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The veiny saucer is a representative of the Morel family that lives in temperate climates. Another name for the fungus is veined discina. It has a strong unpleasant odor, while it belongs to conditionally edible species. Eat in fried, stewed and dried form. Despite the neutral taste, it has useful properties.
Description of the saucer veiny
The fruiting body of the veiny saucer consists of a kind of basket – the so-called “apothecium”, having a diameter of 3 to 21 cm, with a short and fairly thick leg. Young specimens are round in shape with inwardly curved edges.
Fruit bodies of young veiny saucers
With age, the hat straightens out, becoming like a bowl, and then may even become prostrate with torn edges. The hymenophore is located on the outer surface. At first it is smooth, later – tuberculate.
A characteristic feature of this species is the strong smell of bleach emitted by adult specimens. Coloring can be from yellowish-gray to rich brown. The veiny saucer is shown in the photo below:
Fruiting body of an adult fungus
Twins and their differences
A characteristic feature of the veiny saucer is the strong chlorine smell that accompanies it, making it almost impossible to confuse this species with any other. Nevertheless, the fungus has an external resemblance to at least two species.
Oven
Its fruiting body also consists of a cup-shaped apothecia, reaching up to 10 cm in diameter. The coloring may be the same, but the difference in size will definitely be in favor of the saucer. In addition, the shape of the outer edge of the apothecia of the pezica has a characteristic detail – it almost always bends much inward. The saucer may also have edges that are bent outward.
A characteristic view of the fruiting body of a pezica: a severely deformed apothecium with inwardly curved edges
Almost all pezits are conditionally edible mushrooms, as well as saucers. You can eat them, but the taste leaves much to be desired.
gyromitra
Only large and adult fruiting bodies of saucers, which are significantly deformed and acquired too dark a color, can be confused with a line. But the likelihood of this is extremely small – it is very problematic to find such a heavily modified disciotis.
The classic line has a cap diameter of about 13 cm, which is already significantly smaller than adult and even highly compressed saucers. The leg of this mushroom is up to 9 cm long and up to 4 cm in diameter. The hat is covered with characteristic folds that are difficult to confuse with any other mushroom.
The compared species also differ in fruiting periods: lines can be found in the forest from March to May. In addition, this species has a pleasant mushroom smell.
The twin leg can be long
You should be especially careful not to accidentally confuse a morel with a veiny saucer.
Where and how to grow
The veiny saucer is common in the temperate climate of the Northern Hemisphere. Its range is quite extensive: the species can be found in Europe, Asia and America. At the same time, the mushroom itself is quite rare, and it is relatively difficult to meet it.
It lives in any type of forest: coniferous, deciduous or mixed. Most often, the mushroom is found near oak and beech. Prefers damp places with sandy or clay soils. It can grow both singly and in large groups.
Is the veiny saucer mushroom edible or not
This species belongs to conditionally edible mushrooms. It can be eaten without any concern after heat treatment or drying, which eliminates the characteristic smell of bleach. The duration of boiling fruiting bodies until safe consumption is 10-15 minutes. In dried mushrooms, the smell of bleach disappears after about 2/3 of the moisture has evaporated.
The fruiting body of the veiny saucer has no culinary value, since it has absolutely no taste. According to the reviews of those who have tried the pulp, it is compared with tasteless fiber, no protein or mushroom flavor is felt. In sources published in the United States, this mushroom is classified as poisonous.
How to cook veiny saucers
Below is a recipe for making a veiny fried saucer. To give the pulp an attractive taste, simple spices are used in it.
Ingredients:
- 5 kg of fruiting bodies of saucers;
- 30 g butter;
- pepper, salt, lemon juice – to taste.
Procedure:
- Mushrooms are peeled and washed. Then they are cut into slices and boiled for 10-15 minutes in salt water.
- At the end of the cooking process, the fruiting bodies are thrown into a colander and the liquid is allowed to drain completely.
- Having melted the butter in a frying pan, mushrooms are poured into it.
- After 1-2 minutes of roasting, add lemon juice and spices with salt.
- Fry the mushrooms until golden brown.
The benefits of veiny saucers
Despite the relative culinary neutrality of the fungus, it can be used for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes. The beneficial properties of the veiny saucer are due to its composition. This mushroom contains glucan and chitin, which can lower blood cholesterol levels. It is believed that the use of these substances supports the performance of the immune system and improves stress resistance.
In addition, the composition of the veiny saucer includes:
- dietary fiber (helps cleanse the intestines);
- group B vitamins (improving metabolism, carbohydrate synthesis, red blood cell regeneration, etc.);
- vitamin C (antioxidant, normalizer of metabolic processes);
- ash and other minerals.
The beneficial properties of the veined saucer are also due to the riboflavin contained in it (improvement of vision and the functioning of the nervous system) and nicotinic acid, which regulates the functioning of the pancreas.
Contraindications to the use of veiny saucers
The use of any food product has its positive and negative sides. The harm of the veiny saucer is also due to the components that make up its composition. For example, the same chitin is a serious burden on the human gastrointestinal tract.
There are also direct prohibitions on the use of veiny saucers for food. They refer to people who:
- kidney and liver diseases;
- low acidity;
- various pathologies of the intestine.
In addition, saucers should not be eaten by pregnant women and children under 6 years of age.
Conclusion
Veined saucer is a mushroom that has a unique composition, which, although it does not shine with culinary possibilities, can help in healing the body and improve the course of some chronic diseases. At the same time, you should not lean too much on this type of food, since the saucer is quite heavy for the human gastrointestinal tract.
