Content
- 1 Description of Amanita Caesar with photo
- 2 Caesar's edible fly agaric or not
- 3 How to cook Caesar mushroom
- 4 Why is Caesar mushroom useful?
- 5 How and where does the Caesar mushroom grow?
- 6 Doubles and their differences
- 7 Interesting facts about Caesar's fly agaric
- 8 Is it possible to grow Caesar's fly agaric mushrooms on the site
- 9 Conclusion
The Caesar mushroom is also named - Amanita caesarea, Amanita caesarea. Grows in vast areas, found in the forests of many countries in Europe, Asia and North America. Popularly, this species is often called the Egg Mushroom, due to the fact that at the very beginning of its development, the fruit body is covered with an egg-shaped cocoon. He found application in many areas, including traditional medicine. Caesar mushroom is used for preparing a separate dish and as a food additive.
A photo of Caesar's mushroom and a description of how you can cook this species so that it does not lose its beneficial qualities are presented below.
Description of Amanita Caesar with photo
Amanita Caesar, as seen in the photo below, differs from typical representatives of this family. Its appearance is at odds with the generally accepted idea of a fly agaric - no white blotches are visible on its cap. In shape and size, the fruit body looks like a poisonous twin - Amanita muscaria. Therefore, it is important to know the key features of its appearance so as not to confuse an edible product with a life-threatening mushroom.
Description of the hat
The cap of a young Caesar mushroom has a rounded shape, which is clearly visible in the photo. As the fruiting body grows, it becomes flatter and can reach 10-18 cm in diameter. Sometimes there are specimens with a cap diameter of about 22 cm.
In mature specimens, the edges of the cap are velvety to the touch. The color of the cap varies from rich yellow tones to light brown with an admixture of red. The flesh of the Caesar Amanita is fleshy and juicy, pleasant to the taste. The underside of the cap is dotted with thin stripes.
Leg description
In the description of the Caesar mushroom, it is indicated that its leg is 7-12 cm high and about 3 cm thick, as you can see in the photo below. Its shape is cylindrical, at the base it takes the form of a mace. The color is yellowish-ocher with an admixture of orange. Volvo at the bottom of the leg is saccular and rather loose.Its width can reach 4-5 cm. A characteristic feature of the species is a ring of the same color hanging from the leg. Just above this ring, stripes begin, going to the cap, but they are weakly expressed and barely noticeable.
Caesar's edible fly agaric or not
Despite its rather frightening name, the Caesar Amanita is an edible mushroom. There are no toxic components in the fruit body, so it can be eaten. At the "egg" stage, it can be eaten raw, without heat treatment.
How to cook Caesar mushroom
There are various recipes for cooking Caesar mushroom, among which there are both very sophisticated dishes and quite simple ones - the process in this case takes no more than half an hour. This kind can be boiled, fried and baked. Regardless of the method of preparation, the taste remains very delicate. Amanita Caesar is served as a separate dish or added to vegetable stews, soups and meat dishes.
Adult mushrooms cannot be served without heat treatment, however, young ones that have not yet grown from the egg-shaped shell are allowed to be cut into salads. It is enough to rinse them thoroughly before that.
Stewed Caesar Mushroom with Cream
This is one of the most popular Caesar mushroom recipes.
- Mushrooms are thoroughly washed and cut into small cubes.
- The resulting mass is poured into a pan and stewed over low heat for 5-8 minutes.
- Then add heavy cream to the dish, mix and leave on fire for another 15 minutes.
Caesarean mushroom with bacon
The youngest mushrooms must be selected as the basis for the dish according to this recipe. The cooking algorithm is as follows:
- Mushrooms are washed, dried and gently twisted their legs. This will free up space for the filling.
- The separated legs are finely chopped and fried with garlic for 3-4 minutes over medium heat.
- Then grate the cheese.
- Pour the mushroom legs in a frying pan with sour cream (2 tablespoons) and stew for a few more minutes without covering it with a lid.
- After that, bacon is cut into thin slices, no more than 1 mm thick.
- Beat 1 egg and spread the caps with filling, stewed legs in sour cream, cheese and 1 teaspoon of beaten eggs on special baking paper. All this is placed on bacon sheets.
- Each bacon leaf is wrapped around a stuffed hat and the resulting roll is held together with a toothpick.
- In the oven, the dish is baked for 15 minutes at a temperature of 180 ° C.
The dish is served with herbs.
Fried Caesar mushroom in butter
This recipe is very simple: just put a piece of butter in a hot frying pan and pour finely chopped mushrooms into it on top. The Caesar fly agaric is fried in butter for about 15 minutes, at the end the dish is salted and pepper to taste. Greens are added to the dish before serving.
Why is Caesar mushroom useful?
The Caesar Amanita is a rich source of protein, vitamins and minerals. The concentration of phosphorus, calcium and ascorbic acid is especially high in its pulp. The benefit of dishes made from it also lies in the fact that it is a low-calorie product that is easily absorbed by the body. Amanita Caesar extract is used as an adjuvant in the treatment of cancer.
Useful properties of Amanita Caesar have a beneficial effect on the human body:
- relieves fatigue and helps with rapid fatigue;
- strengthens the immune system;
- reduces the risk of developing heart and vascular diseases;
- makes a person less susceptible to stress.
Contraindications to the use of Caesar fly agaric
The use of Amanita Caesar has limitations. It should not be added to food in the following cases:
- with urolithiasis;
- persons with gout;
- with individual intolerance.
How and where does the Caesar mushroom grow?
Amanita Caesar makes rather high demands on air purity, so it is impossible to meet it near cities and major highways. Most often, the Caesar mushroom is found in deciduous forests in southern Europe, and it can also be found in the subtropical zone. On the territory of Russia, the concentration of Amanita Caesar in the Crimea is especially high.
It is worth looking for it under old trees: oaks, chestnuts, beeches and birches. Caesar mushroom is found under hazel trees. Occasionally, there are areas strewn with Amanita Caesar, which are located on the border of the forest and the field. They grow in large groups, singly they rarely come across.
The species grows intensively at temperatures from + 20 ° C. Amanita Caesar can be harvested from the first days of July to mid-October.
Doubles and their differences
Amanita Caesar has several dangerous counterparts that contain poisonous components in their fruiting body. The similarity with them is observed at different stages of the development of the species.
Young fruiting bodies, not yet "hatched" from the egg-shaped shell, look like pale toadstools, the use of which is fatal. You can distinguish the Caesar mushroom from the poisonous twin with the help of an incision made on the egg shell and inspect the contents of the cocoon. In a young toadstool, all parts of the fungus have a faint greenish color, close to white. The Caesar Amanita is golden orange inside a white shell.
An adult Caesar mushroom is similar to Amanita muscaria - an extremely poisonous mushroom that should never be eaten. You can distinguish them by the white flakes on the cap, which are strewn with a poisonous double. Amanita Caesar has a clean hat. In addition, Amanita muscaria has a more intense red color. You can also distinguish between these two types by the leg - in the Caesar Amanita muscaria, the Volvo is free and bag-shaped, and in the Red Amanita it grows to the base.
Also, Amanita Caesar has an edible analogue - the Far Eastern Caesar mushroom. A significant difference between these species is that the Far Eastern cap has a rich red color, while the Caesar cap is light brown, slightly reddish. The Far Eastern variety grows in the deciduous forests of Primorsky Krai, in its southern part.
Interesting facts about Caesar's fly agaric
In antiquity, this mushroom was called royal and was considered one of the best. He was glorified in their works by various writers - for example, the famous ancient author Juvenal mentioned the Caesar Amanita in his "Satyrs". In addition, records about him are found in the Roman general Lucullus, a famous gourmet of that time.
Is it possible to grow Caesar's fly agaric mushrooms on the site
The Caesar fly agaric is not very popular among gardeners and gardeners, which is explained by its high demands on the temperature regime and soil composition. The growing conditions of this species on the site are as close to natural as possible. Amanita Caesar grows very slowly - it fully ripens a few years after planting.
There are several ways to transplant Amanita Caesar:
- The planting material is crumbled into a bucket and poured with rainwater. For 2 days, the resulting mixture is infused at a temperature of about + 20 ° C, after which the contents of the bucket are poured near a suitable tree.
- Carefully dug mushrooms from the forest are transplanted to a garden plot.
- The planting material is crushed and buried under the trees, but not very deep.
Conclusion
The Caesar mushroom was named that way for a reason - in ancient times it was a real decoration of the table of Roman emperors.This does not mean that sophisticated dishes are made of it - it is not difficult to cook Caesar's Amanita. Raw materials for the dish can be collected in a deciduous forest in warm latitudes or grown independently in a garden plot, but the latter option is associated with a lot of time. Finally, it is important to know the key differences between the Caesar mushroom and similar species - it has several poisonous counterparts, the use of which can be fatal.
Additional information about Amanita Caesar can be found in the video:
