Edible mushrooms have their own specific smell and taste, which distinguishes them from conditionally edible and poisonous counterparts. Some mushrooms are considered delicacies, have a refined flavor, and also have a high unit cost.
How are edible mushrooms different? What can characterize them?
Many mushrooms are very useful and nutritious. Edible mushrooms are called "forest meat" because they contain protein. In addition, in addition to protein, mushrooms also contain free amino acids that have a healing effect on the body. The composition contains carbohydrates, which are represented by mycosis and glycogen. Glycogen is an animal starch that the human body needs. In addition to the above components, the composition of mushrooms also includes:
Also, some species contain vitamins of group D.
The composition of these forest dwellers is also dominated by special enzymes that accelerate the breakdown of fats and proteins, so mushrooms are necessarily part of the diet.
Edible mushrooms are divided into several types. Most of them belong to the so-called macromycetes, these are fleshy mushrooms on a leg. Remember only champignon, porcini mushroom.
However, there are also known pathogens that are also edible.
The main difference between edible mushrooms and conditionally edible and poisonous mushrooms is that they cannot harm the body. These mushrooms do not contain toxic substances that can adversely affect human health. And the time of heat treatment of such forest dwellers before eating is much less than in the case of inedible or poisonous mushrooms.
Edible mushrooms are also divided into types, depending on their shape. They are:
If you are going on a so-called silent hunt, you need to have an idea of how to distinguish edible mushrooms from others. In fact, there is nothing difficult in this.
It is enough to cut the mushrooms, which have a fleshy hat, as well as a thin leg. Most often, edible mushrooms have a soft color, and a more brown, beige and gray pigment.
Edible mushrooms have a pleasant smell, similar to champignon.
Once at home, do not be lazy and before proceeding with the heat treatment of your prey, be sure to look on the Internet and compare what exactly you brought home. The fact is that in the process of evolution, many poisonous mushrooms have learned to outwardly adapt to non-poisonous ones.
This can be very dangerous.
More than 130 species of edible mushrooms grow on the territory of the central strip of Russia. And many of them are presented in abundance. Therefore, finding them is not difficult. Edible mushrooms love shady places, so they prefer pine, deciduous and mixed forests. Grow where moss, fertile soil and moisture prevail.
They grow both singly and in large clusters.
When cutting the mushroom, be sure to use a sharp knife so as not to damage the mycelium. Then next year you can return to this place and find a new placer of edible mushrooms.
The forest areas of Russia are very rich in mushrooms, and residents do not miss the opportunity to take advantage of this gift of nature. Traditionally, they are fried, pickled or dried. But the danger lies in the fact that many poisonous species are skillfully disguised as edible mushrooms. That is why it is important to know the characteristic features of the varieties allowed for consumption.
Mushrooms are not only tasty, but also very healthy food. They contain substances such as salts, glycogen, carbohydrates, as well as vitamins of groups A, B, C, D. If the mushrooms are young, then they also contain many trace elements: calcium, zinc, iron, iodine. Their intake has a positive effect on the metabolic processes of the body, increased appetite, the functioning of the nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract.
In fact, there are no exact criteria by which one can distinguish safe mushrooms from poisonous ones. Only existing knowledge about the appearance, signs and names of each species can help in this matter.
General criteria for edible mushrooms include:
But all these signs are only averaged, and there may be exceptions. For example, one of the most poisonous representatives of the white grebe also does not have a pungent odor at all and its flesh is light.
Another important point in this matter is the territory of growth. Usually edible species grow away from their dangerous counterparts. Therefore, a proven harvesting site can significantly reduce the risk of running into poisonous mushrooms.
Among the people, there are many signs and non-standard ways to determine the safety of mushrooms. Here are the most common misconceptions:
And another common myth says that all young mushrooms are edible. But this is not true either. Many species are dangerous at any age.
In order to indicate the names of all edible mushrooms and give them descriptions, you will need a whole book, since there are so many varieties of them. But most often people opt for the most famous, already trusted species, leaving dubious representatives to professional mushroom pickers.
It is also known as "boletus". This mushroom has earned popularity due to its nutritional value and aromatic taste. It is suitable for any type of processing: frying, boiling, drying, salting.
White fungus is characterized by a thick light stem and a large tubular cap, whose diameter can reach 20 cm. Most often it has a brown, brown or red color. At the same time, it is completely heterogeneous: the edge is usually lighter than the center. The lower part of the cap changes color from white to yellow-green with age. On the leg you can see the mesh pattern.
The internal pulp of a dense consistence and its taste reminds a nut. When cut, its color does not change.
Very high calorie and nutritious. Great for marinating and pickling. You can use other types of processing, but it is better not to dry it. It is characterized by a high degree of digestibility.
The main feature of mushrooms is their bright orange color. Moreover, the color is characteristic of all parts of the fungus: the leg, the hat and even the pulp. The cap is lamellar and has a recess in the center. The color is not uniform: the redhead is diluted with dark gray spots. Plates are frequent. If you cut the mushroom, the flesh changes color to green or brown.
A common species, which, as the name suggests, prefers to grow next to a cluster of birches. Ideal fried or boiled.
The boletus has a cylindrical light leg covered with dark scales. It is quite fibrous to the touch. Inside light pulp of a dense consistence. It may turn slightly pink when cut. The hat is small, similar to a pillow of gray or brown-brown color. At the bottom are white tubes.
A beloved nutritious mushroom that grows in temperate zones.
It is not difficult to recognize it: a plump leg expands to the bottom and is covered with many small scales. The cap is hemispherical, but over time becomes flatter. It can be red-brown or white-brown in color. The lower tubes are close to a dirty gray tint. When cut, the inner pulp changes color. It can turn blue, black purple or red.
Small mushrooms that most often go for pickling. They grow in the northern hemisphere.
Their cap is usually smooth and in rare cases fibrous. From above, it is covered with a mucous film, so it may seem sticky to the touch. The stem is also predominantly smooth, sometimes with a ring.
This type necessarily requires pre-cleaning before cooking, but the skin is usually easily removed.
One of the earliest spring representatives of mushrooms. Grow in whole families.
The hat is not standard. Initially, it is flat, but over time it takes on the shape of a funnel with a depression in the center. All parts of the mushroom are colored light orange. The white flesh is dense in texture, pleasant to the taste, but not at all nutritious.
A delicious mushroom that can be found in temperate latitudes. Its most common types are:
Suitable for all types of cooking and processing.
Fairly large mushrooms growing in Siberia, the Far East and the European part of the Russian Federation.
Hats can have different colors: yellow, red, green and even blue. It is believed that it is best to eat representatives with the least amount of red pigment. The hat itself is rounded with a small indentation in the center. The plates are usually white, yellow or beige. The skin on the hat can be easily removed or come off only along the edge. The leg is not high, mostly white.
Popular edible mushrooms growing in large groups. They prefer to grow on tree trunks and stumps.
Their hats are usually not large, their diameter reaches 13 cm. They can be yellow, gray-yellow, beige-brown in color. The shape is most often flat, but in some species they are spherical. The leg is elastic, cylindrical, sometimes has a ring.
This species prefers coniferous and deciduous forests.
The body of the fungus is white or gray-white in color, sometimes covered with small needles. It can reach a height of 10 cm. The inner pulp is initially white, but begins to darken over time. It has a pronounced pleasant aroma. If the pulp of the fungus has already darkened, then you should not eat it.
It has a fleshy convex hat with a smooth surface. The inner pulp is denser with a pronounced smell. The leg is cylindrical in shape, expanding towards the bottom. In height, it reaches 8 cm. The color of the mushroom, depending on the species, can be purple, brown, gray-brown, ashy and sometimes purple.
You can recognize it by its cushion-shaped hat of brown or brown color. The surface is slightly rough to the touch. The lower tubes have a yellow tint, which turns blue when pressed. The same thing happens with the pulp. The leg is cylindrical inhomogeneous in color: darker above, lighter below.
A tubular edible mushroom that grows in sparse forests.
The hat is quite large, grows up to 20 cm in diameter. In structure and shape, it is fleshy and hemispherical. The color is usually dark brown or yellow. The inner flesh is lemon-colored, but turns blue when cut. The high leg is thick, cylindrical, yellow. Towards the bottom it usually has a darker color.
It is characterized by a funnel-shaped hat, up to 23 cm in diameter. The color, depending on the species, can be light, closer to white, and gray. The surface is slightly matte to the touch, the edges are very thin. The bright legs of oyster mushrooms are very short, rarely reaching 2.5 cm. The flesh is fleshy, light, with a pleasant aroma. The plates are wide, their color can vary from white to gray.
Very popular edible mushrooms due to their pleasant taste and high nutritional value. Their description and characteristics are familiar not only to mushroom pickers.
These mushrooms are familiar to everyone for their white color with a slight grayish tint. The cap is spherical with a bent down edge. The leg is not high, dense in structure.
Most often used for cooking, but for salting they are used extremely rarely.
The edibility of mushrooms in the forest can be conditional. This means that such species can only be eaten after a certain type of processing. Otherwise, they can harm human health.
Processing involves a thermal process. But if some species need to be boiled several times, then for others, soaking in water and roasting is enough.
Such representatives of conditionally edible mushrooms include: real mushroom, green row, purple cobweb, winter mushroom, common flake.
To collect edible mushrooms, it is not necessary to wait until the end of summer. Many appetizing species have inhabited the forest since June, and especially the early ones - already from spring. Knowing the species of some edible mushrooms will help distinguish them from dangerous ones.
Mushrooms that appear before everyone else, when properly prepared, are no less tasty than those picked in summer and autumn. The main thing is to distinguish them from poisonous species, which also grow immediately after the snow melts.
They appear in areas well warmed by the rays of the sun. Their hat is dotted with folds and indentations, giving the morel a wrinkled appearance. The mushroom has several common varieties, so the shape of the cap may vary.: be pear-shaped, elongated, conical.
Scientific name - thyroid rosacea. It has brown legs and a hat. The diameter of the latter is from 1 to 10 cm. The white pulp, which tastes good, is traditionally used in canning. Grows in gardens and wild groves with apricot.
Subpricot
They grow in limbo on stumps, attaching to them with a thin leg. The color of the hat, often growing up to 30 cm in diameter, varies from snow-white to brown. Oyster mushrooms usually form whole flocks, which makes them easier to collect.
These are thin agaric mushrooms, appearing in May in glades and forest edges in the form of "witch's rings". The diameter of the chestnut hat is quite small: less than 4 cm.
Meadow mushrooms
These valuable forest dwellers appear in mid-May in warm climate regions, choosing well-lit open spaces. The globular hat is painted white, and the leg may have beige shades. It is widely used in cooking, including for the preparation of gourmet dishes.
They appear everywhere at the end of May. This is a hat mushroom that loves the sun. Boletus usually grows in "families" around trees. Their hemispherical cap can be either white or dark brown, depending on the age of the find. It is important to distinguish between boletus and gall fungus: the latter has a burning taste with bitterness and a pink layer of spores, while in boletus spores the spores are gray.
boletus
Appear simultaneously with boletus, but prefer pine forests. A distinctive feature of the butter dish is a brown cap covered with a sticky film.
In summer, spring mushrooms also grow, to which new ones join. Avid lovers of quiet hunting go to the forest from June itself, and in August, which is the peak of fruiting, everyone else joins them.
The first place in the list of summer species is, of course, white. This is a very valuable species, because it has not only excellent taste, but also healing properties: it contains substances that kill bacteria.
The appearance of "white" is difficult to confuse with others: a fleshy hat, dyed in warm shades of brown, pink or even white, is attached to a plump leg. The pulp has a pleasant taste and aroma.
For its positive properties, it is called the "king of mushrooms." You can find "white" in forests with birches and pines, in open areas. But the fungus itself prefers to stay in the shade, hiding under fallen trees or thick grass.
Porcini
Grows in forests that have oaks or pines. At first glance, the flywheel resembles a butter dish, but the surface of its brown or olive cap is dry and has a velvety texture. Their diameter does not exceed 10 cm, but in a favorable environment, this figure can become larger.
It is a small and very fragile mushroom that grows in large numbers everywhere. The color of the hats is the most diverse: yellow, pink, purple, white. White flesh, easily broken when pressed, sweet in taste. Russula grow until late autumn mainly in the lowlands of any forest, and are undemanding to the soil. Despite the name, russula is better to cook: fry in breadcrumbs, boil, add to soup and potatoes, or pickle for the winter.
Russula
They grow in large "families" in well-moistened areas of mixed and coniferous forests. This agaric does not exceed 10 cm in diameter. His hat in a young bitter is almost flat, with time it turns into a funnel-shaped one. Both the leg and the skin are brick-colored. The pulp, like that of russula, is fragile; when damaged, white juice may appear from it.
These are mushrooms loved by many, making an excellent duet with potatoes when frying. They appear in June among moss in birch or pine forests.
Chanterelles grow in a dense carpet or bright yellow (for which they got their name). The funnel-shaped hat has a wavy edging. A nice feature of the fungus is that it is almost always untouched by worms.
The beginning of September can be called the most productive time for picking mushrooms, when a wide variety of species grow in the forest: from boletus that appeared in May to autumn mushrooms.
Perhaps the most beloved inhabitants of the mushroom kingdom that appear in the fall are honey agarics (they are also called honey agarics). Some varieties begin to grow as early as late summer.
Honey mushrooms never grow alone: they "attack" stumps, logs and even healthy trees in whole colonies. One family can have up to 100 pieces. Therefore, collecting them is easy and fast.
Honey mushrooms are brown and red hat mushrooms.. The diameter of the brown hat, darkening towards the middle, is from 2 to 10 cm. These are mushrooms that smell and taste good, therefore they are used for cooking in almost any form. Especially tasty are miniature young mushrooms with legs, marinated in spicy brine.
A large family whose representatives grow in orderly rows in pine or mixed forests. Can sometimes form ring-shaped colonies . They have many species, most of which are edible. But there are also poisonous rows.
These are medium-sized mushrooms (average diameter is 5-13 cm), the caps of which are painted in various colors. Their shape changes over time: old specimens are usually almost flat, with a knob in the middle; young ones can be cone-shaped.
It is an edible species often confused with grebes. Its cap is usually covered with mucus, but may be dry. There are different types of mokruha, for example, spruce and pink.
The task of a lover of quiet hunting is not only to find mushrooms, but also to distinguish edible from inedible and even poisonous ones. Knowledge and practical experience help in this. The easiest way to avoid mistakes is to know the characteristics of the species. But there are still general rules to determine how safe the mushroom is for health.
They have the following properties:
There are general rules to determine how safe a mushroom is for health.
If there is any doubt about the suitability for eating the find, then it is better to leave it when the mushroom:
The variety of species does not allow us to derive an axiom of how to determine by appearance whether a mushroom is dangerous or not. They successfully disguise themselves as each other and almost do not differ. Therefore, the main rule of all mushroom pickers says: "If you're not sure - don't take it."
The main rule of all mushroom pickers is: If you're not sure, don't take it.
Poisonous mushrooms of small size usually appear first from the ground. They are thin, fragile and unremarkable; grow literally everywhere: in forests, parks and lawns along with the first grass.
The very first edible morels will appear a little later, from about mid-April in the middle lane.
Mushrooms are widely used in cooking. Their taste and smell are determined by extractive and aromatic substances. The product is used mainly after heat treatment: as an addition to vegetable and meat dishes, salads and snacks. Dried caps and legs are added to soups to give them a characteristic flavor and aroma. Another common cooking method is canning, in which spicy spices and plants are added.
What is the most important thing for a mushroom picker who goes to the forest for a "quiet hunt"? No, not a basket at all (although it will also be needed), but knowledge, especially regarding which mushrooms are poisonous and which can be safely put in a basket. Without them, a trip for a forest delicacy can smoothly turn into an urgent trip to the hospital. In some cases, it will turn into the last walk in life. To avoid disastrous consequences, we bring to your attention a brief information about dangerous mushrooms, which cannot be cut in any case. Take a closer look at the photos and remember forever how they look. So let's start.
Among the poisonous mushrooms, the pale grebe occupies the first place in terms of toxicity and the frequency of fatal poisoning. Its poison is resistant to heat treatment, moreover, it has belated symptoms. After tasting mushrooms, the first day you can feel like a completely healthy person, but this effect is deceptive. While precious time is running out to save lives, toxins are already doing their dirty work, destroying the liver and kidneys. From the second day, the symptoms of poisoning are manifested by headache and muscle pain, vomiting, but time has passed. In most cases, death occurs.
Even just for a moment touching the edible mushrooms in the basket, the poison of the toadstool is instantly absorbed into their hats and legs and turns the harmless gifts of nature into a deadly weapon.
The toadstool grows in deciduous forests and in appearance (at a young age) slightly resembles champignons or greenfinches, depending on the color of the cap. The cap can be flat with a slight bulge or egg-shaped, with smooth edges and ingrown fibers. The color varies from white to greenish-olive, the plates under the hat are also white. The elongated stem at the base expands and is "shackled" in the remains of a film-bag, which hid a young mushroom under it, and has a white ring on top.
In a toadstool, when broken, the white flesh does not darken and retains its color.
Even children know about the dangerous properties of fly agaric. In all fairy tales, it is described as a deadly ingredient for making a poisonous potion. Everything is so simple: the red-headed mushroom with white spots, as everyone saw it in the illustrations in books, is not at all a single specimen. In addition to it, there are other varieties of fly agaric that differ from each other. Some of them are very edible. For example, Caesar mushroom, egg-shaped and blushing fly agaric. Of course, most species are still inedible. And some are life-threatening and it is strictly forbidden to include them in the diet.
The name "fly agaric" is made up of two words: "flies" and "pestilence", that is, death. And without explanation, it is clear that the mushroom kills flies, namely its juice, which is released from the hat after sprinkling it with sugar.
Deadly poisonous species of fly agaric, which pose the greatest danger to humans, include:
The poisonous mushroom got its name for its peculiar structure: often its cap, the surface of which is covered with silky fibers, is also decorated with longitudinal cracks, and the edges are torn. In the literature, the fungus is better known as fiber and has a modest size. The height of the stem is slightly more than 1 cm, and the diameter of the hat with a protruding tubercle in the center is a maximum of 8 cm, but this does not prevent it from remaining one of the most dangerous.
The concentration of muscarine in the pulp of the fiber exceeds the red fly agaric, while the effect is noticeable after half an hour, and during the day all the symptoms of poisoning with this toxin disappear.
This is exactly the case when the title corresponds to the content. It was not for nothing that the people dubbed the mushroom a false valui or a horseradish mushroom with such an indecent word - not only is it poisonous, but also the flesh is bitter, and the smell is simply disgusting and not at all mushroomy. But on the other hand, it is precisely thanks to its “aroma” that it will no longer be possible to ingratiate a mushroom picker under the guise of a russula, to which the valui is very similar.
The scientific name of the fungus sounds like "glutinous hebeloma."
False valui grows everywhere, but most often it can be seen at the end of summer on the bright edges of coniferous and deciduous forests, under oak, birch or aspen. The cap of a young mushroom is creamy white, convex, with the edges tucked down. With age, its center bends inward and darkens to a yellow-brown color, while the edges remain light. The skin on the hat is beautiful and smooth, but sticky. The bottom of the cap consists of adherent plates of gray-white color in young valued, and dirty yellow in old specimens. The dense bitter pulp also has a corresponding color. The leg of the false valuation is quite high, about 9 cm. It is wide at the base, then narrows upwards, covered with a white coating similar to flour.
A characteristic feature of the "horseradish fungus" is the presence of black blotches on the plates.
Everyone knows that they grow on stumps in friendly flocks, but there is such a “relative” among them, which outwardly practically does not differ from delicious mushrooms, but causes severe poisoning. This is a false sulphur-yellow honey agaric. Poisonous twins live in groups on the remains of tree species almost everywhere, both in forests and in clearings between fields.
Mushrooms have small caps (maximum 7 cm in diameter) of a gray-yellow color, with a darker, reddish center. The flesh is light, bitter and smells bad. The plates under the cap are firmly attached to the stem; they are dark in the old mushroom. The light leg is long, up to 10 cm, and even, consists of fibers.
You can distinguish between “good” and “bad” honey mushrooms by the following features:
The massive leg and dense pulp of the satanic mushroom make it look like, but eating such a handsome man is fraught with severe poisoning. Satanic pain, as this species is also called, tastes pretty good: neither you smell nor the bitterness characteristic of poisonous mushrooms.
Some scientists even classify the bolete as a conditionally edible mushroom if it is subjected to prolonged soaking and prolonged heat treatment. But no one can say exactly how many toxins boiled mushrooms of this species contain, so it’s better not to risk your health.
Outwardly, the satanic mushroom is quite beautiful: a dirty white hat is fleshy, with a spongy yellow bottom, which turns red over time. The shape of the leg is similar to a real edible mushroom, the same massive, in the form of a barrel. Under the cap, the stem becomes thinner and turns yellow, the rest is orange-red. The flesh is very dense, white, pinkish only at the very base of the stem. Young mushrooms smell pleasant, but old specimens emit a disgusting smell of spoiled vegetables.
You can distinguish satanic pain from edible mushrooms by cutting the pulp: upon contact with air, it first acquires a red tint, and then turns blue.
Disputes about the edibility of pigs were stopped in the early 90s, when all types of these mushrooms were officially recognized as dangerous to human life and health. Some mushroom pickers to this day continue to collect them for food, but in no case should this be done, since pig toxins can accumulate in the body and symptoms of poisoning do not appear immediately.
Outwardly, poisonous mushrooms look like milk mushrooms: they are small, with squat legs and a fleshy round cap of a dirty yellow or gray-brown color. The center of the hat is deeply concave inward, the edges are wavy. The fruiting body is yellowish in section, but quickly darkens from the air. Pigs grow in groups in forests and plantings, they especially love wind-blown trees, located among their rhizomes.
There are more than 30 varieties of pig's ear, as mushrooms are also called. All of them contain lectins and can cause poisoning, but the thin pig is recognized as the most dangerous. The cap of a young poisonous mushroom is smooth, dirty olive, becoming rusty over time. The short leg has the shape of a cylinder. When the mushroom body is broken, a clear smell of rotting wood is heard.
No less dangerous are such pigs:
Along the roads and roadsides, slender mushrooms grow in abundance on tall, thin stems with flat, wide-open hats resembling an umbrella. They are called umbrellas. The hat, in fact, as the mushroom grows, opens and becomes wider. Most varieties of umbrella mushrooms are edible and very tasty, but there are also poisonous specimens among them.
The most dangerous and common poisonous mushrooms are such umbrellas:
Row mushrooms have many varieties. There are among them both edible and very tasty mushrooms, as well as frankly tasteless and inedible species. And there are also very dangerous poisonous rows. Some of them resemble their "harmless" relatives, which easily mislead inexperienced mushroom pickers. Before heading into the forest, you should look for a person as your partner. He must know all the intricacies of the mushroom business and be able to distinguish “bad” rows from “good” rows.
The second name of rows is talkers.
Among the poisonous talkers, one of the most dangerous, capable of causing death, are the following rows:
Most scientists classify the gall fungus as inedible, since even forest insects do not dare to taste its bitter flesh. However, another group of researchers is convinced of the toxicity of this fungus. In the case of eating dense pulp, death does not occur. But the toxins contained in it in large quantities cause tremendous harm to internal organs, in particular the liver.
In the people for a peculiar taste, the mushroom is called mustard.
The dimensions of the poisonous mushroom are not small: the diameter of the brown-orange cap reaches 10 cm, and the creamy-red leg is very thick, with a darker grid pattern in the upper part.
The gall fungus is similar to white, but, unlike the latter, it always turns pink when broken.
In the swampy areas of the forest, in the thickets of moss, you can find small mushrooms on a long thin stem - the marsh galerina. A fragile light yellow leg with a white ring at the top is easy to knock down even with a thin twig. Moreover, the mushroom is poisonous and it is still impossible to eat it. The dark yellow hat of the gallery is also fragile and watery. At a young age, it looks like a bell, but then straightens, leaving only a sharp bulge in the center.
This is not a complete list of poisonous mushrooms, in addition, there are still a lot of false species that are easy to confuse with edible ones. If you are not sure which mushroom is under your feet - please pass by. It is better to make an extra circle through the forest or return home with an empty purse than to suffer from severe poisoning later. Be careful, take care of your health and the health of your loved ones!
Everyone who does not understand mushrooms is limited to buying them in a supermarket. After all, champignons and oyster mushrooms grown under artificial sun inspire more confidence than unknown natural gifts. But true mushroom pickers will not be able to be satisfied with the taste of fruits that do not smell of needles and are not washed with morning dew. Yes, and it is very difficult to deny yourself forest walks on a clear day off. Therefore, let's take a closer look at the external signs of popular edible mushrooms in our region.
All the biological and ecological diversity of mushrooms on a planetary scale is simply impossible to cover. This is one of the largest specific groups of living organisms, which has become an integral part of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Modern scientists know many types of the mushroom kingdom, but today there is no exact figure in any scientific source. In different literature, the species number of mushrooms varies from 100 thousand to 1.5 million. It is characteristic that each species is divided into classes, orders, and also has thousands of generic names and synonyms. Therefore, it is easy to get lost here just like in the forest.
Did you know? The most unusual mushroom in the world is considered by contemporaries to be Plasmodium, which grows in central Russia. This creation of nature can walk. True, it moves at a speed of 1 meter in a few days..
Edible mushrooms are considered to be those specimens that are allowed for consumption and do not carry any risks to human health. They differ from poisonous forest fruits in the structure of the hymenophore, the color and shape of the fruiting body, as well as in smell and taste. Their peculiarity lies in high gastronomic properties. After all, it is not in vain that among mushroom pickers there are parallel names for mushrooms - “vegetable meat” and “forest protein”. It is scientifically proven that such gifts of nature are rich in:
Did you know? Of the entire mushroom kingdom, the rarest specimen is considered to be the mushroom Chorioactis geaster, which means "devil's cigar" in translation. It is found in isolated cases only in the central zones of Texas and on some islands of Japan. A unique feature of this natural wonder is the specific whistle that is heard when the fungus releases spores..
According to the nutritional characteristics of mushrooms, Soviet scientists divided the edible group into 4 varieties:
Of the variety of edible mushrooms known to mankind, there are only a few thousand. At the same time, the lion's share of them went to representatives of fleshy micromycetes. Consider the most popular types.
Did you know? Real mushroom giants were found by Americans in 1985 in the states of Wisconsin and Oregon. The first find struck with its 140-kilogram weight, and the second - with the area of the mycelium, which occupied about a thousand hectares..
In botanical literature, this forest trophy is designated as or ( Boletus edulis). In everyday life, it is called truthful, dubrovnik, shirak and belas. The variety belongs to the genus Boletov and is considered the best of all known edible mushrooms. In Ukraine, it is not uncommon and occurs from early summer to mid-autumn in deciduous and coniferous forests. Often mushrooms can be found under birches, oaks, hornbeams, hazels, fir trees and pines.
Important! Mushrooms are often confused with mustards. These are inedible mushrooms that are distinguished by pinkish spores, a black mesh on the stem, and bitter flesh.
These trophies are considered conditionally edible. They are used as food only by residents of the northern regions of the globe, and Europeans do not recognize them as food. Botanists call these mushrooms Lactarius torminósus, and mushroom pickers call them volnyanka, decoctions and rubella. They represent the Russula family of the Milky genus, are pink and white.
Pink waves are characterized by:Important! Mushroom pickers should pay attention to the fact that volatility is characteristic of volushki, which depends on their age. For example, caps can change their color from yellow-orange to light green, and plates - from pinkish to yellow.
White waves are different:Important! Edible volnushki are easily distinguished from other lactic mushrooms by the hairiness on the hat.
But in the latter version, the flesh becomes brown, which does not look aesthetically pleasing. Undercooked specimens are toxic, can cause digestive disorders and irritation of the mucous membranes. In salted form, they are allowed to be consumed no earlier than one hour after salting.
The species also represents the Syroezhkov family of the Mlechnikov genus. In scientific sources, the mushroom is designated Lactarius résimus, and in everyday life it is called real.
Externally, this mushroom is characterized by:
Important! Milk mushrooms are characterized by variability: old mushrooms become hollow inside, their plates turn yellow, and brown spotting may appear on the hat.
This bright mushroom with a peculiar shape is found on the postage stamps of Romania, Moldova, Belarus. The real chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius) is a member of the Cantarell family.
Many people recognize her by:
Important! Real chanterelles are often confused with their counterparts. Therefore, when harvesting, special attention should be paid to the color of the trophy pulp. In pseudochanterelles, it is yellow-orange or pale pink.
At the same time, keep in mind that this variety is not on the forest edges. In cooking, it is customary to use chanterelles in fresh, pickled, salted and dried forms. They have a specific aroma and taste. Experts note that this variety exceeds all mushrooms known to mankind in terms of the composition of carotene, but is not recommended in large quantities, since it is difficult to digest in the body.
In the scientific literature, oyster mushrooms are simultaneously called oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatu) and belong to predatory varieties. The fact is that their spores are able to paralyze and digest nematodes living in the soil. Thus, the body compensates for its need for nitrogen. In addition, the variety is considered wood-destroying, as it grows in groups on the stumps and trunks of weakened living plants, as well as on dead wood. You can find most often on oaks, birches, mountain ash, willows, aspens. As a rule, these are dense bunches of 30 or more pieces, which coalesce at the base and form multi-tiered outgrowths. It is easy to recognize oyster mushrooms by the following characteristics:
Did you know? Ukrainian mycelium from Volyn - Nina Danilyuk - in 2000 managed to find a giant mushroom that did not fit in a bucket and weighed about 3 kg. Its leg reached 40 cm, and the cap circumference - 94 cm.
Due to the fact that old oyster mushrooms are characterized by rigidity, only young mushrooms are suitable for food, the caps of which do not exceed 10 cm in diameter. In this case, the legs are removed on all trophies. The oyster mushroom hunting season begins in September and, under favorable weather conditions, lasts until the New Year. This variety in our latitudes cannot be confused with anything, but for Australians there is a risk of putting poisonous omphalotus in the basket.
This is the popular name for a certain group of fungi that grow on living or dead wood. They belong to different families and genera, and also differ in preferences for habitat conditions. For food purposes, autumn mushrooms are most often used. ( Armillaria mellea), which represent the Physalacrian family. According to various estimates of scientists, they are classified as conditionally edible or generally inedible. For example, honey mushrooms are not in demand among Western gourmets and are considered a low-value product. And in Eastern Europe - this is one of the favorite trophies of mushroom pickers.
Important! Undercooked mushrooms cause allergic reactions and severe eating disorders in people.
Honey mushrooms are easily recognizable by external signs. They have:Important! When collecting again, be careful. The color of their hats depends on the soil in which they grow. For example, those specimens that appear on poplar, mulberry and white acacia are distinguished by honey-yellow tones, those that have grown from elderberry are dark gray, those from coniferous crops are purple-brown, and those from oak are brown. Edible mushrooms are often confused with false ones. Therefore, only those fruits that have a ring on the stem should be put in the basket.
Most mushroom pickers prefer green flywheels (Xerócomus subtomentósus), which are the most common of their kind. Some botanists classify them as mushrooms.
These fruits are:
Did you know? Although fly agarics are considered very poisonous, there are much fewer toxic substances in them than in pale grebe. For example, to obtain a lethal concentration of mushroom poison, you need to eat 4 kg of fly agaric. And one toadstool is enough to poison 4 people.
Among the edible varieties of oil, white, marsh, yellow, Bollini, and larch species are popular. In our latitudes, the latter variation is especially popular.
She is characterized by:
Did you know? Truffles are considered the most expensive mushrooms in the world. In France, the price per kilogram of this delicacy never falls below 2,000 euros..
In the people, this mushroom is also called the blackhead and. In botanical literature, it is designated as Léccinum scábrum and represents the genus Obabok.
He is recognized by:
Represents the family and includes about fifty species. Most of them are considered edible. Some varieties have a bitter aftertaste, which is lost with careful pre-soaking and cooking of forest gifts.
From the entire mushroom kingdom of russula stand out:
Important! Russula with caustic burning pulp are poisonous. A small piece of raw fruit can cause severe irritation of the mucous membranes, vomiting and dizziness..
Fruiting in these representatives of the genus Obabok begins in early summer and lasts until mid-September. They are most often found in damp areas under shady trees. Rarely such a trophy can be found in coniferous forests. Aspen mushrooms are popular in Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, Western Europe and North America.
The features of this forest fruit are:
Did you know? It is scientifically proven that mushrooms existed about 400 million years ago. This means that they appeared before dinosaurs. Like ferns, these gifts of nature were among the oldest inhabitants of the globe. Moreover, their spores have been able to adapt to new conditions for millennia, retaining all ancient species to this day.
These edible representatives of the Syroezhkov genus conquered all mushroom pickers with their specific taste. In everyday life they are called reeds or, and in the scientific literature - Lactarius deliciosus. The harvest should be sent between August and October. Often such trophies are found in humid forest areas. In Ukraine, these are Polissya and Prykarpattya. Signs of mushrooms are:
Did you know? The natural antibiotic lactarioviolin was found in the composition of mushrooms.
In France, absolutely all mushrooms are called. Therefore, linguists tend to think that the Slavic name of a whole genus of organisms from the Agarikov family is of French origin.
Champignons have:
Important! When collecting champignons, pay attention to their plates. This is the only important sign by which they can be distinguished from the poisonous representatives of the Amanitov family. In the latter, this part remains invariably white or lemon throughout life..
In the nature of the Eurasian continent, there is a small species diversity of such trophies. Mushroom pickers should beware of only yellow-skinned (Agaricus xanthodermus) and variegated (Agaricus meleagris) champignons. All other species are non-toxic. They are even massively cultivated on an industrial scale.
Outwardly, these fruits are very unattractive, but for their taste they are considered a valuable delicacy. In everyday life, they are called the "earthly heart", since they can be located underground at a depth of half a meter. And it is also the "black diamonds of cooking." Botanists classify truffles as a separate genus of marsupial mushrooms with an underground fleshy and juicy fruiting body. In cooking, Italian, Perigord and winter species are most valued. Basically, they grow in oak and beech forests of southern France and northern Italy. In Europe, specially trained dogs and pigs are used for "silent hunting". Experienced mushroom pickers advise paying attention to flies - in places where they swarm, under the foliage, there will surely be an earthen heart.
You can recognize the most valuable fruit by the following signs:
Did you know? According to statistics, the world's truffle harvest is declining every year. On average, it does not exceed 50 tons.
This is a type of edible mushroom from the genus Lentinula. They are very widespread in East Asia. They got their name due to the growth on chestnut trees. Translated from Japanese, the word means "chestnut mushroom". In cooking, it is used in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Thai cuisines as a gourmet spice. In oriental medicine, there are also many recipes for the treatment of these fruits. In everyday life, the mushroom is also called oak, winter, black. Characteristically, in the world market, shiitake is considered the second important mushroom that is cultivated in industry. Growing a delicacy is quite realistic in the climatic conditions of Ukraine. To do this, it is important to acquire an artificial mushroom substrate.
When harvesting shiitake, you need to focus on the following characteristics of the mushroom:
Did you know? The increased interest in shiitake in the world market is due to its antitumor effect. The main consumer of this delicacy is Japan, which annually imports about 2 thousand tons of the product.
The mushroom belongs to the Boletov family. In everyday life, it is called a bruise, tannery, dirty brown. The fruiting period begins in July and lasts until late autumn. August is considered the most fruitful. You should go in search of forests, where there are oaks, hornbeams, beeches, birches. also prefer calcareous soil and well-lit areas. These forest fruits are known in the Caucasus, Europe and the Far East.
The signs of the fungus are:
Important! If you eat undercooked or raw oak, severe poisoning can occur. It is strictly contraindicated to combine this product of any degree of cooking with alcoholic beverages.
Edible varieties of these fruits must necessarily undergo thorough boiling. They differ from poisonous specimens in their bright color and not too tart smell. Most often used for filling in pies, and also consumed freshly prepared. Experienced mushroom pickers are advised to go "on a quiet hunt" from early July to the second half of October. To improve the taste of talkers, only the caps of young fruits are used for food. You can find them by:
Important! Pay attention to the skin of the talker's hat. Poisonous fruits always have a characteristic powdery coating on it.
Many novice mushroom pickers are always impressed by the appearance of the bigheads. These trophies stand out from their counterparts very favorably due to their impressive size and shape.
They have:
Did you know? Mushrooms can survive at an altitude of 30 thousand meters above sea level, withstand radioactive exposure and pressure of 8 atmospheres. They also take root easily even on the surface of sulfuric acid..
He is a member of the genus Borovik. In everyday life, it is referred to as a yellow boletus or yellow boletus. It is very common in Polissya, the Carpathian region and in Western Europe. It is considered a heat-loving variety of Boletovs. It can be found in oak, hornbeam, beech plantings with high humidity and clay substrate.
Externally, the fungus is characterized by:
Did you know? In the history of mushrooms, a fact was captured when Swiss mushroom pickers accidentally stumbled upon a huge trophy that had been growing for a thousand years. This giant honey agaric measured 800 m long and 500 m wide, and its mycelium occupied 35 hectares of the area of the local national park in the city of Offenpass.
Mushroom hunting has its risks. In order not to be exposed to them, you need to clearly understand that it is extremely important to be able to collect mushrooms and understand their varieties.
To safely harvest forest trophies, you must follow these rules:
Did you know? Soft mushroom caps can break through asphalt, concrete, marble and iron.
Mushroom poisoning is evidenced by:
Was this article helpful?
Thank you for your opinion!
Write in the comments what questions you did not receive an answer to, we will definitely respond!
68
times already
helped
nanbaby.ru - Health and beauty. Fashion. Children and parents. Leisure. Gen. House