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Amanita muscaria is an interesting mushroom that can be eaten after careful processing. Unlike many related species, it is not poisonous, but requires careful collection and preparation.
Description of gray-pink fly agaric
The gray-pink fly agaric, also called blushing or simply pink, is different from most related species. It is widespread on the territory of Russia and at the same time is suitable for food consumption, so its description should be carefully studied.
Description of the hat
The cap of the pink mushroom is medium in size, about 15 cm in diameter, sometimes more or less. At a young age, it has a hemispherical or even ovoid shape, but later becomes convex or flat-outstretched, and there is no noticeable tubercle in its center. The color of the hat, as the name implies and seen in the photo of a gray-pink fly agaric, is grayish-pink or reddish-brown, sometimes brown-red, slightly sticky to the touch and shiny. On the surface of the cap, there may be filmy or warty flakes of white, dirty pink or brownish color.
In the photo of a pink fly agaric, it can be seen that on the underside the cap is covered with frequent wide white plates. If you touch them with your finger, they will turn red in the same way as the flesh on the cap and on the leg. At the break, the fruit body is white, fleshy, with a neutral odor. From contact with air, the pulp first turns pink, and then acquires a rich wine-pink hue.
Leg description
On average, the leg of a gray-pink mushroom rises up to 10 cm above the ground, in rare cases it can rise by 20 cm.It usually reaches no more than 3 cm in thickness, cylindrical in shape, dense at a young age, and then becomes hollow. The stem has a white or slightly pinkish color, its surface may be covered with tubercles, and a tuberous thickening is noticeable at the base.
Most often, the remains of the ring, hanging, wide and filmy, are located on the stem of the gray-pink fly agaric. At first they are white, turn pink with age, grooves can be seen on the surface.
Where and how it grows
You can meet a gray-pink mushroom throughout the Northern Hemisphere in a temperate climate. He prefers coniferous and mixed forests, especially often found next to pines and birches, as it forms a symbiosis with these trees.
It grows both alone and in small families.You can see it very often, and it bears fruit most massively from July to October.
Doubles and their differences
The gray-pink fly agaric poses a certain danger for novice mushroom pickers. There are quite a few species similar to it, and most of them are not just inedible, but highly poisonous. Therefore, before collecting, you need to carefully study the photo and description of the gray-pink fly agaric and its counterparts.
Royal fly agaric
This mushroom is similar to a photo of an edible pink fly agaric in its size and structure. It has the same cap, convex at a young age and flattened in old fruiting bodies, a thin long stem with a tuberous base.
You can distinguish the varieties by color - the hat of the royal species has an olive-red, dark brown or gray-yellow tint without an admixture of pink. In addition, if you break the mushroom, then its pulp will not be white, but yellowish.
Fly agaric
This mushroom also resembles the edible pink fly agaric in appearance and size, and grows in the same locations. The main difference lies in the shade of the cap - in the stocky look, it is brown or silvery brown, covered with light gray flakes.
Also, a faint smell of turnip is characteristic of the thick fly agaric, while the gray-pink variety does not have a specific aroma. The stocky fly agaric is conditionally edible, so it is not so scary to confuse it with gray-pink.
Leopard row
Inexperienced mushroom pickers can confuse a gray-pink fly agaric with a tiger, or leopard, ryadovka. It possesses at first a convex, and then an outstretched wide lamellar cap with a spotted structure, which makes it seem like a fly agaric.
But the differences are quite significant, first of all, the spots on the surface of the cap are formed not by the remnants of the veil, but by small scales, and they are not light, but dark. The shade of the cap is usually off-white, dark gray or silvery gray, with a bluish tint. If you break the row, then the flesh will turn out to be white, but it will not turn red from contact with air. Leopard ryadovka is very poisonous, so it cannot be confused with edible fruiting bodies.
Death cap
In rare cases, you can confuse a gray-pink fly agaric with a poisonous and dangerous pale toadstool. Mushrooms are similar in size, their caps are spread out in adulthood and lamellar, a ring is usually present on thin long legs.
But the cap of the toadstool does not have a pink tint, its color varies from white to brown-olive. The surface of the cap is silky, and usually there are no flakes characteristic of the fly agaric.
What is the difference between a gray-pink fly agaric and a panther
The most dangerous double of the edible fly agaric is the panther fly agaric - a deadly poisonous mushroom. In appearance, they are almost identical, and although the color of the cap of the panther fly agaric is gray-brown or slightly olive, it is not so easy to catch this difference.
Therefore, when collecting, you need to focus on another sign. If you break a panther fly agaric, then its pulp will not change color from contact with air and will remain white. But the gray-pink fly agaric always turns red on the scrap.
Is the pink fly agaric edible or not
The gray-pink fly agaric is classified as conditionally edible mushroom. Toxic substances are present in the raw pulp, however, during heat treatment, they are destroyed, and the mushroom becomes safe for consumption.
How to cook gray-pink fly agaric
For long-term storage, the edible gray-pink fly agaric is usually not harvested. It is accepted to use it boiled and fried; heat treatment eliminates all potential danger.
Before any preparation, fruiting bodies must be carefully prepared. First of all, the fly agaric is cleaned of debris and the remnants of the blanket are removed from the cap, and then the mushroom is washed in cool water and thoroughly boiled with salt for an hour. In this case, the water for cooking must be taken in a ratio of 3 to 1, changed at least once during boiling, and at the end of the process, be sure to drain. It is impossible to use a fly agaric broth as a broth, toxic substances may remain in it.
Pink fly agaric soup
Boiled pulp is often added to soup, the dish turns out to be tasty and nutritious. The recipe looks like this:
- Fresh fruit bodies are cleaned, washed and boiled in salt water, the broth is drained, and the mushrooms are thrown into a colander and rinsed with cool water.
- The hats and legs are cut into small pieces, immersed in a pot of water again and boiled for 10 minutes, after which 3 chopped fresh potatoes are added to the water.
- While mushrooms and potatoes are boiling, grate carrots and 2 small onions on a coarse grater, and then fry them in a pan until golden brown.
- The broth with mushrooms and potatoes is salted to taste, onions and carrots are added, if desired, pepper and any greens are also added to the water.
You need to cook the soup for another 10 minutes. A couple of minutes before readiness, bay leaf is added to the broth, and then the soup is removed from the stove and served on the table after about half an hour with sour cream.
Fly agaric roast
Another simple recipe for gray-pink fly agaric suggests frying the mushroom pulp. It is very easy to do this:
- Fresh mushrooms are traditionally cleaned, washed and boiled, after which the water is drained, and the fruit bodies themselves are washed again.
- Cut the mushroom pulp into small pieces, heat the pan, grease it with vegetable oil and spread the mushrooms.
- After 10 minutes, add potatoes cut into bars or slices to the pan, as well as onions, salt the products to taste and add pepper if desired.
Fry the mushroom pulp with onions and potatoes until the potatoes are fully cooked, after which the pan is removed from the stove and cooled for about 20 minutes. Then the dish can be served with sour cream and herbs.
Useful properties and possible harm
The gray-pink fly agaric is appreciated not only for its pleasant taste, but also for its beneficial properties. Its pulp contains many vitamins, including betaine, which improves liver function and stimulates metabolism. Research is also underway regarding the positive effects of betaine on the body in Alzheimer's disease and cancer. There is a lot of vegetable protein in the pulp, so the mushroom is beneficial on the vegetarian table and can replace meat.
At the same time, the composition of the gray-pink fly agaric contains the dangerous substance rubescenslisin, when it enters the human body, it causes the destruction of red blood cells and leads to hemorrhagic pulmonary edema. The toxin decomposes at temperatures above 80 ° C, which is why the gray-pink fly agaric must be boiled before use.
Even boiled pulp can pose a certain danger for chronic stomach and intestinal diseases and for allergies to mushrooms. It is strictly forbidden to use gray-pink fly agaric for pregnant women and children, the slightest mistake in collecting and preparing for them can be fatal.
Interesting facts about pink fly agaric
The blushing fly agaric is a very resistant species. It grows not only in temperate climates, but even in Africa, where extremely high temperatures are not uncommon.
An interesting feature of the mushroom is its low calorie content. There are only 22 calories in 100 g of fresh mushrooms.
The taste of the blushing fly agaric, according to the mushroom pickers, is slightly sweetish. This is largely due to its popularity.
Conclusion
Amanita muscaria is suitable for eating after heat treatment, since the toxins present in it are destroyed by high temperatures.But special care must be taken when collecting, the variety has many dangerous poisonous counterparts.
