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Hericium Erinaceus is a beautiful, recognizable and rather rare mushroom with numerous beneficial properties. To appreciate the valuable qualities of the crested hedgehog, you need to study its description and characteristics.
Description of the crested hedgehog
The crested hedgehog, also called the crested hericium, "mushroom noodles" and "grandfather's beard," has a very recognizable external structure.
The fruiting body consists mainly of a large cap - it is round or pear-shaped in shape, elongated, slightly compressed at the sides. The size of the fruiting body can reach 20 cm, and the weight sometimes reaches 1.5 kg. The color of the fungus varies from light beige to cream, sometimes yellow or light brown fruiting bodies are found, usually the mushrooms darken already in adulthood.
The crested hedgehog is almost impossible to confuse with another mushroom.
The crested hedgehog got its name thanks to an unusual hymenophore that makes it look like a hedgehog. The fruiting body of the fungus is densely covered with long thorns hanging down, they are cylindrical in shape, they can reach 5 cm in length. The shade of the needles is also light cream or beige.
At the break, the flesh of the crested hedgehog has a whitish color, it is fleshy in structure. From contact with air, the pulp does not change its color, but when it dries it turns yellow and becomes tough.
Where and how it grows
On the territory of Russia, the crested heritium can be found mainly in the Khabarovsk Territory, in Primorye, in the Crimea and the Caucasus, in Western Siberia and in the Amur Region. All over the world, the mushroom is found in America and Europe, in Asian countries.
The crested hedgehog settles on the trunks of trees - both dead and living. Basically, the mushroom chooses birch, oak and beech for its growth, and mass fruiting is observed from mid-summer to early October.
Important! Although geographically, the crested hedgehog is distributed throughout Russia, in practice it can be found quite rarely, the species is listed in the Red Book and belongs to endangered species.
Hericium comb belongs to the very rare Red Book mushrooms
Doubles and their differences
The appearance of the crested hericium is very recognizable, and it is almost impossible to confuse it with other mushrooms. However, the mushroom shares some similarities with several related species.
Barbel hedgehog
The similarity between the species lies in the similar structure of the hymenophore.The cap of the barbel hedgehog is also covered with long, dense needles-thorns with sharp tips hanging down. The species are similar in shade to each other. Both the comb and barbel hedgehogs have a light beige or cream-colored cap and spines.
But unlike the comb, the antennae usually grows in a tiled order, several caps are located one above the other. They are smaller in size than that of the crested hericium; each of them usually does not exceed 12 cm in diameter.
Barnacle is an edible mushroom and is suitable for food consumption. But it can only be eaten at a young age; as it ages, the pulp becomes too tough and unpleasant to taste.
Coral hedgehog
Another similar species is the coral hedgehog, which vaguely resembles the crested hericium in structure and color. Fruit bodies of both species grow on trees, have a light shade and irregular shapes. But it is very easy to distinguish them - in a coral hedgehog, the needles are not directed downward, but in all directions, and at first glance it resembles a coral bush, and not hanging noodles.
Coral Hericium is also suitable for food use. You can use it, like other black hairs, at a young age, while the pulp of the mushroom has not yet had time to dry.
Is the mushroom edible or not
Crested hericium belongs to the category of edible mushrooms, but with one caveat. You can only eat young fruit bodies, the pulp of which is quite tender. The mushroom is considered a delicacy - its taste is sweet, very refined and reminiscent of seafood.
The cost of wild-growing crested hedgehogs can reach 5 thousand dollars, in this regard, fruit bodies for sale are grown mainly artificially.
How are combed hedgehogs cooked?
Despite its absolute edibility, comb hericium needs careful processing before cooking. It consists in the fact that all damaged, darkened, deformed or rotten thorns are removed from the fruiting body.
After that, the mushroom is immersed in a pot of boiling water and left for 5 minutes, and then caught with a slotted spoon and allowed to cool slightly. A thermally processed blackberry can be cooked further according to several basic recipes.
Before cooking a hedgehog, you need to remove all darkened thorns from it.
Boiling
Most often, hedgehog is used in cooking in a boiled form. It is added to salads, soups and main courses. If the mushroom needs to be boiled, then during the initial processing it is not removed from the pan after 5 minutes, but left to boil for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of the fruiting body.
During the cooking process, carrots, onions and potatoes are added to the mushroom pulp and chicken, the result is a very tasty and healthy soup.
Pickling
Another popular recipe for cooking is pickling, which allows you to preserve the valuable properties of the mushroom for the whole winter. Hericium is pre-boiled, at the same time a sauce is prepared - mix 2 large tablespoons of salt with 1 tablespoon of sugar, 4 tablespoons of vinegar and 3 chopped garlic cloves.
The sauce is brought to a boil and turned off almost immediately, and the boiled mushroom is cut into small pieces and placed in a glass jar. Peppercorns, cloves and bay leaves are added to the blackberry to taste, the ingredients are poured with hot marinade and the jars are rolled up. After cooling, you need to store the workpiece in the dark and cool, and you can use pickled hericium 3-4 weeks after cooking.
Pickled hedgehog can be stored all winter
Frying
Fried hericium is considered one of the most delicious. The cooking recipe looks like this:
- the pre-processed mushroom is cut into small pieces;
- oil is heated in a frying pan, the onion is cut into half rings and fried until transparent;
- then add the pieces of a hedgehog and fry until the onions acquire a golden hue.
After that, the pan is removed from the stove, the mushrooms are allowed to cool slightly and a little chopped garlic is added to them before serving. Fried blackberries go well with potatoes, cereals, pasta and baked meat.
Medicinal properties of crested hedgehogs
Eating comb hericium is not only tasty, but also beneficial for the health of the body. The unusual mushroom has numerous medicinal properties, which further enhances its value.
In China, Crested Hericium is considered a natural medicine that promotes healthy brain and nervous system function. In folk medicine, fruiting bodies are recommended to use:
- with gastritis and stomach ulcers;
- with diseases of the liver and pancreas;
- with ailments of the respiratory organs;
- with weakened immunity and chronic fatigue;
- with a tendency to depression and increased anxiety.
The anticancer properties of crested hedgehogs deserve special mention. It is believed that the fungus has a beneficial effect on the body with leukemia and esophageal cancer, with oncology of the pancreas, with myomas and fibromas, with cysts, liver cancer, and breast tumors. The use of crested hericium during chemotherapy can reduce the negative effect of treatment on the body.
Also, the crested hedgehog is useful for the brain. Studies have shown that the fungus restores the function of brain cells and prevents the development of sclerosis and can also be used to treat Alzheimer's disease.
Crested hericium is highly valued in medicine
Is it possible to grow crested hedgehogs in the country
Since in nature the fruiting bodies of the hericium are very rare and, moreover, are most often prohibited from collection, the crested hedgehog is often grown in the country. You can order the mycelium of the mushroom in specialized stores or via the Internet, and the black man's mane is bred in accordance with the following rules:
- To grow the mushroom, a fresh deciduous log is soaked for a couple of days, and then left for a week in a warm room with good ventilation.
- Then, small indentations of no more than 4 cm in depth and 1 cm in diameter are made in the log in a checkerboard pattern. The gap between them should be about 10 cm.
- The purchased mycelium is carefully placed in these holes, and then the logs are wrapped in polyethylene with holes made for air and left in the shade and warm.
- Once every 4 days, the logs are moistened so that they do not dry out, and when the first white filaments of the mycelium appear, they are soaked in cold water for a day.
After that, the logs are placed vertically and left in a warm and shaded place. For the winter, planting a combed hedgehog should be removed to a barn or basement. The first crop can be harvested in about 9 months, fruit bodies are best cut young and fresh. After the first collection of mushrooms for 2-3 weeks, the logs with a hedgehog stop watering, and then watering is resumed. In the future, a rare mushroom bears fruit in waves, and the fruit bodies are harvested as they appear, each time without waiting for them to finally ripen and dry.
You can grow a rare mushroom in your summer cottage
Important and interesting facts about crested hedgehogs
Crested hericium is one of the rarest species of mushrooms and is officially listed in the Red Book. Usually it cannot be collected even in those places where it is found in the forest in natural conditions.
Many countries have strict penalties for mushroom picking. For example, in Great Britain, collecting a crested hedgehog is punishable by fines of unlimited amounts and imprisonment for up to six months.
In China, crested hericium is a recognized remedy for stomach disorders and weakened immune systems. The mushroom extract is a part of many medicines with a tonic and hematopoietic effect.
Crested hericium has antiparasitic properties.The mushroom is recommended for use with helminths, as it helps to quickly remove parasites from the intestines.
In the late 1990s, during research in Germany, the substance erinacin E, a compound that stimulates the growth of nerve cells, was isolated from the crested hedgehog. Thus, the black man's man has acquired enormous medical importance. The mushroom has great potential - scientists think that in the future it will be able to help in the treatment of many diseases of the central nervous system, previously considered incurable.
In some countries, collecting a black man's man is punishable by huge fines.
Conclusion
Hericium Erinaceus is an unusual, beautiful and very useful mushroom listed in the Red Book. Although it is impossible to collect it in the forest in most regions, it is quite possible to grow a hedgehog from spores in your own summer cottage. The value of the mushroom lies not only in its delicious taste, but also in its medicinal properties.
