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Chanterelle humpback – agaric mushroom, rare in Our Country. Not in demand among mushroom pickers due to the small size and nondescript color of the fruiting body. The mushroom is suitable for consumption, but does not have a pronounced aroma and taste; it is not of particular value in the culinary plan.
Where do humpback chanterelle mushrooms grow
The main distribution of the humpbacked chanterelle, otherwise the tubercular cantarellula, is in the European, central part of Our Country, the Moscow region. This is an infrequent species, grows only in groups, every year gives a stable harvest. Mushrooms are picked from late August to September. In regions with early winter, the end of the humpbacked chanterelle mushroom season often coincides with the appearance of the first snow.
Chanterelles grow in families in a row or form vast circles, occupy a large territory on a moss pillow. They are more often found in a damp forest under pines, but can also grow in a dry coniferous forest. The collection time falls on the main mushroom season, when there are more valuable, from an economic point of view, mushrooms, so the humpbacked chanterelle is rarely paid attention to. Less experienced mushroom pickers, due to their unusual appearance, consider the humpbacked fox to be poisonous. The fruiting body is not only edible, but also has a certain nutritional value due to its chemical composition.
What do humpbacked chanterelles look like
Cantarellula is difficult to confuse with other species; outwardly, it does not remotely resemble the usual classic fox. The fruit body is small, which does not add to the popularity of the fungus, the color is gray or dark ash, uneven.
The hat is of the correct rounded shape – 4 cm in diameter, may be slightly wavy if the chanterelle is overripe. The surface is smooth, lighter along the edge, dark in the middle with steel-colored concentric circles. A cylindrical bulge forms in the central part, a tubercle is present in young specimens and mature ones. As it grows, a shallow funnel forms around it. The edges of the cap are slightly concave inward.
The lamellar spore-bearing surface is dense, the plates are forked-branched, densely arranged, descending to the upper part of the fruit stem. The lower part of the chanterelle is white with a slight gray tint. In the line of transition from the cap to the stem, the plates are covered with rare inclusions in the form of red dots.
The leg is straight, rounded, covered with a dense white coating on top. The length depends on the layer of moss, on average 8 cm. The diameter along the entire length is the same – within 0,5 cm. Near the mycelium, the color is light brown, towards the hat – closer to white. The leg is solid, the inside is hard, dense.
The pulp is soft, the concentration of water is insignificant, therefore the structure is brittle, the color is white with a barely noticeable gray tint. The smell is subtle mushroom, unexpressed. There is no bitterness in taste. The cut point becomes red during the oxidation process.
Is it possible to eat humpbacked chanterelles
According to nutritional value and taste, humpbacked chanterelles are classified as the 4th last classification group. Cantarellula is characterized as a conditionally edible mushroom, non-toxic to humans. The group includes numerous representatives, they are also divided according to the degree of nutritional value.
In the upper part of the fruiting body, the cap and part of the leg of the humpback chanterelle, the concentration of nutrients is not inferior to the classic look. Chanterelle is used only after heat treatment. For drying, for example, mushrooms are not suitable.
Palatability
Each type of mushroom has its own aroma and taste. Some qualities are clearly expressed, others more weakly. Cantarellula has a pleasant taste, fruiting body after processing with a delicate mushroom flavor, tender, without bitterness, not insipid. Mushrooms do not require pre-soaking and laborious processing. The only minus of the humpbacked chanterelle is the complete absence of smell. If the mushroom aroma is barely perceptible in raw fruiting bodies, then after processing it disappears completely.
Benefit and harm
The chemical composition of the humpback chanterelle is quite diverse, the main composition is the elements involved in many metabolic processes in the human body. Chanterelles have medicinal properties, they are widely used in folk medicine. If the gastronomic value of cantarellula is low, then the medicinal properties are at the proper level. The fruiting body contains vitamins: PP, B1, E, B2, C. Macronutrients:
- calcium;
- sodium;
- potassium;
- phosphorus;
- magnesium;
- chlorine;
- sulfur.
Trace elements:
- iron;
- zinc;
- copper;
- fluorine;
- cobalt;
- manganese.
The chemical composition includes proteins, carbohydrates, amino acids. Chanterelle humpback contains a unique substance – chinomannose, toxic to helminths, capable of destroying parasites and their eggs. During heat treatment, the substance decomposes. Therefore, for medicinal purposes, cantarellula is dried and ground into powder.
Beneficial effect on the body of humpbacked chanterelle:
- cleanses and restores liver cells;
- inhibits the division of cancer cells;
- participates in the processes of the digestive tract;
- strengthens the walls of blood vessels;
- serves as a prevention of cardiovascular diseases;
- improves vision;
- strengthens the immune system;
- gets rid of worms.
There is no harm from mushrooms, it is only recommended to refrain from using women during lactation and people with individual intolerance.
Collection rules
The picking season for humpbacked chanterelles begins in early autumn and can last until the onset of frost. Mushrooms grow on a moss litter, in a damp or dry coniferous forest. When collecting, pay attention to the state of the fruiting body, do not take overripe ones. Do not collect in the industrial area, near highways, treatment facilities, landfills. Mushrooms from the air and soil absorb and accumulate heavy metals, toxic compounds, their use is not recommended.
False twins of humpback chanterelles
Mushrooms of the 4th group rarely have twins, some of them themselves are classified as false. The humpbacked chanterelle does not have an officially recognized double, there are two species that are considered to be false.
In the photo, the double of the edible cantarellula humpback is a false convex chanterelle, she has:
- bright yellow cap color and other shape;
- a pronounced funnel and the absence of a bulge in the center;
- the stem is shorter, hollow, dark;
- planting of plates is rare;
- there are no red blotches near the transition to the leg;
- the presence of snails is visible, insects and worms do not eat the humpback fox.
The smell of the double is sharp, grassy, the taste is bitter. Grows on moss or deciduous cushion singly, rarely in pairs. On the cut, the flesh does not turn red.
Photo of another similar species of the Ryadovkov family, which includes the humpback fox – the gray-blue row. It grows in families, often located next to the cantarellula, without close attention they can be confused. Upon closer examination, the differences are revealed. The plates do not fall on the leg. The shape of the cap is sloping, without deepening and bulge in the center.
The use of humpbacked chanterelles
Chanterelles are used in cooking only after cooking. Water is poured out, it does not go to cooking. Application:
- Humpbacked chanterelles are salted in large and small containers.
- Fried with onions or potatoes.
- Stew with sour cream.
- They cook soup.
In conservation, they are used only in assorted. Mushrooms do not lose their unusual color after processing. They carry in the winter preparation not so much a gastronomic as an aesthetic function. Boiled and frozen in the freezer. Used in traditional medicine recipes.
Conclusion
Chanterelle humpback – a small plate fungus, grows on a moss litter in pine and mixed coniferous forests. According to nutritional value, it belongs to the 4th group. The chemical composition is not inferior to the classic look. The mushroom is suitable for consumption, it is fried, boiled, used in winter preparations.
