Content
The plum mushroom, belonging to the Tapinella genus, has long been considered a mushroom with low taste properties, which was eaten only after thorough soaking and boiling. After several cases of poisoning, scientists assumed that the mushroom had unstudied toxic properties and did not recommend it for consumption. Despite this, many mushroom pickers still consider the fat mushroom to be a completely edible mushroom and continue to collect it. This should be done very carefully, as there are related species that are officially recognized as poisonous. A photo and description of the fat pig will help to identify the main signs of difference and not make a mistake in choosing.
Where does the fat pig mushroom grow?
The fat pig is a resident of regions with a temperate climate. It is common in coniferous forests, slightly less common in deciduous and mixed forests. Its favorite places to grow are the roots and trunks of fallen trees, stumps overgrown with moss. The mushroom settles in shady places, in lowlands and ravines. Pigs are arboreal saprotrophs that use dead wood for food, decomposing it into simple organic compounds. The fat pig lives in large colonies or alone. Its fruiting begins in the second half of summer and continues until the end of October.
What does a fat pig look like?
In numerous photos you can see what a thick or felt pig looks like. This is a cap-footed lamellar mushroom, which got its name because of the thick stem and the shape of the cap, quite thick and fleshy, reaching 30 cm in diameter. Young pigs have a small, hemispherical cap. Gradually it enlarges, becomes spade-shaped, with a depressed center and tucked edges. The young skin feels like felt, but over time it becomes smooth and dry, covered with cracks. The color of the cap is brown or dark orange, close to brown.
The hymenophore of the fungus consists of light, dense plates that darken with age.
The leg of the thick pig reaches 10 cm in height and 5 cm in width, it has dense flesh and is covered with a felt coating. It grows, moving towards the edge of the cap, sometimes it is curved.
Thick pork has light, odorless flesh with a bitter taste. It is hygrophanic (swells under the influence of environmental moisture), and quickly darkens when broken.
About the features of the variety with a clear example - in the video:
Edible or not fat pig
The thick-legged pig has bitter and tough flesh. In Rus', it was always classified as a low-quality mushroom and was eaten only as a last resort (if it was not possible to collect more valuable varieties of mushrooms). Later it was classified as a conditionally edible crop that is not recommended for consumption. The reason for this was the presence of unstudied toxic elements in it. Toxins tend to gradually accumulate in the body with frequent consumption of the mushroom. The fact of deterioration of the overall ecology of the planet also contributed to the increase in harm from eating pork fat. Many city residents have recently experienced and are experiencing a decrease in immunity, and their susceptibility to allergic reactions is increasing.
Therefore, in 1981, the fat pig was excluded by the USSR Ministry of Health from the list of mushrooms allowed for harvesting.
If there are other, more valuable mushrooms, the fat pig is not worth collecting. If you still plan to eat the mushroom, then this should be done with great precautions in order to minimize possible harm to the body:
- You should not eat fat pig often and in large quantities;
- Before cooking, mushrooms should be soaked for 24 hours and boiled twice for 30 minutes, changing the water;
- It is not recommended to consume dishes from pig fat for people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and those prone to allergic reactions;
- Mushrooms should not be given to children, pregnant or lactating women, or the elderly;
- This species should be collected only in areas with good ecology, away from busy highways and industrial enterprises;
- It is safer to eat young specimens.
How to distinguish thin and fat pigs
The most common twin of the thick pig is the thin pig, or barn, which belongs to the Svinushka family.
The mushroom has long been considered edible, and it was even noted that it has good taste. But gradually scientists came to the conclusion that it has pronounced toxic properties, which do not appear immediately, but after some time after consumption. Suspicions were confirmed after a fatal poisoning occurred. In 1944, German mycologist Julius Schaeffer died of kidney failure, which developed two weeks after eating thin pork. This incident prompted mycologists to transfer the thin pig into the category of poisonous representatives prohibited for consumption. In our country, it was included in the list of poisonous and inedible mushrooms by a decree of the State Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision of the Russian Federation in 1993.
Thick and thin pigs have significant differences. You need to know them to avoid serious poisoning. The felt pig is characterized by a thick leg and a dry cap. The thin pig looks a little different:
- its cap is olive in color, up to 20 cm in diameter, does not crack, and after rain it becomes sticky and slimy;
- the leg is thin, cylindrical, has a matte surface, lighter than the cap or the same color as it;
- hymenophore – pseudoplate, consists of folds of a brown shade, easily moves away from the cap;
- the pulp is pale yellow, often worm-like, and has no smell or taste.
Cowweed contains the substance muscarine, an alkaloid of plant origin. When this poison enters the human body, the so-called muscarinic syndrome occurs. The person experiences increased salivation, vomiting and diarrhea begin, and the pupils constrict. In severe poisoning, collapse and pulmonary edema develop, resulting in death.
Eating tonka svinushka can cause a severe allergic reaction due to the presence of the so-called svinushka antigen in the mushroom. This substance is deposited on the membranes of red blood cells, provoking an autoimmune reaction in a person. The antibodies produced are aggressive and damage not only fungal antigens, but also the membranes of blood cells. The consequence of the destruction of red blood cells is the development of renal failure. The painful condition does not occur immediately. A negative reaction develops over a period of time with frequent and abundant use of this representative.
Pig mushroom actively accumulates heavy metals and radioisotopes from the air and soil, and their content in mushrooms is many times higher. This can also cause severe poisoning, especially if mushroom raw materials were collected in an environmentally unfavorable area.
Application
After thoroughly soaking and boiling, the fat pig can be eaten fried, salted or pickled (using the hot pickling method).Like any mushroom, it is rich in fiber, contains a minimum of calories, and is a source of vegetable protein, vitamins and minerals.
Content of valuable chemical elements in the product:
- Atromentin. This brown pigment is a natural broad-spectrum antibiotic and also prevents the formation of blood clots.
- Polyporic acid. It has an antitumor effect.
- Telephoric acid - blue pigment. Used for dyeing wool fabrics. Gives them a beautiful, blue-gray tint.
Fat pig poisoning
The fat pig is considered a conditionally edible mushroom, so it should be eaten with great caution. The toxic properties of the plant have not been sufficiently studied, but if the rules of collection and preparation are violated, they can manifest themselves, causing severe poisoning.
- Improper heat treatment will result in all the toxins remaining in the mushrooms and entering the body.
- Too frequent consumption can lead to the accumulation of toxic elements in the body, which do not completely disappear even with careful soaking and cooking of the raw materials.
- Fat pigs have the ability to accumulate toxic substances from the environment. In specimens collected near the roadway, increased amounts of lead, cadmium and arsenic are recorded.
In case of poisoning, symptoms of damage to the gastrointestinal tract first develop: cutting pain in the epigastric region, vomiting, diarrhea. Then the composition of the blood is disrupted, the patient’s volume of urine excreted sharply decreases, and the level of hemoglobin increases. In severe cases, complications develop in the form of renal failure, acute respiratory failure, and anaphylactic shock.
Conclusion
Mushroom reference books containing photos and descriptions of the fat mushroom state that it can be collected and eaten if done with extreme caution. Some people have an individual intolerance to mushrooms, so you need to start consuming them with small portions, no more than once a day. They are safest when salted and pickled, since salt and acetic acid to some extent dissolve heavy metal compounds and bring them into solution.
