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The puffball mushroom is an edible mushroom. Only young specimens should be collected, because after the mass of spores begins to turn yellow, the mushrooms are unfit for food. Raincoat mushroom in common people is often called the devil’s tavlinka, tobacco mushroom or hare potato. One of its most important features is the incredible ability to absorb water from the soil. It is for this reason that raincoats are not recommended to be collected immediately or within 2 days after the rain, since instead of a beautiful and elastic mushroom, you can get an unpleasant and jelly-like mass. For some reason, some mushroom pickers bypass this mushroom, although hare potatoes have incredibly useful and medicinal properties, contain a lot of vitamins, and also stand out with a rather pleasant taste. Most often found in forests, regardless of type, but puffball mushrooms can also be found in grasslands.
Caloric value
The product is dietary. Since there are only 100 kilocalories per 27 grams. Also, 100 grams of the product has: proteins in the amount of 4 grams, fats in the amount of 1 gram, carbohydrates in the amount of 1 gram.
Distribution
Widespread in the UK and Ireland. The puffball mushroom is found generally in small groups or lines in grassland and forest habitats. This mushroom is very common and is used in cooking throughout mainland Europe and Asia, as well as in Africa, Australia, South and Central America.
taxonomic history
This edible mushroom was described by Christian Hendrik Perun in 1796, when he named it Lycoperdon perlatum – still its accepted scientific name today. However, Lycoperdon perlatum has acquired several synonyms over the past few centuries.
When this fungus was first described in scientific literature by Christian Hendrik Perun in 1796, it was given a specific definition that simply means “widespread”.
It could equally justify the alternative “vulgaris” as it is one of the more common mushrooms, especially in wooded habitats. At least 13 Lycoperdon species are found in the UK.
External characteristics
What does the raincoat look like? Below is a more detailed description of rabbit potatoes.
fruit body. Usually pear-shaped and 3 to 6 cm in transverse diameter; from 4 to 9 cm in height. The surface, covered with tiny pearl drops, distinguishes the raincoat from many similar relatives. Pyramidal warts or “pearls” come in various sizes, initially drained and then turned ocher before falling off to leave an olive-brown surface marked with faint scars where the warts used to be. The dark area at the top is the opening in which spores develop and are released. The mushroom is unusually beautiful in old age. The outer predial spines fall off, leaving an exquisitely complex ocher and white mesh on the inner surface. The base of the puffball is more or less an inverted cone, often somewhat distorted, and contains a small amount of spongy, barren material.
Disputes. Spherical, with thick walls – 3,5-4,5 microns in diameter. Spores are olive brown, dark brown when fully mature. In the spore sector there is a network of sometimes branched sterile yellowish-brown tubes (known as capillata – the only number of capillaries) 3-7μm wide. Randomly distributed along the thick-walled capillaries are pores formed by the narrowing of the walls. At maturity, a small hole opens in the upper part of the fruiting body. When the mature cap is compressed, either by the impact of raindrops or by the impact of animals, a smoky cloud of spores is ejected.
ecological role. Common puffballs are found in all types of forest, where they grow on the ground in leafy litter; less often on permanent pastures and stable sand dunes. Most often found in small groups rather than alone, some individuals of the fungus can sometimes branch like a desert cactus, but most are simple pear-shaped fruiting bodies. Season: The fungus can be found from July to November.
Similar types. Lycoperdon echinatum is darker, with a reddish tint, and is covered with spines. At first, Lycoperdon mammiforme will be white, and then its surface breaks up into large creamy scales, and not into pearly warts.
Useful Properties
You can talk endlessly about the beneficial properties of a seemingly inconspicuous raincoat, and if mushroom pickers know incredibly little about it and constantly wonder whether it is edible or not, then it is quite well known to doctors, as it has incredible healing properties.
Hare potatoes are able to absorb heavy metals, radioactive substances, toxins and other substances that can harm the body or provoke the development of oncology.
This plant is able to remove from the body excess chloride and fluorine compounds, radionuclides, which adversely affect the functioning of the thyroid gland.
Cooking application
Is raincoat mushroom edible? Raincoat mushrooms are eaten, but only young individuals are used in cooking, until the period when the flesh is juicy and fleshy and spores are not formed in the hat. How to cook? They are mostly dried, but mushroom pickers still prefer to boil or fry with the addition of spices, onions and carrots.
Are mushrooms eaten raw or just pickled? No. The mushroom does not have a special smell and taste. It is important to carefully heat-treat the raincoat in order to exclude the possibility of poisoning.
Young mushrooms need to be cleaned, washed thoroughly. Grind into convenient pieces, and fry with spices, onions and other vegetables, mushrooms are often combined with sour cream and garlic. You can feel all the charm of a raincoat in stewed and grilled form. Their pulp behaves excellently during heat treatment, has a delicate and light taste and practically does not lose volume during cooking.
Can adults be eaten? It is highly recommended not to eat old mushrooms with ripe spores.
Benefits and treatment
It is worth noting a huge number of useful properties of this product. If you eat it regularly, the body is actively cleansed of toxins that adversely affect the condition of the kidneys, liver and other vital organs.
Mushrooms free the body from radionuclides and heavy metals, preventing the formation and development of cancer cells.
Also, dishes with the addition of hare potatoes have a positive effect on the functioning of the thyroid gland and stimulate the full functioning of the cardiovascular system.
Very often, this mushroom is also used in cosmetology: raincoats are added to masks and creams to get elastic, smooth, elastic and toned skin. With regular use, the skin color becomes healthier, more uniform, without oily sheen and at the same time with significantly reduced pores. This effect is due to the rapid cleansing of the body of toxins.
In ancient times, healers and healers used mushroom broth to treat various ailments, correctly assessing the comprehensive benefits of the product.
Harm and contraindications
For the body, this product does not bring harm and does not have toxic analogues. But still, how to distinguish from a poisonous mushroom? Before use or use for cosmetic or medicinal purposes, you need to remember that these are the most useful and tasty young mushroom individuals with white, tender and dense pulp. But it is also important to consider their place of collection and growth: they perfectly absorb all the nutrients and harmful substances from the soil. It is strictly forbidden to collect them near the road and in industrial areas.
The product is not allowed for use by children and adolescents, women during lactation and pregnancy, people at a very advanced age, with gastrointestinal diseases (very hard to digest).
Subspecies
Raincoat mushroom has many subspecies, among which I would like to note the main ones:
- prickly – habitat area meadows and forests; a characteristic difference is a tubercle in the upper part of the cap, a white mushroom with small spikes;
- giant – an important difference is the huge size with a white or yellow-gray color; the maximum weight of the mushroom in adulthood is fixed at 7 kilograms;
- golovach – another false type of raincoat, has a round shape, up to 15 centimeters high, first white, and then yellowish and brown;
- oblong – similar to golovach, only the shape is club-shaped.
Giant puffball mushroom in medicine
The giant puffball mushroom belongs to the puffball family, the name giant golovach or langermania is often found. Langermania powder is actively used in medicine and veterinary medicine.
Preparation of a tincture used for the treatment of viral, inflammatory and other diseases, as well as for the treatment and healing of various skin diseases and wounds.
How to prepare the right infusion?
The first recipe for cooking: take 1 dessert spoon of mushroom powder, pour water in a volume of 1 cup and with a minimum temperature of 70 degrees. The tincture must be kept in a glass container or in a thermos for at least 40 minutes, consumed half a glass of infusion 2 times a day before meals.
The second method of preparation: for preparation, you need to take vodka and powder in proportions of 1:5. Disputes must be insisted for 2 weeks in a warm and dark place. The resulting tincture should be consumed 1-2 teaspoons 3-4 times a day before eating. The duration of therapy is from 3 to 4 weeks, after which it is imperative to take a 7-day break and, if necessary, repeat the course.
For the treatment of cancer: spore powder in a volume of 1 glass is poured into 0,5 liters of vodka, rolled into a jar and buried in the ground to a depth of 30 centimeters. The preparation takes 3 weeks. Then the jar needs to be dug up and carefully, without shaking, strain. Tincture is used 1 tablespoon 3 times a day before eating.
In order to remove stones from the kidneys, ordinary bread sprinkled with spore powder is used 3 times a day. To obtain spore powder, only fully mature individuals are collected.
Storage method
After harvesting, fresh mushrooms retain their beneficial properties for 24 hours. After collection, they must be immediately sent to the refrigerator. To save mushrooms for the winter, they can be frozen – a maximum shelf life of six months. One year you can keep the product dried or pickled. If using spore powder, it should be stored in a dry glass container away from moisture and direct sunlight.
Recipes using raincoats
There are different recipes for this product. Mushrooms go well with vegetables, root vegetables, herbs, spices, meat and fish.
On the grill: chop, season with spices and salt, roll in sunflower or olive oil, put in one row on the grill or pan, fry until cooked. Serve with onion rings or vegetable light salad.
Gyuvech with raincoat mushrooms: chop mushrooms and vegetables, fry in oil. Put everything in a saucepan, add spices, salt and herbs, add water and simmer for 20 minutes. All components are needed in equal proportions.