Contents
Spruce camelina is a mushroom from the Syroezhkov family, which is also called spruce and is considered one of the delicacy mushroom species. To appreciate the taste and benefits of a spruce tree, you need to know how it looks and where it grows.
Where does spruce camelina grow
Spruce trees can be found throughout central Our Country, as well as in the Urals, the Far East and Siberia. As the name implies, fungi grow in spruce forests, they usually hide in grass and fallen needles under spruces and sometimes under junipers. Sometimes you can see spruce trees singly, but more often they are found in whole groups.
Spruce green mushrooms are considered late mushrooms, the maximum fruiting occurs in September, and you can meet fungi in the forest until frost.
What does spruce mushroom look like
Spruce fungus can be recognized by a flat-concave hat about 10 cm in diameter with a dark red or light pink color. In young fungi, the cap is slightly convex, with the edges turned down and a tubercle in the middle, but subsequently its shape gradually changes. A characteristic feature of the spruce camelina is the fragility of the cap and the absence of pubescence along the edges.
According to the photo and description of the spruce mushroom, its leg is small – only about 5 cm in height, shorter than that of a real camelina. The shape of the stem is cylindrical, in young mushrooms it is solid, and in adults it is hollow from the inside and very brittle. The color of the leg is exactly the same as the hat, and also turns green if it is damaged.
When broken, the spruce fungus releases bright orange milky juice, which quickly turns green from interaction with air. The same applies to the orange pulp, it turns green at the break. From below, the spruce cap is covered with fragile thin plates of light orange color, turning green when pressed.
Is it possible to eat spruce mushrooms
In Europe, spruce camelina mushroom is considered a delicacy and is part of many complex and expensive dishes. Experienced mushroom pickers also agree that spruce camelina even surpasses the real one in taste and health benefits, and requires minimal processing and is unambiguously usable.
The taste of the mushroom
In terms of taste, spruce mushrooms belong to the prestigious 1st category of edible mushrooms. They have a pleasant taste and a light fruity aroma when fresh.
It is possible to process spruce fungi in almost all existing ways, they are not suitable only for drying. But they are salted, marinated, boiled and fried, and sometimes even eaten fresh, washed and properly sprinkled with salt.
Benefits and harm to the body
Spruce mushrooms, when used, are not only able to please with a pleasant taste, they bring significant benefits to the body.
- Spruce trees contain high-quality natural protein. Due to it, fungi fully satisfy the body’s needs for protein and can successfully replace meat in a vegetarian diet.
- The calorie content of spruce fungi does not exceed 18 kcal per 100 g of raw fungi. When using spruce trees, it is impossible to get better, which means that you can eat fungi on a diet.
- Camelina contains a huge amount of vitamin A, it protects the organs of vision from diseases, helps fight inflammation and accelerates wound healing.
- Vitamins B and C in the composition of mushrooms are responsible for the normal functioning of the metabolic and immune systems in the human body. It is useful to use spruce trees for the prevention and treatment of colds, for the normalization of digestion.
- Spruce fungi contain lactariovilin, an antibiotic substance that suppresses pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, you can eat fungi in any infectious processes in the body – mushrooms are beneficial even with tuberculosis.
Mushrooms contain a sufficient amount of fiber. Eloviki can be used in order to regulate the mode of bowel movement.
Despite the great benefits, spruce fungi can be harmful in some situations. They are not recommended for use in food:
- with chronic liver diseases;
- with cholelithiasis or in the absence of a gallbladder;
- with a tendency to muscle weakness;
- with frequent constipation;
- if you are allergic to mushrooms or the components present in them.
Eloviki is not recommended during pregnancy and lactation – mushrooms can be harmful. It is better not to offer spruce mushrooms to children and the elderly – the product may be too heavy for their digestion.
Differences between spruce camelina and pine
According to the photo and description, the spruce camelina is very similar to its fellow pine, or real, camelina. They are related by the same structure of the stem and cap, both mushrooms grow mainly in coniferous forests, they are also similar in taste.
But at the same time, with experience, spruce and pine camelina can be distinguished from each other.
- Spruce fungus forms a symbiosis with spruces and, in some cases, with junipers. Pine grows under pines and is usually less visible in grass and fallen needles.
- The cap of the pine camelina is slightly pubescent, vague large circles are visible on it, diverging in diameter. In spruce, these circles are smaller and less pronounced, and the hat is devoid of edging and in wet weather is often covered with mucus.
- Real camelina is denser, while spruce is characterized by increased fragility. On the break, the flesh of both mushrooms turns green, but in the spruce fungus, the color change occurs faster.
As for taste, pine camelina is officially called a delicacy. However, many mushroom connoisseurs are of the opinion that spruce mushroom is much tastier both fresh and processed.
False doubles
It is quite difficult to confuse mushrooms with poisonous mushrooms – not a single toxic mushroom has a high similarity with spruce mushrooms. However, there are several edible mushrooms of a similar structure and color.
real ginger
Most often, spruce trees are confused with pine mushrooms, in appearance and distribution area, fungi are most similar. Pine mushrooms are distinguished by a red-orange color, similar in size to spruce trees and a similar taste. They can be distinguished mainly by shade, pubescent hat and less brittle structure.
Red saffron
In structure and shape, the fungus is similar to pine and spruce, but differs from them in large cap sizes, up to 16 cm in diameter, and bright red color. The juice secreted by the fungus at the break is also rich red. You can also recognize the fungus by the absence of diverging circles on the hat.
Red fungi are suitable for eating, but their taste is much lower than that of spruce mushrooms.
pink wave
Like a young spruce camelina, the volnushka has a flat-concave hat and a light pink color. The easiest way to distinguish a mushroom is by its milky juice – it is white near the wave and does not darken under the influence of air. Spruce camelina, unlike her, releases orange juice, and it quickly turns green in the air.
Collection rules
You can meet the first spruce mushrooms as early as July, but the bulk of spruce mushrooms appear in September and October. Especially a lot of these mushrooms grow after a rainy summer, and you can collect them in the forest until frost.
Most often, spruce camelinas are found in whole groups in young spruce forests and on forest edges. It is quite difficult to notice discreet fungi in fallen leaves and needles, so experienced mushroom pickers recommend taking a long stick with you for a walk for mushrooms. With this stick you can carefully stir up the needles near the trees, and if you can find at least one spruce tree, then you can be sure that there are others nearby.
How to cook spruce camelina
Delicious spruce mushrooms are cooked in all ways, with the exception of drying. In boiled form, they can be added to salads and side dishes, sometimes mushrooms are eaten even raw, generously sprinkled with salt. But more often fungi are pickled, fried or salted.
How to pickle spruce mushrooms
In order to pickle spruce trees, you first need to prepare the marinade itself. They do it like this:
- pour water into the pan and lay a small peeled head of garlic, 10 peas of black pepper and herbs to taste;
- the ingredients are poured with 5 large spoons of vegetable oil;
- marinade 10 minutes boiled over low heat.
At the same time, 1 kg of peeled and washed spruce mushrooms is poured with water in another saucepan so that the liquid covers them completely, and put on fire for half an hour. When the mushrooms are cooked, you will need to immediately drain the water, and pour the mushrooms into a colander to drain the remaining liquid.
Boiled mushrooms are placed in a glass jar, poured with warm spicy marinade on top, and then tightly closed with a lid. Store pickled spruce mushrooms in a cool place away from sunlight.
How to salt spruce mushrooms
One of the simplest processing recipes is salting spruce mushrooms. The process looks like this:
- fresh mushrooms are cleaned of adhering forest debris and wiped with a clean cloth – it is not necessary to wash the fungi;
- in a large container, mushrooms are laid in a dense layer a few centimeters thick and generously sprinkled with plenty of salt;
- another layer of mushrooms is placed on top, salt is poured again, so the layers alternate until the container is full.
Then the container is covered with a lid, pressed down with a heavy object and wait a few days until the mushrooms settle, after which a new layer of mushrooms and salt is added. When the container is filled to the top, and the fungi stop settling, they can be seasoned with vegetable oil and garlic, black pepper and herbs can be added to salted spruce mushrooms to taste. You can use salted mushrooms as part of a salad, or you can add them to soup or main dishes.
How to fry spruce mushrooms
In addition to pickling and salting, mushrooms are often fried, for example, they are very tasty with potatoes and onions. A simple recipe for frying spruce trees looks like this:
- about 700 g of fresh spruce mushrooms are washed, cut into small pieces and boiled for half an hour in salted water;
- ready-made mushrooms are thrown into a colander and the water is drained, and then the mushrooms are temporarily set aside;
- 500 g potatoes, peeled, washed and cut into small bars;
- peel and cut into half rings 300 g of onions;
- boiled mushrooms spread on a heated pan, greased with vegetable oil;
- mushrooms are fried without closing the pan with a lid until excess moisture evaporates from the mushrooms;
- after that, onions are poured into the pan and fried together with mushrooms until a golden hue appears on the half rings;
- at the last stage, a little more fresh oil is added to the pan and the potatoes are poured.
The mixture is fried, stirring regularly, until the potatoes are fully cooked. 5 minutes before the dish is ready, mushrooms and potatoes should be lightly salted and peppered to your taste.
Conclusion
Spruce camelina is a delicious and healthy mushroom, which is rightfully considered a delicacy in many countries. It is found in the autumn forest quite often, and you can cook a wide variety of dishes from it.
