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Mushrooms, or rather their edible half, are useful and satisfying inhabitants of the forest, which can be collected, cooked and harvested for the winter from mid-summer to the end of autumn. For inexperienced mushroom pickers, the picking season partly becomes a lottery, because almost every edible mushroom has a dangerous double – a poisonous mushroom. Chanterelle is no exception – she has a poisonous twin sister.
Real chanterelles are very useful for the body, as they contain a significant amount of vitamin C, carotene and polysaccharides. Chanterelles improve liver function, promote the removal of heavy metal salts from the body, and also have an anthelmintic effect. In addition, they calmly endure both heavy rains and dry summer months – mushrooms do not rot and do not dry out, but during the period of special heat they simply stop growing, waiting for it in such a “canned” state.
False chanterelles are conditionally edible species, that is, you can eat them, but before that, the harmful substances that they contain must be neutralized: this kind of chanterelle must be soaked and cooked in a special way. They cannot boast of a special benefit for the body; taste qualities also do not make them a sought-after delicacy. Some mushroom pickers collect them specifically to prepare, for example, pickles for the winter.
However, most often this mushroom gets into the basket by accident, out of ignorance, and can cause some unpleasant symptoms of poisoning. In order not to get into such a situation, you need to know how to distinguish a false fox from a real one.
Real and false chanterelles: similarities and differences
Both varieties of chanterelles grow in wooded areas: in coniferous and coniferous-deciduous forests. A real chanterelle likes to hide in moss or under leaves, it can grow in an open area of uXNUMXbuXNUMXbsoil or on a mossy stump. The false variety is found in moss, on fallen rotting trees, on the forest floor. False chanterelle can grow in groups or alone. A real chanterelle does not occur one by one, but grows in close groups, so, having met a single mushroom in the entire clearing, you should take a closer look at it – perhaps it is better not to touch it. In addition, a useful mushroom is a frequent inhabitant of the soil near pines, oaks, beeches and spruces.
The main difference between chanterelles, which immediately catches your eye, is that the poisonous one has a bright orange hat with edges of a lighter, reddish color. A useful species has a uniform light yellow or orange-yellow color, while the younger the mushroom, the paler its color looks.
The hat of the false chanterelle is of the correct round shape in the form of a funnel, with rounded edges and a velvety to the touch surface, unlike its useful sister – the hat is always wavy, has a smooth surface and a larger diameter.
Another external sign is the leg. In a useful mushroom, it is thicker, does not have a clear transition to the cap. Usually it is the same color as the whole mushroom, or a little lighter. It is not hollow inside. Thick and dense plates of the cap pass to the leg.
A thin and straight leg of a reddish-brown or brownish color immediately gives out a false fox. Between the cap and the leg, the transition boundary is visually noticeable. The cap plates are frequent and thin, have a bright orange color.
For those who do not fully rely on their own eyes, the sense of smell remains. False mushrooms have a sharply unpleasant smell, which is difficult to confuse with the aroma of good mushrooms.
If the mushroom is already in the basket, you can determine its suitability for consumption with a knife – if you make a cut on the stem and press, the whitish flesh of a real mushroom will turn slightly pink. False chanterelles have a yellow or orange cut and do not change color.
A sign that will become noticeable as soon as the mushroom is in the hands is the presence of parasites in it. A real chanterelle is not affected by them, as it contains a substance – chitinmannose, which repels insects and pests. If the fungus is worn out and a worm, then it is definitely a false relative of an edible species.
Taste properties and use in cooking
Usually, both doctors and mushroom pickers advise not to collect this type of mushroom, except in very extreme cases, when it is simply impossible to find others.
However, oddly enough, the false fox has its fans. Basically, reviews about their taste are not the most flattering – they are insipid, viscous and have a not very pleasant smell. But some mushroom pickers still collect and harvest this type of mushroom, pickling or salting them for the winter.
The main rule of their preparation is a complete primary processing. First of all, the mushrooms must be thoroughly washed and sorted out; it is better to throw out those spoiled and eaten by insects. After that, they must be soaked for three days in clean water. Twice a day, morning and evening, the water needs to be changed. After this procedure, they are boiled in boiling water with an onion for about 15-20 minutes.
Drying them is usually useless, but you can fry, stew, marinate, or cook mushroom sauce with them.
Recipes with false chanterelles
Delicious dishes can be prepared not only from healthy and edible mushrooms. There are a number of recipes using these conditionally edible mushrooms.
Mushroom julienne is especially delicious cooked in portioned pots. It needs:
- 500 g mushrooms;
- 1 cup sour cream 15% fat;
- 50 g of hard cheese;
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil;
- 1 teaspoon flour;
- salt, pepper, seasoning to taste.
Pre-treated mushrooms are poured over with boiling water and allowed to drain. Onions are cut into half rings, mushrooms – into medium-sized straws. First, the onions are lightly fried in a pan, mushrooms are added to them, the mixture is salted, peppered, seasoned and stewed until half cooked under the lid. Flour is added to the future dish and, stirring constantly, they wait until it is browned. Mushrooms with onions and flour are laid out in pots, filling about 2/3 of the volume. Then they are poured with sour cream and put in the oven for 5 minutes at a temperature of 180 degrees. After that, the dish is sprinkled with grated cheese and sent back to the oven until the cheese is melted. It must be served hot.
Pickled mushrooms are prepared for the winter – such an appetizer takes pride of place on the tables next to sauerkraut and sour cucumbers. It can also be prepared from false chanterelles.
For 1 liter of marinade you need:
- 1 teaspoon sugar;
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 2 / 3 glass of vinegar;
- 2 carnation umbrellas;
- 1 bay leaf;
- 3-5 peas of black pepper.
1 kilogram of mushrooms is soaked and boiled in advance, after which they are boiled in new clean water for 30 minutes. The liquid is drained, sugar, salt and spices are added to it. Bay leaves are best kept in the marinade for no more than 20 minutes. Next, vinegar is poured into the marinade, the mushrooms, along with the liquid, are sent to sterile glass jars and sealed with lids. The product is stored in a dark cool place for no longer than 3 months.
Possible harm from the use of the product
False chanterelles do not cause fatal poisoning. Their unpleasant properties are neutralized by soaking and heat treatment. However, for those who have problems with the digestive tract, it is better not to risk trying dishes with false chanterelles in the composition. Mushrooms themselves are hard to digest and poorly digested food, they can cause a feeling of heaviness in the stomach and intestines, heartburn, and nausea.
We must not forget about botulism – with improper and insufficient processing, dishonest observance of the rules of conservation, there is a chance of becoming infected with this deadly bacterium. The consequences of the disease can be extremely sad.
What to do if poisoning occurs
For people with a sensitive gastrointestinal tract, the use of false chanterelles can result in food poisoning of varying severity – it all depends on the amount of mushrooms eaten. Its main signs are indigestion, nausea, vomiting, in severe cases, the temperature may rise, chills, dizziness, and loss of consciousness appear. In any case, if such symptoms appear after a meal with mushrooms, gastric lavage will be the first aid. It is necessary to constantly drink warm boiled water in large quantities, causing vomiting until the stomach is cleared. Of course, all this should happen after an ambulance is called, because mushroom poisoning is serious and can cause significant harm to human health.
False chanterelles are mushrooms that for a long time were strictly forbidden to eat, considering them dangerous. Today they are classified as more or less edible products, however, in order to be able to cook dishes from false chanterelles to the table, you will have to tinker with them – soak and boil until the mushrooms become edible. Each lover of mushrooms and dishes from them decides for himself whether the effort is worth the result. Usually the taste of the mushrooms themselves is not very impressive for culinary specialists, but they are used to prepare julienne, pies, sauces and pickles for the winter.