Content
Psatirella Candolla belongs to false honey mushrooms, which do not contain toxic substances and, if properly prepared, can be used as a food product. However, unlike ordinary honey mushrooms, it requires longer and more complex culinary processing. It is also very important to distinguish this mushroom from other poisonous representatives and are dangerous to human health and life.
Where do Candoll's psatirellas grow?
Psatirella Candollia grows everywhere: in the central regions of Russia, Siberia, the Urals and the Far East, in deciduous or mixed forests. The favorite habitat is dead, rotten wood, fallen trees, and stumps. You can also find these mushrooms in parks and gardens near human habitation. Psatirella grows throughout the warm season, from May to autumn.
What do Candoll's psatirells look like?
Psatirella Kandollya has an external resemblance to the honey fungus, which is why its other name is false honey fungus. The bell-shaped cap of young representatives takes on an outstretched shape as they grow, and a smooth tubercle remains in the center. The cap, with a diameter of 3 to 8 cm, is almost white, and with age it becomes darker, acquiring a brown tint. The remnants of the blanket of young fungi subsequently rupture and form snow-white flakes on the inside, which is also characteristic of honey mushrooms. The hollow, long, cylindrical, cream-colored leg grows from 7 to 10 cm. It is very smooth, and occasionally has slight pubescence. Its pulp is brown with a whitish tint and has a very subtle, pleasant mushroom aroma, which becomes noticeable only when the mushroom is brought to the sinuses. The cap and leg of representatives of this species are very fragile and brittle.
You can clearly see this mushroom in the following video:
Is it possible to eat Candoll's psatirellas?
The edibility of Psatirella Candolla is controversial. Some sources indicate that it is conditionally edible, while others indicate that it is completely inedible. The use of this false foam requires complex heat treatment, so it is very rarely used for preparing culinary dishes.
Taste qualities of mushroom
The taste of Candoll's psatirella is mediocre in any form. Its taste is nothing special, and its nutritional value remains questionable. In its raw form, honey fungus is very bitter and unpleasant in taste, so they only try it in its finished form. If a cooked mushroom dish tastes bitter, it should be thrown away immediately. This signals that poisonous fruiting bodies have entered the mushroom basket. Given the similarity with inedible mushrooms of its genus, Candolle's false honey fungus is rarely used for gastronomic purposes.
Benefits and harm to the body
Psatirella Candolla does not provide any benefit to the human body, since it does not have any unique properties. It is not used in folk medicine for medicinal purposes. False foam can cause harm if it is cooked incorrectly and if heat treatment regimes are not followed.
Poisoning is characterized by the following symptoms:
- dizziness and headache;
- nausea, heartburn, very unpleasant symptoms inside the stomach;
- vomiting, diarrhea;
- loss of consciousness;
- weakness, apathy and trembling of the limbs.
In some cases, poisoning with psatirella Candolla may result in loss of consciousness. At the first symptoms, you should consult a doctor.
False doubles
Psatirella has remains of a veil on the inside of the cap, which is typical for real mushrooms. However, it is quite difficult to confuse them with each other. In some cases, the mushroom does not retain the remains of the cover, which causes mushroom pickers to confuse it with different types of champignons. But, unlike them, the Candolle species grows only on dead wood and, in most cases, in numerous groups.Champignons are also distinguished by a clearly defined ring on the stem, which the variety in question does not have.
Psatirella Kandolla has an external similarity with other representatives of the Agrocybe genus - Psatirella grey-brown and water-loving. However, Candolla is characterized by a darker spore color than its counterparts. And the water-loving false honey fungus actively bears fruit only in the fall - from September to November. Both mushrooms are classified as conditionally edible.
Psatirella water-loving on the picture:
Psatirella gray-brown:
Collection rules
Psatirella Candollia is highly variable: its external characteristics depend on the place of growth, air temperature during growth, soil composition, lighting and type of wood. Therefore, in different regions and even in different places, the mushroom has its own unique appearance. Kandolla differs from related inedible mushrooms only in the presence of remnants of the veil and the shade of the spores. This makes it very difficult to collect. The fragile honey fungus bears fruit in places with slight shading, even on fairly dry soil, in large groups, where about 1 kg of mushrooms can be collected at a time. The crop grows in one place for 3 - 4 years, which is very important for mushroom pickers interested in collecting.
Use
As a commercial mushroom, Psatirella Candolla is not of great interest. There is information in old sources that it is inedible. However, scientists have now classified the mushroom as a conditionally edible variety of fruiting bodies. Before eating, psatirella is soaked in cold water, then boiled for 30 - 40 minutes; the broth must be drained and not used for cooking. After this, the mushroom mass is fried, boiled, salted or pickled.
You can check the edibility of psatirella in this way:
- Place them in a cooking pot.
- After boiling, add a peeled onion or a few cloves of garlic.
- A change in the color of mushrooms to brown or blue indicates the presence of poisonous specimens.
Conclusion
Psatirella Candollia grows in large groups everywhere all summer, so collecting them is not difficult. The main thing is not to confuse them with related brothers. Without having high gastronomic qualities, in the absence of other mushrooms, psatirella can diversify the table in the summer-autumn and winter seasons.
