Edible mushroom antlers: description of the type and recipes. Deer horns mushroom. How to collect, what you can cook, and what makes "slingshots" pleasant What does a deer lip mushroom look like?

These strange mushrooms in the Primorsky Territory are no less popular than "ordinary" mushrooms. There are practically no deer horns poisonous mushroomsalthough some are not tasty and not quite edible mushrooms presented quite widely. Find bright in the forest beautiful mushrooms - Reindeer antlers or as they are also called Coral mushrooms are quite simple. Like most tree mushrooms, deer horns prefer the rotten wood of fallen trees. By the names it is easy to guess on the wood of which tree this or that mushroom grows.

Although reindeer horns taste close to the most delicious mushrooms, they are not cultivated, growing mushrooms under artificial conditions that are less demanding and more productive.
In the forest, on fallen trees, you can easily pick up bags of mushrooms in a matter of minutes. Reindeer horns form whole clusters on the trunks, and the convenience of collection makes harvesting these mushrooms a pleasure. ...

There is a widespread belief that these mushrooms are not suitable for classical cooking and the recipes for preparing these mushrooms are complex and not varied. This is fundamentally wrong. The author considers deer horns the most convenient mushroom for preparing and preparing dishes.
You can easily get acquainted with my recipes by clicking on the link right under the description of the mushroom.

Deer antlers have been bearing fruit since the middle of summer, but it has been noticed that it is in the fall that these mushrooms acquire a truly magnificent taste. I personally like the grown antlers. on old fallen oak trunks, these mushrooms have a pleasant sweetish taste and do not deteriorate for a long time during transportation. Mushrooms grown on linden or poplar are more juicy and fleshy, and antlers growing on rotting wood of pines and cedars are much less tasty, they are not considered medicinal mushrooms and are used in traditional folk medicine as a remedy for worms, hypochondria, and even for rheumatic diseases of the joints.

Although it is difficult to make a mistake in collecting antler mushrooms, always be careful! Most cases of mushroom poisoning are due to illiteracy and negligence, when an inexperienced mushroom picker takes poisonous mushroom for edible. Sometimes poisoning occurs with ready-made salted, pickled or canned edible mushrooms due to improper preparation or storage. It should be remembered that some edible mushrooms eaten raw (or undersalted or undercooked) can also cause mild poisoning. We should not forget that some people have an individual intolerance to mushrooms.

The world of mushrooms is truly fascinating and unique. These organisms are unique in themselves and can amaze with their forms, complex life cycles, taste.

In the woods you can sometimes find unusual mushroomthat looks like corals. People call it "deer horns". Let's talk more about these mushrooms.

The correct botanical name is Ramaria flava. From Latin it translates as yellow Ramaria. Belongs to the department Basidiomycetes, class Agaricomycetes, order Homfaceae, family Horned.

The habitat of this fungus is mixed, deciduous and coniferous forests of the Caucasus, the North-West of our country, as well as forests of Central Europe.

People call deer antlers so because in shape it really resembles the branched antlers of a male deer. To many, it resembles corals.

Sometimes in the guides of mushroom pickers you can find the following names:

The aerial part of ramaria grows about 15-20 cm in height. The fruit body grows diametrically and reaches 20 cm in diameter. In the middle there is a dense hyphae plexus, which forms a common leg, and branched outgrowths "horns" emerge from it. These "branches" have a cylindrical shape and dichotomously branch at their apex.

The color of the aboveground part of the fruiting body is yellow, and the palette of yellow can have different shades. It depends on the substrate on which the ramaria grows, as well as on the intensity sunlight in the underbrush.

Closer to the bases of the horns, the color can be rich yellow. If you press on the fruiting body, then a brownish color appears at the point of squeezing. On the cut, the flesh is marbled yellow. The smell is quite pleasant, reminiscent of the smell of freshly cut grass.

Ramaria has a low food grade. On the botanical scale of food categories - the fourth. There is no particular mushroom flavor. If the fruit bodies are old, the tops must be removed, as they accumulate substances that give a certain bitterness.

Collection rules and precautions

Many horned mushrooms are poisonous. In this regard, you need to know the yellow ramaria and be able to distinguish it from other "forest corals". Collection and procurement is carried out in August and September. At this time, antlers can be found in the undergrowth as single fruits or in small groups of 3-4 "bushes".

Rules for collecting horned animals:

Important advice! If you are a novice mushroom picker, it is not recommended to collect horned mushrooms. Whether the horned mushroom is edible or not is difficult to determine. Some of them are so similar to each other that they can only be distinguished under a microscope. Only one moment calms - among these mushrooms there are no highly poisonous ones that lead to death.

How to cook mushrooms properly

Reindeer horn soup is especially tasty. To prepare it, you will need the standard ingredients of mushroom soup - a clove of garlic, onions, herbs, carrots, potatoes, butter, salt, pepper and 300-400 g of this wonderful mushroom.

Boil mushrooms for 20 minutes separately in salted water. We must drain this broth and do not use it. It may contain toxins. You can boil it twice for 10 minutes. It's even better that way.

Then the soup is cooked in the standard way. Onions, potatoes, garlic, carrots are thrown into cold water, bring to a boil, add mushrooms. Cook for 10 minutes over low heat and add salt, pepper and herbs. It turns out a very tasty light mushroom soup. Children will especially like it, as the mushrooms in the soup are unusual.

Ramaria can be salted, fried with potatoes, added to salads. The main condition for cooking is always to boil the mushrooms over low heat for 10-15 minutes in salted water. This helps to flush out toxins. This is especially important, because there are a lot of moderately poisonous species... Primary heat treatment allows you to destroy and reduce the concentration of toxic substances to a minimum.

Young antlers can be dried. Overripe fruiting bodies can rot when dry, while young ones dry out easily. To do this, they need to be divided into the maximum possible number of "branches" with a part of the leg. A thread is passed through the leg. Further, mushroom garlands are hung out in the shade in a dry and ventilated room.

When preparing dishes from dried ramaria, it must be soaked in water for 12 hours, and then rinsed thoroughly and boiled for 10 minutes.

Collect deer horns, cook culinary masterpieces from them, but be careful and careful!

Systematics:
  • Department: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
  • Subdivision: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
  • Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
  • Subclass: Phallomycetidae (Veselkovye)
  • Order: Gomphales
  • Family: Gomphaceae (Gomfovy)
  • Genus: Ramaria (Ramaria)
  • View: Ramaria flava (Deer horns)
    Other names for the mushroom:

Other names:

  • Horny yellow

  • Bear paw

  • Deer horns

  • Coral yellow

Description

The fruit body of Ramaria is yellow, reaching a height of 15-20 cm, and a diameter of 10-15 cm. Numerous branched dense bushy branches with a cylindrical shape grow from a thick white "stump". They often have two blunt tops and improperly truncated ends. The fruit body has all shades of yellow. Under the branches and near the "stump", the color is sulfur-yellow. When pressed, the color changes to wine-brownish. The pulp is wet, dirty white, in the "stump" - marbled, does not change color. Outside, the base is white, with a yellowish tinge and reddish spots of various sizes, most often found in fruit bodies growing under conifers... The smell is pleasant, slightly grassy, \u200b\u200bthe taste is weak. The tops of old mushrooms are bitter.

Spore powder ocher yellow.

Habitat and growth time

Reindeer horns grow on the ground in deciduous, coniferous and mixed forests in August - September, in groups and singly. It is especially abundant in the forests of Karelia. Found in the mountains of the Caucasus, as well as in the countries of Central Europe.

Doubles

The antler mushroom is very similar to golden yellow coral, the differences are noticeable only under a microscope, as well as Ramaria aurea, which is also edible and has the same properties. At an early age, it has a similarity in appearance and color with Ramaria obtusissima, Ramaria flavobrunnescens is smaller in size.

Note

The word flava in the name of the mushroom means yellow. Coral mushrooms are considered Basidiomycetes. They form spores on the fruit layer, on the outside of the "knots", everywhere. For the most part, coral are good, but among them there are also poisonous ones.

This ramaria is considered an edible mushroom, but certain precautions must be taken when eating it. First of all, only young specimens should be collected and the base should be used, since the twigs are bitter. Ripe mushrooms are not edible at all because of the bitterness.

Mushrooms "deer horns", or coral barnacles, are also known to many mushroom pickers under the names coral mushrooms, coral gericia or trellate barnacles. Latin name this edible mushroom from the genus Gericia or Hericium - Hericium coralloides.

Botanical description

A full description of Hericium coralloides can be found in the Red Data Book of Russia, where the coral-like hedgehog is listed as a rare species. "Reindeer Horns" are distinguished by a very beautiful exotic appearance. It is difficult to distinguish a cap and a leg in the coral-like hedgehog, therefore, when characterizing and describing this species, one can speak only of the fruiting body as a whole. The fruit bodies of Hericium coralloides are a bit like coral branches.

The above-ground part of the gericium is very decorative, multi-branched, snow-white in color. Relatively long spines 10-20 mm in height, thin and rather brittle, cover the branches of the fungus almost to the very base, most often located on the lateral side. The average diameter of the fruiting body does not exceed 25-30 cm.

Pulp initially white, but as the fungus grows and develops, it acquires a characteristic yellowish coloration. Elastic in its raw form, it becomes harsh after cooking. There is no pronounced mushroom aroma. Fruiting occurs from June to October.

Antlers mushrooms: description (video)

Where grows

Most often, the fungus grows on trunks, branches and in hollows deciduous treesas well as on stumps. Most often it can be found on aspen, oak or birch. On the territory of the southern regions, the hedgehog prefers to inhabit the wood of elm, oak and linden. In temperate latitudes, it is most often found on birch and aspen. In our country, "deer horns" can be found in almost any forest areas, except for the forests of the most northern regions.

Poisonous or edible

The fungus of the species Hericium coralloides belongs to the category of edible mushrooms. Fruit bodies have such an unusual appearance that inedible and poisonous counterparts are absent in gericia. Nutritional and chemical composition, as well as the pharmacological value Hericium coralloides has a high similarity with the relatively common Hericium coralloides.

100 g of raw pulp contains:

  • potassium - 254 mg;
  • phosphates - 109 mg;
  • sodium - 8 mg;
  • calcium - 6.7 mg.

In addition, the composition of the mushroom pulp is enriched with all free amino acids, except for such as methionine and tryptophan, and also includes a significant amount of ketones, lipid substances, phytoagglutinin and sterols.

Hericium coralloides are widely used in traditional Chinese medicine, where they are used in the treatment of gastric and gastrointestinal diseases, as well as to improve the function of the respiratory system. Pronounced antitumor and immunostimulating effects are noted., as well as antigeriatric effects and hypoglycemic activity of mushroom pulp.

Cooking methods

The vast forests of our country are teeming with all kinds of mushrooms. Nevertheless, not every lover of a quiet hunt is lucky enough to meet a coral-shaped hedgehog. From the "Deer Horns" you can cook a very large number of very tasty and incredibly healthy dishes.

You can cook perfectly different ways... Dried coral hedgehog can be soaked and then boiled or fried in batter. A very tasty and aromatic mushroom dish is obtained if the fruit bodies of "deer horns" are marinated in a sauce made from oil, balsamic vinegar, sugar, as well as salt and lemon juice.

Mushrooms: varieties (video)

According to experienced mushroom growers and amateur mushroom pickers, the coral-shaped hedgehog does not have a pronounced taste, therefore, regardless of the method of preparation, the impression of it in culinary terms is rather mediocre. The main advantage of the "deer horns" is its extraordinary beauty.

Kira Stoletova

The antler mushroom stands out unusual shape and color among the rest of the mushrooms. It got its name because its shape resembles deer antlers or sea corals.

Description of the appearance of the mushroom

The color of the mushroom depends on the phase of its growth. Young antlers are light yellow in color; with age, it darkens and becomes bright orange. It doesn't have the usual mushroom smell.

Irina Selyutina (Biologist):

As a species, the mushroom was described in 1755 by the French botanist Joseph de Tournefort. However, its scientific name is yellow ramaria (Ramaria flava), this species received only 133 g later in 1888 thanks to Lucien Kele, the founder of the French Mycological Society.

Coral mushrooms, to which this species belongs, are considered basidiomycetes. Their spores are formed on the entire surface of the fruiting body, because the spore-bearing layer is located on the outside.

Ramariya, aka deer horns, is found on the soil surface and on rotten wood or stumps in all types of forests. You can find fruiting bodies in August-September, with good weather until October. Among the many species, poisonous are not found, but there is a division into conditionally edible and edible. It is best to eat only young organisms, because older mushrooms taste bitter.

Reindeer horns are harvested from August to October. They grow in small colonies so they are easy to harvest. Also, delicious first courses are obtained from this type of mushroom.

Mushroom species

The antler mushroom has several similar species:

  1. Serpentine horned: It is a white fungus of color that acquires a light pink hue with age. Its branches reach a height of 15-20 cm, and a diameter of 10-15 cm.
  2. Coral bunch: its body has thick, thin white branches. The flesh is tender, but becomes more rigid with age.
  3. Horned purple: the mushroom is small in size, its body length is 10 cm, diameter is 4-5 cm. There is no pronounced taste and smell.
  4. Horny golden yellow: has thick light yellow “branches”. Its collection begins in late August and early September.
  5. Horned crested horn: reaches a height of 5 cm. "Branches" have comb-like, sharp tips.

Beneficial features

The composition contains amino acids (methionine and tryptophan), as well as lipids, phytoagglutinin and sterol. The mushroom is often used in Chinese medicine to treat gastrointestinal diseases and improve lung function.

It also has anti-tumor effects and strengthens the immune system. Reindeer horns are used in cosmetology to slow down the aging process.

The calorie content of the deer horns mushroom, or yellow ramaria, is 55 kcal per 100 g of product. Such a high calorie content allows you to use it in the preparation of various dishes. The mushroom is also perfect for a vegetarian menu.

Contraindications

This mushroom, like other types, has certain contraindications. These include:

  • children under 12 years old;
  • pregnancy and lactation period;
  • chronic gastrointestinal diseases;
  • individual intolerance (allergy).

You should be careful when collecting it, because it has inedible counterparts.

Rinse thoroughly under running water before cooking. You should not pick these mushrooms near highways and large industrial enterprises.

Application

This type is often used in traditional medicine. It is used to prepare medicines for joints and cleansing the body of worms (flat, round, tapeworms).

Irina Selyutina (Biologist):

Ramaria yellow, or deer horns, has found its application in cosmetology. Here it is used for anti-aging procedures. Its use in this area has been substantiated by its ability to retain moisture in the skin epithelium, which is significantly greater than the same property of glycerol and hyaluronic acid. Its natural polysaccharides deliver useful material into the deep layers of the skin, and vitamin D, which is part of the composition, becomes an activator of the metabolic process in the skin.

Also used in cooking. The cones are especially suitable for pickling and drying. They make delicious soups and mushroom caviar.

In cooking

Despite the fact that ramaria belongs to the 4th taste category due to its characteristic bitterness, young mushrooms are still used in cooking. However, only young specimens and bases are best suited for these purposes, since the "twigs" are bitter.

Fresh reindeer horns are washed, cut into small pieces and boiled.

It also makes delicious sauces and fillings for savory baked goods. Ready-made deer horns taste like seafood or boiled chicken. The mushrooms brought from the forest are sorted out, where it is required - the lower part of the leg with pieces of turf is cut off. It is washed and then boiled for 15-30 minutes in salted water. After that, the broth is drained and not used for other dishes.

For mushroom salad take:

  • boiled mushrooms - 150 g;
  • carrots - 150 g;
  • small onion - 1 pc.;
  • vinegar - 2 tablespoons;
  • sunflower oil - 1 tablespoon;
  • garlic - 2 cloves;
  • salt, pepper, herbs to taste.

Finely chopped mushrooms are combined with carrots and garlic. Then salt, add pepper and herbs, season with vegetable oil, let it brew for 30 minutes. At this time, the onion is cut into rings, pickled and mixed with salad.

Pickled antlers have a particularly delicate taste. To prepare them, you need to take: lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, black pepper and vegetable oil. Pickled horns resemble corals in their appearance.

First course recipe:

  • mushrooms - 400 g;
  • carrots - 150 g;
  • potatoes - 400 g;
  • hard cheese - 150 g;
  • butter - 50 g;
  • salt, pepper, herbs to taste.

Boil mushrooms for 30 minutes, cut into small pieces. Vegetables are also chopped and thrown into a saucepan.

Mushrooms, salt, pepper and herbs are added to the boiled vegetables and left on low heat for 15 minutes. Then add grated cheese and butter, if desired, add cream or sour cream sauce before use.

In medicine

To combat stomach ulcers, you can prepare a medicinal tincture according to the following recipe:

  • Rinse 150 g of fresh mushrooms, dry and refrigerate for 2 days.
  • Cut the prepared mushrooms into small pieces and pour 500 ml of alcohol or high-quality vodka;
  • Leave to infuse in a dark place for 30 days, then strain. After that, treatment is started.

With an ulcer, they drink 1 tbsp. l. medications three times a day before meals. The treatment period lasts a month, then take a break for 14 days and repeat the course.

Conclusion

Antler mushrooms are among the most unusual of their kind. They are appreciated for their exotic shape and pleasant taste. Most often found on stumps and dry trees in coniferous forests.

It is often used in the preparation of various dishes. Also, this type of mushroom helps in the treatment of certain diseases. But you should be careful when collecting them, they may be confused with false representatives of this group of "deer horns".