Magic Truffles VS Magic Mushrooms: Who Will Win?

At Zamnesia, Sclerotia (also known as magic truffles) and grow-your-own mushroom kits are among the most popular of products.

Their effects are powerful, giving the consumer fantastical insight and experiences. But if you had to choose one or the other, just one, which would it be? In a battle royale, Sclerotia in the Red Corner, Magic Mushroom in the Blue... When all the blows have been dealt and the hits have been taken, when pros and cons are all out on the table, which psilocybin-holding contender will reign victorious? We try to find out once and for all! Magic Truffles versus Magic Mushrooms, may the best fungus win!

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRUFFLES AND MAGIC MUSHROOMS?

Surely the first question you must be asking is - what is the difference between truffles and magic mushrooms? The truth is that there is not much of a difference, in practical terms. Some may argue that the main difference is in the taste, where truffles are generally more sour and difficult to chew.

In fact, calling truffles “truffles” is a bit of a misnomer. For the sake of clarity, magic truffles are not real “truffles” but are, in fact, sclerotia.

The true, gourmet kitchen truffles are the fruiting body of the Ascomycete fungus, part of an entirely different, non-psychoactive genus called Tuber.

Sclerotia are the fruiting body from the mycelium of Psilocybe mexicana, but instead of growing above ground, it grows underground. This is a defense mechanism in fungi when it feels environmentally pressured to defend itself from the lack of oxygen, water, and nutrients available.

Mexicana Magic Truffles

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The moisture content in sclerotia is very low, anywhere from 5 to 10%, making it particularly competent during continuous and extended drought periods. That is why magic truffles have a hard feel to them while mushrooms tend to be more “chewy-gooey” and soft.

If a psilocybe fungus decides conditions are not ideal for growing and propagating, it will grow inwards. In a way, it creates a little underground self-defense bunker in hopes for a better tomorrow.

Another difference is in potency. A flush of magic mushrooms of the same strain will grow at slightly different rates. Some mushrooms will be tall and chunky, others remain short and stumpy. While they grow, the psychedelic concentration of psilocybin, psilocin, baeocystin, and norbaeocystin will vary considerably and maximum content will appear at the end of the grow cycle. Therefore, each magic mushroom batch is somewhat inconsistent regarding potency of individual mushrooms.

Magic truffles, on the other hand, are far more consistent. This makes for a more predictable dosing experience. Other than the taste, growth characteristics, and potency predictability, there is not much of a difference between the two.

IN WHAT WAY ARE THEY SIMILAR?

When considering which are more potent—magic truffles or magic mushrooms—there a few things to take into consideration. Mainly, we need to know whether we are talking about fresh or dried truffles/mushrooms. 

Truffles contain nowhere near as much water content as mushrooms when fresh, and so, gram for gram, fresh truffles contain a higher concentration of psilocybin compared to fresh mushrooms. However, mushrooms lose up to 90% of their water when dehydrated, which means they lose 90% of their weight. Truffles, on the other hand, lose significantly less—only around 30%. Therefore, if you’re comparing the dried specimens, dried mushrooms will have a higher concentration of psilocybin compared to dried truffles.

To put it in perspective, for a mild magic mushroom trip using fresh mushrooms, you would take around 10 grams. Dried, this would be around 1 gram. But for the same experience with truffles, you'd take around 10 grams of fresh truffles, or 7 grams dried. So you can see that psilocybin is much more concentrated in dried mushrooms.

Magic truffles and magic mushrooms contain the exact same psychoactive ingredients; the onset time is the same and so is the duration.

IF THEY ARE THE SAME, WHICH ONE SHOULD I CHOOSE?

There are a few advantages and disadvantages, depending on your lifestyle.

Magic truffles can be easily found online and may come dry or fresh. They are ready to consume - just pop open the package and you are ready to go. As mentioned before, dosing is much more efficient, so a scale will be quite useful in making your psychonautical adventures less disappointing or inadvertently overwhelming.

Magic Mushrooms, on the other hand, are not sold online. You can find spores or ready-to-grow kits, but you will need to grow them yourself. Some find cultivation very appealing; not only as a learning and fun experience, but theoretically as a way to get the most bang for their buck. Mushroom growing with a ready-to-grow kit is fairly easy. You just need to add water and make sure the temperature and lighting conditions are appropriate. The hardest part is waiting for the mushrooms to pop out.

You cannot order “grower’s pride” online – there is a mystical component to picking your homegrown produce. While you cannot store fresh magic mushrooms for long, they are very easy to dry for long-term storage. The majority finds eating magic mushrooms to be much easier than magic truffles, especially in higher doses. The taste is milder and they are easier to chew.

Proof of this is found in the existence of the truffle grinder. Similar to weed grinders, their sole purpose is to break down the magic truffle into much smaller bits for easier consumption.

Magic Truffle Grinder

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HOP ONTO THE MYSTICAL TRAIN

By now, you should have a better understanding of what the differences between these two psychedelic substances are. There is nothing earth-shatteringly unique between the two options. The main variable, aside from strain, is you.

Some love to watch things grow, others just want to get on with things. Some people take dosing very seriously, fasting for hours before ingesting, meticulously calculating body-weight ratios and studying several threshold levels. Some go the extra mile and do a full detox before a hero-dose roller-coaster. Others may be weekend partygoers who dose as the evening flows and the colours glow. Some prefer informally sporadic holiday trips – pun intended.

Maybe a last minute something came up, and there is no other option but ready-to-eat truffles. Maybe a group of you pitched in to buy a couple of magic mushroom grow-kits as a project for some special mystical gathering.One thing is for sure. Psilocybin is a wonderful teacher. It will explain things you already knew but thought you didn’t. It will unearth buried secrets in yourself and permit you to tap into invisible energy fields surrounding you. It has the power to cleanse your soul and fight your demons. They will grant you a direct line of communication with your higher self.

So the real question is not so much which of the two to try, but how well prepared are you to receive their wonderful insights?

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Steven Voser

Steven Voser is an independent cannabis journalist with over 6 years of experience writing about all things weed; how to grow it, how best to enjoy it, and the booming industry and murky legal landscape surrounding it.

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