Content
Hygrophorus late (or brown) is not the most attractive mushroom in appearance; it looks very much like a toadstool or, at best, a honey fungus. But in fact, its fruiting body is edible and has excellent taste. Despite this, hygrophorus is collected only by experienced mushroom pickers, since it is not known to many people.
Hygrophorus is also called brown because of its brown cap.
What does late hygrophorus look like?
Late hygrophor grows all autumn, right up to winter, sometimes all December. Mushrooms are not located singly, but in large families or even entire colonies. Therefore, it is very easy to collect it, the main thing is to get to a productive place.From just one such clearing you can carry a whole bucket.
Hygrofor is similar in appearance to many poisonous mushrooms, but it has a number of distinctive features. The cap of the mushroom is brown, brownish, with a yellowish edge. The middle is always darker. There is a bump on it. The size of the cap reaches 2-3 cm.
The plates are bright yellow, lemon-colored, sparse and descending, as if attached to the lower part of the fruiting body. All other types of hygrophores have pure white plates.
The leg also has a yellowish color similar to that on the plates, sometimes it is reddish. Its thickness varies within 1 cm, height – up to 10 cm. It has an almost regular cylindrical shape, sometimes it can slightly expand downwards.
Grows in mixed or coniferous forests
Where does late hygrophorus grow?
This type of hygrophores grows mainly in pine forests, less often in mixed forests. They love mosses, lichens, and areas covered with heather. These mushrooms are late autumn. They grow when there are practically no other fruiting bodies in the forest, right up to the snow.
Hygrophorus may be slightly larger or smaller in size, depending on the soil in which it grows. But in any case, this mushroom is small in size. Due to the fact that it grows not individually, but in large families, it is easy to collect. In one trip to the forest you can quickly pick up a bucket of mushrooms.
Fruits in August-November. Under favorable weather conditions, it grows in forests throughout December, until the new year. It is not afraid of frost and can be collected until the first snow. Many mushroom lovers manage to grow late hygrophorus not only in the country, but even in the apartment.
To obtain a harvest at home, a number of conditions must be met:
- purchase spore powder at a specialized point of sale;
- in open ground conditions, planting is done near fruit trees, in mid-spring, loosen the soil by 10 cm, dig holes and put sand with spores in them (5:1), cover with a layer of soil or humus on top, provide abundant watering every 2-3 days ;
- choose a place in the cellar, basement or any room where it is possible to maintain high humidity, the required temperature and air circulation.
To grow hygrophorus at home, you need to prepare a suitable substrate. Mix: dry straw (100 kg) + manure (60 kg) + superphosphate (2 kg) + urea (2 kg) + chalk (5 kg) + gypsum (8 kg). First, soak the straw for several days, then cover it with manure, adding urea and superphosphate along the way. Water it every day for a week. Then mix all the layers and do this every 3-4 days. 5 days before the end of compost preparation, add gypsum and chalk. Everything will take a total of just over 20 days.
Then put the finished mass into bags and boxes. After a few days, when the compost temperature becomes stable at +23 - +25, plant the spore powder, placing the holes in a checkerboard pattern at a distance of at least 20 cm from each other. Cover the top with substrate and water generously. Maintain high humidity in the room. When the first web of mycelium appears after 2 weeks, sprinkle with a mixture of limestone, earth and peat. After 5 days, reduce the room temperature to +12 - +17 degrees.
Hygrophores should be boiled first, but you can fry them immediately
Is it possible to eat late hygrophor
Hygrophorus late is very similar in appearance to a toadstool.But in fact, this is a very tasty mushroom, suitable for all types of preparations. It can be salted, pickled and even frozen for the winter. Hygrophorus makes a very tasty soup. You can fry in a frying pan in two ways: with and without pre-boiling. Opinions differ among mushroom pickers, but the mushrooms turn out tasty and edible in both cases.
You need to cook hygrofor for no more than 15-20 minutes. At the same time, it turns out to be a little slippery. Then lightly fry and that will be enough. No need to add any spices other than salt. The mushroom is very tasty, it is not without reason that it is also called a sweet tooth. Hygrophores contain many nutrients and protein. This is what determines their high taste qualities. Here are some of them:
- vitamins A, C, B, PP;
- trace elements Zn, Fe, Mn, I, K, S;
- amino acids.
There are different types of hygrophores, but the later ones can be immediately recognized by their brown cap and yellow plates
False doubles
Hygrophora mushrooms come in different types, but they all belong to conditionally edible mushrooms. There are no poisonous ones among them. Some species are widely used in folk medicine due to their high antibacterial activity and beneficial effects on the entire body.
The most similar to the brown (late) species is the leafy hygrophor. But the double has a lighter cap color. By this feature they can be distinguished.
Both mushrooms are edible, so they are often collected together as one species
Hygrofor is easy to confuse with false honey fungus. They are very similar, and the danger is that the double is poisonous.As a rule, the cap of the false mushroom is painted in brighter, flashy colors. In hygrophorus and true honey fungus they are more muted brown.
Poisonous mushrooms almost always have a very unpleasant odor
Rules for collection and use
Hygrophorus late is a very fragile mushroom. Therefore, it must be placed in a basket or bucket very carefully. During collection, the lower part of the stem with the soil should be cut off so that the mushrooms are clean, without excess debris, which is then very difficult to get rid of. Hygrophorus is often found worm-like. You need to keep an eye on this and only take strong, whole mushrooms into the basket.
Conclusion
Hygrophorus late is a little-known edible mushroom that has excellent taste. It grows until late autumn, when there are practically no other mushrooms in the forest. Suitable for any culinary processing, non-toxic, non-bitter, and has an excellent taste.
