When does the first spring mushroom appear? Of course, every year - in different ways. However, there are some general patterns that experienced mushroom pickers notice. Spring mushrooms appear immediately after the soil has thawed. After the snow melts, as the top layer of the earth warms up, the mycelium begins to come to life and develop. In central Russia, this happens around the end of April.
Who is the first?
The first to appear are small poisonous mushrooms. Surely every attentive person paid attention to thin unpretentious mushrooms that can be found in forests, fields and even in the garden during the first spring warm days. There are no leaves on the trees, the green grass is just beginning to appear, and grebes can already be found. Of course, they are not suitable for food.
What are the first spring mushrooms edible?
Edible mushrooms begin to appear a little later. In the southern regions of the country they can be found at the very end of April, in the central and northern regions - at the beginning or middle of May. Going to pick spring mushrooms, you must always remember to be careful. At this time, a huge number of poisonous and so-called "false" mushrooms, which can easily be confused with edible. So, what are the first spring mushrooms that can be eaten? Of course, this is morels.
More about morels
These are edible spring mushrooms. For example, in the suburbs they are already beginning to be considered a rarity. You can not meet them in every forest. It is believed that they are gradually disappearing. Morel in our country and Europe has been known as edible since the middle of the 16th century. Their detailed description can be seen in European books on botany and in Russian herbalists.
They appear singly or in groups in forests, parks, you can meet them in gardens and kitchen gardens. They grow next to deciduous trees: poplar, aspen, alder, etc. These spring mushrooms are found during the flowering of fruit crops. There are morels of different types:
- morel ordinary;
- round;
- conical;
- morel cap, etc.
Here is a description of the more common morels.
Morel ordinary
The height of the hat is 8 cm, the thickness is 6 cm. It is ovoid itself, the edges are fused with a leg. The inside of the hat is hollow, outside it is covered with small irregularly shaped pits that resemble cells of a honeycomb. The color of it is brown or tan. The leg has a length of about 7 cm, a thickness of up to 2 cm, hollow, cylindrical, whitish-yellow in color. The flesh is thin, brittle, waxy.
Conical morel
The height of the cap is up to 6 cm, thickness is up to 5 cm. Outwardly conical, sometimes ovate, its edges fuse with the leg. Inside the cap is hollow; elongated cells are present on the surface. Its color is dark brown or gray-yellow-brown. The length of the legs is up to 5 cm, its thickness is up to 2 cm. Cylindrical, hollow, painted in white or slightly yellowish color. Its flesh is thin, brittle, waxy.
Morel hat
The height of the hat is up to 6 cm, width is up to 5 cm. Its appearance is bell-shaped, reminiscent of a thimble. Outside, it is wrinkled, with non-adherent edges to the pedicle, and has numerous longitudinal folds. The color is brown or yellow. Leg length up to 15 cm, thickness up to 3 cm. Color white or cream. The leg itself is cylindrical in shape, initially inside a cotton-like, later becomes hollow. The pulp is brittle, waxy.
Are morels more poisonous?
These spring mushrooms, photos of which can be viewed in this article, do not contain toxic substances. These are quite valuable forest gifts, which are in great demand in the west. For example, in the USA they are considered one of the best. Morels in the States stand out against other mushrooms and their cost, which often exceeds $ 150 per 1 kg. So you should not be afraid of them - these spring mushrooms are edible.
Considering that morels can be confused with the lines (we will discuss them below), it is worthwhile to heat them before eating them. Boil them for 15-20 minutes, then change the water and repeat the process. Then they need to be washed with cold water, and then fry or cook, not fearing for their health. All toxic toxins pass from the fungus to water when boiled.
Lines
In Russia, you can meet two of their species: ordinary and giant. Lines in the forests can be seen much more often, they are more tenacious and undemanding to external conditions. Like morels, they grow under deciduous trees, and also like to be located near rotting trunks, branches and stumps. The lines differ in voluminous hats of irregular shape, on which there are deep convolutions. Their legs are also sinuous and powerful, painted in a grayish-white color. The hat may be ocher, light brown or tan.
Are edible lines?
Russian experts consider these mushrooms to be conditionally edible. In other words, they are suitable for food, but only after boiling. As for experts from the west, they believe that the lines are classified as poisonous. This is due to recorded cases of severe poisoning by these fungi, some of which were fatal. All these cases occurred because people ate stitches in their raw foods, as did morels.
In fact, these mushrooms really contain toxic toxins, which are destroyed by heat treatment. Our mushroom pickers recommend repeated stitching. Re-boiling these mushrooms leads to the destruction of toxins, which minimizes the risk of poisoning. Of course, we do not recommend collecting these mushrooms for inexperienced people who do not know how to properly process them.
Safety precautions
Firstly, if a person decided to try the lines, then he should follow all the rules indicated above. Secondly, if there is at least some doubt that everything is done correctly, then it is better to abandon them. In addition, if it is difficult for an inexperienced mushroom picker to distinguish a line from morel, then it is not worth collecting them yourself. It is not recommended to purchase mushrooms in the market or from strangers. Among them may be poisonous specimens, and it is not known where they were collected. If mushrooms grew near the road or in places with unfavorable ecology, then even morels can be harmful to health.
Pepper orange
This is another first spring mushroom. These are bright small-sized orange mushrooms. Young specimens look like bowls, later they become flat, resembling plates and saucers. People call them saucers. These mushrooms are relatives of morels and lines. They grow right on the ground, along forest paths and at the edges. Often appear at the place where previously there were bonfires.
