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More than 200 thousand species of edible and inedible mushrooms grow on earth. Garlic groves of the Negniyuchnikov family also occupy their niche among them. All of them are similar to each other, inconspicuous, outwardly unremarkable. Oak garlic is a small mushroom of this family, which can be found in autumn in the forests of Our Country, where oaks grow.
What does garlic cloves look like
Oak garlic cloves stand out among mushrooms due to their small size, growing conditions, darkish-creamy stalk and garlic smell that spreads through the forest.
Cap Description
The hat at the first stage of maturation is convex. She looks like a bell at this time. Then it becomes concave-convex, and at the end of ripening – completely colorless. The edges are lamellar, eventually becoming torn, slightly ribbed. The plates are frequent, adherent, cream-colored. Only in the middle there are dirty, dark red places. The cap is small in diameter. Its maximum dimensions can reach 4 cm. But this rarely happens. Typical diameter is from 2 to 3 cm.
Description of the leg
The leg is slightly curved, reaches 8 cm and has a creamy tint at the top. Below it is replaced by a dark brown color. This part of the leg is hard, with a white fluff at the base, turning into a mycelium.
Is the mushroom edible or not?
This agaric is edible. Its caps can be fried or pickled. It takes a lot of time to collect a sufficient amount of garlic, even in the season when the forest is literally littered with this fungus.
In dried form, it has a garlic flavor, so it is mainly used as a seasoning. Especially appreciated in French cooking.
Where and how to grow
Garlic mushroom grows in oak groves or mixed forests. This is due to the fact that mycelium or mycelium spreads on leaf opal under oak trees. The distribution area in Our Country is its European part. They appear in autumn, during the wet period at temperatures below 10 ºC, from October to November. In places where they appear, a persistent spicy aroma spreads through the forest.
Twins and their differences
Twins include large garlic and common garlic.
The first type is similar in appearance to the oak counterpart, but has significant differences:
- a large hat reaches 6,5 cm;
- the leg is brown, black below, high, 6-15 cm;
- grows in Europe, places where beech grows.
Edible, used fried and pickled or as a condiment. But the taste is slightly inferior to other garlic.
Common garlic grows in forests with clay or sandy soil and prefers dry places. It can be confused with meadow mushrooms, although the latter do not emit a garlic-onion smell. Edible after frying or marinating, cooks use it as a spice.
Conclusion
Oak garlic due to its small size and unattractive appearance remains unknown to many mushroom pickers. Meanwhile, it has a pleasant taste, high culinary value: it gives a mushroom and garlic flavor to the first and second courses.
