" to Israel would have been better. Of course Israel deserves a homeland. Israel should not only keep all their land but should expand it to include the entire area promised to Abraham.

Mark, for a Gentile to become religiously circumcized (not just a medical circumcision) requires a full conversion to Judaism. If no rabbi accepts a Gentiles conversion and no rabbi agrees to circumcise him, then he is forbidden to eat the Passover meal.

I agree Mark, that a student like myself should constantly study to double-check my teachers. There is no argument here. Many Noahides after keeping the seven laws for a while, continue on to keep all the 613 laws and become Jews in every sense of the word. However, it should be made clear to them before becoming circumcised that they are not required to become Jewish. We are not to be Judaizers

G-d bless Reply

Mark San Luis Obispo, CA August 2, 2011

Gentiles and Torah Brian, a gentile who desires to keep Pesakh can be circumcised, thus invalidating that portion of your argument. Everything else you assert is taken from man’s authority, not the Torah. Even “converting to Judaism” is not a command from the Torah, if I am wrong please show me where. We are only to walk is his way, or ha derekh, which if we do, we have life (Deut 5:33). It is very difficult for any of us to go against what we have been taught, but it makes sense to keep examining the Torah carefully – as the first authority -- to see if what we have been taught lines up. Reply

Meira Shana Vista, CA August 1, 2011

keeping Torah for a Noahide (Brian) Brian wrote: But Judaism is not a universal faith but rather a national one peculiar to Israel.

* * * *
What you wrote is not sitting right for me.

G-d chose ALL, all chose not to listen.

Those who listened became known as Jews.

There are approximately 6,535,000,000 people now on the planet Earth of which approximately 13,000,000 are Jews.

I delete the zeros because few people comprehend such numbers.

6,522 non-Jews
13 Jews

I am grateful to those before me and now who keep Judaism going in the face of annihilation for thousands of years.

If 6,522 people have the entire planet, is it still not ok for 13 Jews to have Israel -- in Peace?

I don't find it "peculiar" ... please enjoy learning about Judaism - I wish more non-Jews would since it's the religion they continue to follow up to a point -- but please don't convert if you consider Judaism peculiar. Reply

Brian D. Schuh Norwood, OH July 31, 2011

the Torah The whole world is not required to obey all of the Torah. If you haven't noticed, most of the world is not Jewish. Even Moshe said that the uncircumcized are not to eat of the Passover meal. Gentiles are not permitted to wear tzit-tzit as that would identify them as Jewish. Dr. Aaron Lichenstein said a Gentile is only required to keep 66 of the mitzvot to merit a place in the World to Come. No, a Gentile is not to keep all of the Torah, and I shall teach that to any Gentile who questions me. However, every Gentile has the opportunity to convert to Judaism and then to keep the whole Torah. If you are Jewish, and you are spouting these remarks about Noahides and what they are required to do, consider that my opinion represents the Orthodox opinion and I am to be considered an expert in Noahide law. I have no fear of teaching Genitles in what is required of them.

Shalom Reply

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