Winter honey agaric

Winter honey agaric (also velvety-legged flammulina) is a good edible mushroom of the Flamullin genus and the Ryadovkov family.

External characteristics

Hat: winter honey agaric at first has a hat in the form of a hemisphere, after which it opens and acquires a honey or dark brown hue. The center of the cap becomes darker. If the weather is damp, the cap becomes slimy. Adult winter individuals have dark brown spots.

Pulp: creamy delicate colors, watery with a delicate and pleasant taste and aroma.

Plates: cream colored, adherent, infrequent, gradually darkening with age. The mycelium of the winter honey agaric has a white tint.

Leg: has a cylindrical shape, in the upper part the tone coincides with the tone of the hat, at the bottom the tone is darker. The length of the leg is from 4 to 8 centimeters, the thickness is up to 0,8 centimeters. The leg has a high level of rigidity.

Distribution

When to collect and where to grow? Winter mushrooms are found from late autumn until the onset of severe winter cold. Place of growth – stumps and fallen rotten trees. Most often found in deciduous forests. If there are favorable conditions, mushrooms can grow all winter. In cultivation unpretentious, they only need moist and cool air. ^[1]

Similarity

During the period when snow appears, winter honey agaric is quite difficult to confuse with other varieties, since nothing else grows at this time. ^[2]. In the period of late autumn, winter mushrooms can be confused with other types of wood destroyers. How to distinguish? The difference, due to which the cap of the mushroom is white, is white spore powder, as well as the presence of rings on the stem. Collibrium vertepod (winter false honey agaric) – with dubious food quality, a mushroom with a red-brown hat and a red-red, twisted leg at the bottom can be found on old oak stumps.

Caloric value

Flammulin winter mushroom has a low calorie level: there are 100 kilocalories per 22 grams of the product. Winter mushrooms have the following energy value: per 100 grams of product – 2 grams of protein, 1 gram of fat and 0,5 grams of carbohydrates ^[3].

Useful Properties

The beneficial properties of mushrooms of the mushroom family are familiar to many. Winter mushrooms perfectly support the vital activity of the whole organism, filling it with essential minerals, amino acids and vitamins. ^[4]. The product in its chemical composition has a large amount of phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper. This product, when used correctly, can help to cope with many diseases of different etymologies, and even beriberi and chronic fatigue. ^[5].

Regular addition of winter mushrooms to the diet will help reduce the likelihood of developing cancer. ^[6].

For men, one, and the most important, argument for the use of this product is a positive effect on potency.

Use in cooking

The autumn and winter mushrooms have a very pleasant delicate pulp, a light aroma and a delicate taste. They are often used for pickling and pickling. They can also be boiled or fried with the addition of sauces and vegetables. Honey mushrooms are added to soups, vegetable stews, salads, snacks. It is important to remember that before you start cooking these mushrooms, you need to completely remove the dark edges from the hats, as they will add bitterness. This is a versatile product and can be added to any dish – it all depends on taste preferences.

Chefs of mushrooms like to add pancakes, pies, meat rolls to the filling, thus giving the dish a light and interesting taste. Chefs use winter mushrooms with caution, since mucus forms on them during cooking, and although it does not affect the taste of dishes, it does affect their appearance.

Benefits and treatment

It is worth noting the huge benefits of winter mushrooms. People from the Nordic countries have long used this product to treat anemia, lung diseases, viral diseases, and they have also been used as an incredible natural powerful tonic. ^[7], ^[8]. Due to the vitamin-rich chemical composition, the product supports the state of the immune system and the functioning of the whole organism as a whole. ^[9]. Honey mushrooms contain polysaccharides that block the development of oncological malignant cells. ^[10], ^[11].

Decoctions, infusions and mushroom extracts restore pressure, positively affect the state of the circulatory system and strengthen the heart muscle ^[12].

Harm

To date, the harm that winter mushrooms can cause to the body has not been determined. They have no poisonous analogues in winter, since other mushrooms simply do not grow during this period of time. Yes, there are a few cautions for using this product: they should not be added to children’s diets, consumed in moderation in old age, and should not be used in the presence of allergic reactions.

Primary processing and preparation

How to cook? The collected winter mushrooms must first be thoroughly washed and boiled (this is how all the sand and dirt leave the mushroom). After the mushrooms have been boiled, you can proceed to their direct cooking. This process takes 20 minutes. They can be fried, stewed, baked. At the end of cooking, you can add a little breadcrumbs to the dish. In order to keep the product for a long period of time, mushrooms after boiling must be dried and put in the freezer. They can be pickled and dried.

It is worth remembering that pickling should be hot. Hats need to be boiled twice, while changing the water, then they are laid out in a jar and poured with hot marinade with spices. The jar should be capped quickly and left for at least 3 weeks. Mushrooms can also be salted dry. Boiled and dried mushrooms should be put in a jar, carefully sprinkled with salt and rolled up. There are many recipes for dishes using winter mushrooms. Housewives can dream up, as this mushroom is versatile and goes well with the most unpredictable products.

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