Content
- 1 What does the coral hedgehog look like?
- 2 Doubles and their differences
- 3 Where and how does the coral hedgehog grow?
- 4 Is the coral hedgehog mushroom edible or not?
- 5 How to cook coral-shaped hedgehog
- 6 Medicinal properties of coral-shaped hedgehogs
- 7 How to grow coral hedgehogs on the site
- 8 Some interesting facts about coral hedgehogs
- 9 Conclusion
The coral-shaped hedgehog is an edible mushroom with a very unusual appearance. It is not difficult to recognize the coral hedgehog in the forest, but it is interesting to study its features and properties.
What does the coral hedgehog look like?
The coral hedgehog is known by several names. Among them are coral and lattice-shaped hedgehogs, coral hericium, and branched hericium. All these names characterize the unusual appearance of the mushroom - it differs significantly from most related species.
Description of the cap
The coral hedgehog has a very unusual appearance; most of all, it resembles a spreading coral, capable of reaching 40 cm in width and 30 cm in length. The mushroom does not have a clearly defined cap - the fruiting body consists of long, dense processes, or branches, 5 mm in diameter, covered with small spines. The spines also elongate as the fungus develops, reaching up to 1 cm in length, and hang from the branches of the fungus. The branches of the bushy coral-shaped hedgehog are hollow from the inside.
The color of the mushroom usually has a milky, light beige or pale yellow tint. Its flesh is white or slightly pinkish, fleshy and with well-defined fibers, and when dry it becomes brownish-orange. The smell of the pulp is rich, mushroom, quite pleasant.
Description of the leg
Due to its structure, the coral hedgehog has almost no legs. Coral fungus shoots grow from a short base, almost indistinguishable at first glance. The base reaches 1 cm in diameter and is covered with small scales. The color of the stem of the fruiting body is the same as that of the entire mushroom.
Doubles and their differences
It is quite difficult to confuse the coral-shaped hericium with other mushrooms - from the description of the coral-shaped hedgehog it is clear that it looks very unusual. In appearance, it looks much more like a fancy plant or coral than a mushroom. However, in the absence of experience, it can be mistaken for related hedgehogs, which also have a non-standard appearance.
combed hedgehog
This related species, which grows on tree trunks, may resemble the coral hedgehog when mature, as it has a very profuse long fringe of light beige or whitish color hanging from its cap. Due to this, the mushroom is also called “air fish”. Sometimes the fringe of the mushroom may be slightly raised above the surface of the cap, in which case it becomes especially similar to the coral-shaped hedgehog.
However, it is easy to distinguish mushrooms - the coral type has a more bushy and uneven structure. The long fringe of the combed blackberry usually points downward, and the needles themselves are even and straight, in contrast to the curved spines of the coral mushroom.
Antennae hedgehog
Another similar species is the antennal hedgehog, which grows on tree trunks, usually located in a tiled pattern with several caps next to each other. The tops of the antennal hedgehog are white or slightly pinkish, turning yellow with age, covered on top with tightly pressed spines. Thick long spines with sharp tips hang from the underside of the caps, whitish in young mushrooms and yellowing in old ones.
You can distinguish the antennal hedgehog from the coral-shaped hericium by its shape - the spines of the fungus are directed downwards from the hymenophore, while in the coral-shaped hericium they grow in all directions in a bushy pattern. Like the coral hericium, the tendril is edible at a young age, as long as its flesh remains sufficiently tender.
Where and how does the coral hedgehog grow?
You can meet coral-shaped hericium on the territory of Russia in almost all regions - in Kamchatka and the Far East, in the Caucasus, in the Urals and in Siberia, in the European part of the country.
Coral-shaped hericium grows on the trunks of deciduous trees, most often found on birch and alder trees. The fungus chooses both dead and living trees as its place of growth. Fruiting occurs throughout the warm season - from the beginning of July until the very end of September.
Is the coral hedgehog mushroom edible or not?
Coral-shaped hericium can be eaten - it does not have toxic properties. Mushroom pickers highly appreciate the taste of the hedgehog; finding it is considered a great success in those areas where collecting the mushroom is not officially prohibited.
How to cook coral-shaped hedgehog
The culinary uses of coral mushroom are very wide and can be processed at high temperatures and dried, pickled and frozen. The composition of hericium coralliform is very healthy, and the calorie content is low, only 30 kcal per 100 g of pulp.
Preparing mushrooms
Due to its unusual structure, it is not customary to clean coral-shaped hericium before cooking.However, you still need to wash the mushroom and remove forest debris from it. To do this, the fruiting body is placed in a colander and washed under the tap, and then poured with boiling water and left for 15 minutes.
After this time, the hedgehogs need to be thrown into a colander, doused with boiling water again, and then the spines and the lower part of the fruiting body - the remains of the mycelium - be cut off. If the fruiting bodies are heavily contaminated, you can cover them with salt and warm water, and after an hour, rinse them in the standard way.
How to fry coral damsons
A popular recipe is frying coral-shaped hedgehogs - this method of preparation is very quick and simple, few ingredients are required:
- Fresh blackberries are cleaned of debris, the thorns are removed and the lower base is cut off, and then boiled in salt water for about 20 minutes.
- The mushrooms are drained in a colander, then cut into pieces of suitable sizes and placed in a frying pan greased with vegetable oil.
- Mushrooms are fried until excess moisture evaporates from them. During the frying process, add onion cut into half rings, add salt and pepper to taste.
Once the onion becomes translucent, the dish can be removed from the heat. In total, the process of frying blackberries takes no more than 10 minutes; you can add vegetables, herbs and sour cream to the finished dish.
How to marinate
For long-term storage, coral-shaped hedgehogs are usually pickled - this allows you to enjoy their taste and beneficial properties even in winter. The recipe looks like this:
- The garlic clove and onion are finely chopped and placed in a sterile jar.
- Add 1 large spoon of salt and 10 black peppercorns, 2 bay leaves and 1 large spoon of sunflower oil.
- Pour the ingredients into 2 large tablespoons of table vinegar, and then pour in 100 ml of boiling water.
- Lastly, put 500 g of chopped blackberry mushrooms into the jar and add another 150 ml of boiling water.
After this, the jar must be tightly closed, turned upside down and left to cool under a warm blanket. Ready pickled mushrooms are stored in the refrigerator.
How to freeze
For long-term storage, coral-shaped hericium can be frozen. This is very simple to do - the fruiting bodies need to be cleared of debris and washed under the tap, and then dried on a napkin or towel. Dried mushrooms are cut into slices, placed in a plastic container or bag and hermetically sealed, after which they are sent to the freezer.
Freezing shelf life depends on temperature. Thus, at - 12 °C, coral-shaped hericium will retain its beneficial properties for about 3 months, and at - 18 °C - up to six months.
How to dry
Drying barnacles is another good way to preserve them for a long time. Fresh fruiting bodies should be wiped with a paper towel and cut into thinner slices, then placed on a baking sheet and placed in an oven preheated to 45 °C.
After the mushrooms have dried a little, the temperature will need to be raised to 70 ° C and kept in the oven until the moisture has completely evaporated. The door must be left open so as not to exceed the recommended temperature. There is no need to wash the fruits before drying.
Pickling
A quick, simple recipe suggests salting coral-shaped hericium - salted mushrooms can be added to salads, main courses and even soups. The cooking algorithm is very simple:
- about 1.5 kg of mushrooms are cleared of debris and washed, and then soaked in salt water for about 4 hours;
- after this time, cut the onion into half rings, chop 2 cloves of garlic, 5 sprigs of dill or other herbs and 50 g of horseradish;
- mushrooms are cut into small pieces and placed in a pan, then boiled for 15 minutes;
- The prepared blackberry mushrooms are washed and placed in layers in a prepared jar, sprinkled with chopped spices, herbs and salt.
When the jar is full, cover it with thick gauze on top and place a weight. In a week, the salted hedgehog mushrooms will be completely ready for consumption.
Other recipes for cooking from coral-shaped hedgehogs
The above recipes are considered basic, but there are other ways to prepare hericium. All of them allow you to fully reveal the taste of the mushroom.
Coral urchin soup
To prepare the soup you will need not only blackberries, but also chicken fillet, some potatoes, melted cheese and onions. The recipe looks like this:
- First, boil 200 g of chicken fillet in a saucepan and cut into cubes;
- Place a frying pan on the fire and grease it with butter;
- 300 g of peeled blackberries and 1 onion are chopped and sent to fry;
- mushrooms and onions are salted and peppered to taste, at the same time the chicken broth is put back on the fire and 2-3 medium chopped potatoes are added to it.
After 20 minutes, the fried mushrooms and onions are added to the potatoes in chicken broth, cooked for another 5 minutes and served, not forgetting to add boiled chicken pieces to the soup. For a more piquant taste, finely chopped processed cheese is added to the hot soup already in the bowl.
Blackberries with vegetables
Coral-shaped hericium with vegetables and spices has a very pleasant and pungent taste. Prepare mushrooms like this:
- chop 1 onion and fry it until golden brown in a frying pan, then add 300 g of chopped mushrooms;
- after 7 minutes, pour 1 chopped carrot into the pan and cover with a lid;
- while the mushrooms and vegetables are fried, prepare a special sauce - mix salt, pepper, coriander and sesame 1 small spoon each, add 1 large spoon of honey and 500 ml of soy sauce;
- Simmer the sauce in a separate pan for 5 minutes.
After the mushrooms, onions and carrots are ready, they will need to be poured with sauce and served.
Braised blackberries
You can stew the coral-shaped hericium with sour cream and onions. They do it like this:
- the onion is chopped, and 300 g of mushrooms are cut into thin slices;
- the onion is fried in a frying pan until golden brown, after which the blackberry mushrooms are added;
- salt and pepper the ingredients to taste and fry for another 15 minutes.
After this, all that remains is to add 3 large spoons of sour cream, cover the pan with a lid and simmer the dish over low heat for only 5 minutes.
Medicinal properties of coral-shaped hedgehogs
Coral-shaped hericium attracts with its pleasant taste and decorative appearance. But its value also lies in its medicinal properties; eating the mushroom is very useful. The composition of hedgehog mushrooms contains vitamins and mineral salts, amino acids and protein compounds, as well as the substance hericenon B.
Due to their composition, coral-shaped hedgehogs:
- improve the condition of the nervous and muscular systems;
- contribute to the improvement of blood vessels and the cardiac system;
- prevent the formation of blood clots and have a very beneficial effect on varicose veins;
- reduce harmful cholesterol in the blood;
- help in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and fight cancer.
Scientists also note the anti-inflammatory properties of hedgehogs - consuming them is useful for colds. Coraloid hericium can accelerate the healing process of wounds and abrasions.
Tincture of coral hedgehogs with alcohol
A valuable medicine is the tincture of hedgehog mushrooms - in combination with alcohol, the mushrooms fully reveal their beneficial properties. It is prepared like this:
- 30-40 g of dried coral urchins are ground to a powder and poured into a glass vessel;
- pour 500 ml of vodka into the raw material;
- The vessel is closed and stored in a cool, dark place for 2 weeks.
You need to take the tincture a few drops a day shortly before eating. The remedy helps with inflammatory processes and tumors, and the tincture can also be rubbed on sore spots for joint ailments. The drug has pronounced antiseptic, bactericidal and restorative properties.
How to grow coral hedgehogs on the site
You don’t have to go to the forest to buy coral-shaped hericium - in specialized stores you can purchase spores of this fungus for growing coral-shaped hericium at home. Spores need to be sown from the end of April to October; in greenhouse conditions, planting is allowed throughout the year:
- Since the hedgehog grows on trees, to grow it you will need to take 2 fresh logs without shoots and internal defects, about 20 cm in diameter and 1 m in length.
- You will need to make small holes in the logs up to 4 cm in diameter, located 10 cm from each other, and immerse the wood in water for a couple of days.
- After this, the tree is dried a little in the fresh air, spores are placed in the prepared holes and the logs are wrapped in film to create a greenhouse effect.
At first, you need to keep the wood in a warm and dark place, remembering to moisten the logs twice a week. After the mycelium appears, the logs are allowed to be brought into the light. When growing coral-shaped hedgehogs in the country, the first harvest, if all the rules are followed, will appear in six months. You will need to cut the mushrooms almost immediately, without waiting for them to turn yellow and begin to dry out.
Some interesting facts about coral hedgehogs
Coraloid hericium is considered a medicinal mushroom in many countries. For example, in China it is actively used to treat the nervous system and strengthen the immune system.
The fungus contains compounds that are toxic to intestinal parasites. Due to this, the hedgehog becomes very useful in the treatment of nematodes - in combination with medications, it helps to quickly get rid of parasites.
In the late 1990s, the substance erinacin E, which stimulates the growth of nerve cells, was discovered in coral hericium. The mushroom's medical importance has increased greatly as scientists have come to the conclusion that drugs based on it have the potential to cure Alzheimer's disease.
Conclusion
The coral hedgehog is a rare and very beautiful mushroom with numerous beneficial properties.Not every mushroom picker manages to meet it, but coral-shaped hericium is suitable, among other things, for growing in a summer cottage.
