The spruce fly mushroom is edible. Recipes for dishes made from spruce mokrukha mushroom
Kira Stoletova
Spruce weed is one of the mushrooms from the Gomphidian family. It also has other names - sticky and slug. It received its generic name from Greek, which means “peg”. Translated from Latin - “sticky”.
Botanical characteristics
The spruce moth has a mushroom cap from 4 to 13 cm in diameter. The structure is meaty. The shape changes depending on the age of the mushroom:
- in young midges, the cap has the shape of a hemisphere with the edges turned towards the mushroom stalk, connected at the edges to the stalk by a thick, mucus-covered velum, which looks like a colorless film of thread-like fibers,
- later, the cap takes on the appearance of a convex cone, retaining the remains of the coverlet,
- an adult mushroom has an outstretched cap with a small tubercle in the central part or slightly depressed in the center.
The surface of the mushroom cap is smooth and covered with abundant mucus, which becomes shiny when dried. The color is gray, gray-brown or gray-blue, sometimes the edges are painted purple, the middle is light. In an adult mushroom, the cap surface is covered with black specks.
The season for collecting midges begins at the end of summer and lasts throughout the fall, until the first frost in October.
The flesh of the moth is fleshy and fragile in structure. The color of the mushroom pulp is white, yellow closer to the base of the stem, and in some representatives with a pink tint. In old mushrooms, the flesh becomes gray. The taste is sweetish or slightly sour, the smell is classic mushroom.
The mushroom plates have the shape of a descending arc, are highly branched, 3-6 mm wide. Planted sparsely, at intervals of 8-10 pcs. by 1 cm. The color of the plates is white or gray, over time it darkens to brown, keeping the edges white. In overripe mushrooms, the color of the mushroom plates becomes brown with a purple tint, even black.
Mass fruiting of the Gomphidian family occurs in the second half of August and lasts until the last days of September.
The mushroom stalk will grow up to 5-11 cm in length, up to 1-2.5 cm in thickness, massive. In young midges it is thick and swollen, in adults it becomes cylindrical in shape, thickened at the base. The surface of the mushroom stalk is smooth, slimy, and covered with dark scales. The color of the base is lemon or bright yellow. In the upper part, at a distance of 1/3, there is a faint mucous ring on the mushroom stalk. In mature midges, the leg above the ring is painted a dark shade and darkens under mechanical stress.
Similar varieties
Spruce moth does not have edible and inedible varieties that are similar in description. It has a number of similar characteristics to edible representatives of its family:
- spotted moth, from which it differs in its reddening flesh when broken and the color of spore powder,
- purple moth, the mushroom cap of which has a brighter color.
Representatives with dark caps have some similarities in description with the autumn oiler, which does not have mushroom plates.
Geography of distribution
Spruce moth prefers to settle in coniferous, usually spruce or mixed with spruce forests; it chooses forest floors covered with moss, especially in places where heather grows. Most often grows in small groups.
In regions where nature has generously provided fertile soils and forests, you can pick up a lot of mushrooms and berries. However, lovers of quiet hunting do not have much respect for the mokrukha mushroom, which is often found in such places. Unpresentable, which is thickly covered with mucus, causes them only a grin and disgust. However, if a piece of wet food accidentally ends up in your basket, there is no need to rush to throw it away. It is not considered poisonous, and some mushroom pickers even claim that if you prepare it correctly, you can get a completely delicious dish with a piquant taste.
Description of the mushroom
Mokruha is a conditionally edible mushroom that belongs to the fourth category of edible mushrooms. That is, in order to eat it, the mushroom must first be soaked and then boiled. Some housewives use it as an addition to various sauces, dried, salted and pickled.
The Mokrukhov family can be divided into two genera, called Chroogomphus and Gomphidius. A distinctive feature of these mushrooms is to form a wet, slimy film on the cap. These gifts of the forest are always slippery to the touch. It is this characteristic feature that confuses many mushroom pickers.
Wetweeds can grow either singly or in small families. Active growth of representatives of this family is observed from the beginning or mid-July until the first frost.
The truth about slippery mushrooms
In terms of taste characteristics, mokrukha are significantly inferior to more expensive representatives of this kingdom. Of course, they are not as tasty as white or champignons. However, in terms of the content of a large amount of nutrients and antibacterial components, they are ahead of all types of mushrooms found in the central zone of our country. Some biologists and botanists call the moth family a storehouse of proteins, carbohydrates, amino acids and consider them indispensable in therapeutic nutrition. By the way, during cooking, the mokrukha mushroom turns black.
Where are the moths found?
In Russia, the mokrukha mushroom is found in regions with a temperate climate. Here you can find six types of them. Thus, purple, pink or pine moths have chosen pine forests for their existence. Felt fungus (felt weed) grows in symbiosis with fir, pine and cedar trees. Slender or spotted moths prefer to live under larches. The spruce moth fungus has found its refuge under the spruce tree.
The preparation and storage of these plants does not require special efforts from the housewife or special knowledge in the field of cooking. Therefore, many experienced mushroom pickers are happy to collect them. According to mokrukha connoisseurs, you can peel the mushroom immediately after cutting. This won't take much time and will prevent other mushrooms from getting dirty with sticky mucus.
Notable Features
It doesn’t matter where you come across the mokrukha mushroom (you can see photos of representatives of the kingdom of wildlife in the article) - an experienced mushroom picker will never confuse it with anything. However, these mushrooms still differ from each other. They may have different shapes and different color shades, and may or may not have a specific smell. It is also worth noting that depending on the species, the taste qualities of this type of mushroom differ significantly. It is believed that pine members of the family have the most exquisite taste.
For example, spruce weevils may have a dry or sticky rather than slimy film. The color of the cap can be grayish or bluish, or maybe dirty brown, without any spots. Young mushrooms have a convex cap, but over time it takes on a more prostrate shape. There are plates on the inside of the caps of these mushrooms. A high leg with a slight swelling in the middle and a characteristic wide ring, also covered with mucus - these characteristics are a kind of calling card of moths. The surface of the mushroom stem is smooth and moist, at the very bottom it is bright yellow, but closer to the cap it turns white. The mushroom pulp is dense and fleshy, tender and almost white. The smell is almost completely absent. These grow up in small families.
The purple mokrukha mushroom has a fleshy, convex-conical cap with slightly bent edges. But the older the mushroom gets, the flatter the cap becomes. Color - orange-brown or copper-red. It has an adhesive mucous film on the surface. On dry sunny days, the wet layer dries out, and then the cap becomes glossy. On the reverse side of the cap, the plates descend to a low, thin stem. If a leg is broken, the flesh begins to turn yellow at the break. The flesh of the mushroom itself is saffron-colored, and with slight pressure it turns wine-red. It has a pleasant, slightly sweet smell.
The value of purple and spruce fly
Particularly valuable properties of these subspecies include the presence of antibiotic characteristics that can strongly counteract the growth and activity of pathogenic microbes, including staphylococcus. The spruce fly mushroom, like the purple one, is widely used in the treatment of sinusitis and skin diseases.
Other members of the family
The pink molyweed stands out noticeably from the family of these mushrooms. Her bright pink hat, slightly faded in the center, attracts and at the same time scares off many mushroom pickers. Young pink mushrooms have a noticeably convex cap, but over time it becomes almost flat, and its edges begin to bend upward. The surface is slimy and sticky in wet weather. Wide plates smoothly descend to a short cylindrical stalk, on which there is a mucous ring. The pulp of this mushroom is very light, fleshy and soft. It turns black when cooked. There is almost no smell.
Mokrukha slender acquired its name because of its size and shape. In appearance it is very similar to the purple moth, but differs in a taller, stronger leg and a small cap with dark spots. It has sparse plates descending to the stem. However, this is a completely different species, so they should not be confused.
The felt mushroom is another representative of the mokruha family. Its other names are felt yellowleg and Swiss fly. The small cap is usually orange-brown in color and has a felt or scaly structure. In dry weather it is mostly dry, but becomes slimy after rain. It has dense pale pink plates that fall to a thin, often curved stem. With age, these plates may turn black. The stem of the mushroom is low, can reach 8 cm in height, most often tapering slightly at the base. Usually the color of the stem is identical to the color of the cap. The brim of the cap of young mushrooms may be connected to the stem by light, dry, fibrous tissue. This species is widespread in upland coniferous forests and cedar trees.
How to cook mushrooms
Mokrukha, like any other types of mushrooms, is soaked for several minutes, the top adhesive layer is removed from the entire surface and washed thoroughly. Since these mushrooms are conditionally edible, they must be boiled. Many housewives claim that these gifts of the forest, after pre-treatment, must be placed in salted water, brought to a boil and simmered over low heat for 15-30 minutes. However, in reality, long-term cooking of mokrukhs is undesirable. This makes their flesh tough and fibrous. During heat treatment, the color of mushrooms can change significantly: from light, the flesh becomes dark purple, almost black.
They are not very good as an independent dish, but as an addition to a side dish or as part of a sauce they are simply excellent and give an original taste to the main dish. It is difficult to confuse mokrukha with anything else in the dish.
Application
Representatives of this mushroom family are used not only for preparing all kinds of culinary dishes. They are widely used in cosmetology and folk medicine.
It is believed that mokrukha has a beneficial effect on all organs of our body. The presence of antibacterial substances in this mushroom determines the effectiveness of its use as a therapeutic and prophylactic agent. Modern medicine confirms that mokrukha is effective in the treatment of viral diseases. In many countries, this mushroom is used to treat migraines, nervous system disorders, headaches and insomnia. It is assumed that such a product has a positive effect on the general condition of the body, helps strengthen the immune system and is effective in the fight against chronic fatigue.
Cosmetics that contain the spruce fly fungus (preparing such potions at home is not difficult) make the skin more elastic and silky. Lotions, infusions and decoctions relieve redness and inflammation. Along the way, they have a beneficial effect on skin color - it becomes smooth and matte. Creams with mokrukha are recommended for owners of oily skin prone to enlarged pores.
Decoctions and special masks made from mokrukha help strengthen and grow hair. After using such products, the hair becomes silky and shiny. Since ancient times, this mushroom has been used in folk medicine to eliminate dandruff and split ends.
Spruce weed is an edible mushroom of a peculiar appearance. What are the “pros” and “cons” of spruce weed? How can you use this mushroom?
Hello dear reader!
Spruce weed causes irritation to the mushroom picker who finds it rather than joy from the find. The hope was for some more “noble” mushroom. And I came across such a “snotty disgrace”!
Spruce moth is most often confused with an oil can. One can even assume that they hope for . Although the young wet women don’t resemble him in any way. But alas... Many people don’t even suspect that spruce moth is a completely edible mushroom, albeit not of the highest quality.
This is what the spruce fly mushroom looks like
Spruce weed: description of the mushroom, its pros and cons
This fungus forms mycorrhiza and usually grows in forests containing this tree. Most likely not even in clean, ripe dark-coniferous spruce forests, but in spruce-deciduous forests, in young spruce plantings. It is found almost everywhere in the forest zone of the temperate zone of Russia.
Symbiosis with spruce explains the species name. And this mushroom (and other representatives of the genus) was called mokrukha for its mucous coating.
This feature is especially evident in young fruiting bodies of spruce fly. Both the cap and the leg are covered with mucus. The plates are also covered with a mucous cobwebby blanket.
The young fruiting body of the spruce fly is completely covered with mucus
Later, there is less mucus. It remains along the edge of the cap. The plates are released from the blanket. It preserves a thick mucous ring on the stalk. The color of the fruiting body ranges from gray and bluish-gray to brown. This is how the color of the cap changes with the age of the fruiting body. But you can also find fairly young spruce moths with light brown caps.
Wet spruce with light brown caps
The cap of a mature mushroom can reach 10 cm in diameter and even slightly larger. But still, the fruiting bodies of spruce moth are usually found to be somewhat smaller in size. At first the caps are hemispherical, then they unfold, becoming almost flat, even with some depression in the center.
Pay attention to the attachment of the cap to the stem. The plates descend onto the stem. For this feature they are called descending. The plates are light gray or grayish-white. As the spores mature, their color changes to brown or almost black.
Spruce moth blades descending onto the stem
The leg of the spruce moth is yellow at the base. This is quite noticeable even on the surface, and even better - on a section (unfortunately, I didn’t get this photo).
Yellow spruce moth leg at the base
Spruce moth forms fruiting bodies from the second half of summer until late autumn, until frost. But basically it is still an autumn mushroom.
“Pros” of spruce moth
The mushroom, despite its not very presentable appearance, is quite edible and even tasty. Having tried it fried, I was convinced of the correctness of the statements that the taste of spruce mokrukha really resembles.
You can fry it without first boiling it. But you have to clean the cap from the mucous skin and the stem from the mucus. Otherwise, when processed, the mushroom turns very black.
It is absolutely impossible to confuse spruce weed with some inedible or poisonous mushroom. She is so unique. According to the descriptions, the spotted fly is somewhat similar to it. But it is also edible, and it is rare. It also turns red when cut.
Side view of spruce moth. The mucous ring on the stalk is clearly visible
Spruce weed has an antibacterial effect. However, as far as I know, the mushroom is not used in medicine, both “official” and folk. Mokrukha is also described as a powerful storage device, an “accumulator” of cesium compounds.
The stable (non-radioactive) isotope of this alkali metal, cesium-133, is not only completely safe for our body, but also has a beneficial, although not fully studied, effect. Based on its compounds, drugs are created to treat a number of diseases (for example, ulcers).
Cesium compounds are actively accumulated from the environment by another very well-known of our mushrooms -.
“Disadvantages” of spruce weevil
What “dark spots” does this mushroom have? Yes, the main thing (and perhaps the only thing) is that it needs to be cleaned. This procedure is very tedious. In addition, as with oils, it turns the skin on your fingers black.
I usually make it easier to clean the mushrooms by pouring boiling water over the mushrooms for a couple of minutes. But I haven’t done this procedure yet with regard to spruce weevil. Perhaps it is also effective.
Another drawback is that with any heat treatment the mushrooms darken. And if you do not remove the mucus and skin, they will turn black. There seem to be no other shortcomings.
Spruce weed is an edible mushroom that can be fried, pickled, and salted. I haven’t tried the last two processing methods yet, so I can’t say anything. And fried... A mushroom is like a mushroom, no better, but no worse than many others. Processing only required.
As they say, “in the absence of a stamp, we write on a simple one.” If there are many other, better quality mushrooms in the forest, it is hardly worth the trouble of collecting spruce fly. But if there are few other mushrooms, then you can collect it too. As is the case with
Mokrukhs (Gomphidius) are basidiomycete mushrooms belonging to the Mokrukhov family (Gomрhidiaceae). This genus was brought along with conifers to the territory of many regions and countries.
Mokruhi are basidiomycete mushrooms belonging to the Mokrukhov family.
Hat-type lamellar gris b, characterized by a slimy or drying cap, the surface of which can be purple, pinkish, gray-wine-brown, sometimes sharply darkening when touched. The plates are of a descending type, whitish or yellowish, darkening over time and acquiring a grayish tint. The pulp is whitish in color, with a yellowish or pink-brown tint. The leg is distinguished by the presence of a mucous ring, with an adhesive and mucous surface of a whitish or pinkish color. The spores are greenish-black or brown-black, spindle-shaped.
Gallery: mokrukha mushroom (25 photos)
Features of spruce fly (video)
Taste and nutritional value of mokrukh
For food purposes, only spruce, pine, pink, spotted and felt moths are used. Rarer edible varieties include Swiss and Siberian flyweed. In accordance with the classification of edibility, all edible varieties belong to the fourth category, therefore they are used for food purposes only after preliminary heat treatment.
Description of types of moths
There are currently six varieties of such mushrooms growing in our country, but the most common are spruce, pink and purple mushrooms.
Spruce damp (sticky)
Gomp.glutinosus - edible variety, characterized by a hemispherical, convex-conical, prostrate or slightly depressed cap in the central part, with the presence of an inconspicuous tubercle.
It is distinguished by a smooth, distinctly slimy, shiny surface of gray, grayish-bluish-blue or grayish-brown skin, which is easily removed with fleshy and fragile, white or pinkish pulp, which has a slightly sweetish or sour taste and an inexpressive mushroom aroma. The plates are descending, arcuate, with strong branching, grayish or whitish. The leg is high and massive, with a club-shaped base, whitish-grayish, mucous, with the presence of an indistinct mucous ring.
Spruce damp (sticky)
Purple wetter (yellow-legged)
Сhr.rutilus - edible variety, characterized by a conical-rounded, flat-convex or prostrate cap, with a wide and blunted eminence in the center, covered with a smooth and shiny, highly mucous, light brown, reddish brick-red or lilac-reddish skin covering a fleshy, pinkish-yellowish pulp without a strong odor and pronounced taste.
The plates are arched, descending, sparsely spaced, thick, ocher-pink or mauve, purple-brown or dirty brown, almost black. The leg is solid, cylindrical in shape, tapering at the base, slightly sticky, with ring-shaped remains of the veil.
Purple wetter (yellow-legged)
Wet pink
Gomp.roseus is an edible variety characterized by a hemispherical, convex or flattened, slimy cap with rolled up or raised edges, coral-pink or brick-pink coloring with sparse, descending to the stem, branching, ash-gray and dark grayish with greenish or lilac shade plates. The leg is cylindrical, narrowed at the base, pinkish-whitish, with a mucous-type ring. The soft part turns pink on the cut with a whitish coloration, with a weak and pleasant aroma, as well as a sweetish aftertaste.
Wet pink
Mokrukha spotted
Gomp.masulatus – edible variety, characterized by a convex, flattened or sometimes slightly depressed cap with rolled edges, covered with mucous, pale, pink-brown, grayish-ochreous or yellowish skin. The plates are sparsely spaced, descending, branching, whitish or dirty brown in color. The stalk is cylindrical, fibrous type, with an adhesive surface and a mucous-type ring. The soft part is whitish or yellowish, turning red when cut.
Mokrukha spotted
Mokrukha felt
Chr.tomentosus – edible variety, characterized by being convex, flattened and sometimes depressed, with a blunt tubercle in the center and hairy, curled edges of the cap, covered with a dry, fibrous, slightly sticky, yellowish-brown or ocher skin. The plates are sparse, descending type, dirty brown in color. The leg is cylindrical, fibrous, with the presence of a cobwebby ring. The soft part is ocher colored, with a wine-pinkish tint.
What does pine moth look like (video)
Places and season for collecting moths
Spruce variety grows from mid-August to early October, in the northern regions of Eurasia, preferring mixed forests and coniferous plantings, mossy soils and heather thickets. Purple variety It is found in the European part of our country, less frequently in Siberia and the North Caucasus, forming fruiting bodies on well-calcareous soils in coniferous and deciduous forest zones, most often under pine and birch trees. Variety pink appears at the end of July and actively bears fruit until the middle of the first autumn month, forming fruiting bodies on sufficiently moist soils in pine forests.
Felt variety It is a mycorrhizal former with coniferous trees, in particular it forms fruiting bodies under black fir. This variety is especially widespread in the Far East and North America. Swiss wetweed belongs to the category of conditionally edible varieties, characterized by rather tough and fibrous pulp with a sweetish taste. As a rule, it bears fruit quite abundantly in mountainous forested areas, near tree species such as cedars or spruces.
The spruce variety grows from mid-August to early October
How to properly cook mokruhi mushrooms
Mokruhi of some varieties have a fairly rich and well-defined mushroom aroma, as well as a pleasant and delicate taste, due to which they are highly valued by experienced mushroom pickers. Under the influence of heat treatment, the fleshy mushroom pulp of the purple variety acquires a very attractive purple hue. It is important to note, that before you start cooking or frying the fruiting bodies, the mushrooms must be very carefully cleaned of soil particles and various forest debris, which very actively stick to the mucous surface of the cap. Then the slimy skin must be removed and the fruiting bodies are washed in running water.
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