Sparassis curly (mushroom cabbage). Sparassis curly - a description of where the poisonousness of the fungus grows How to cook mushroom hare cabbage

This mushroom, in its appearance, rather resembles some kind of fantasy flower or a head of cauliflower. Sparassis curly - the organism is very unusual and interesting, and besides, it is very rare - it is listed in the Red Book. But where can you still find this curly miracle of nature? Let's get to know him better.

Curly Sparassis (Sparassis crispa) belongs to the Sparassaceae family, which includes only 7 species. This edible mushroom, due to its unusual appearance, has several names: mushroom happiness, mushroom cabbage, ram mushroom, hare cabbage, curly mushroom, hog cabbage and king mushroom. By the way, the name "mushroom-sheep" in relation to sparassis is usually used only in foreign reference books. Mycologists of Russia under this name mean one of the tinder fungus - curly griffon.

• the fruiting body consists of a large number of fleshy, curly, branched lobes and resembles a lush spherical bush. Dense lobes are smooth or wrinkled, have a dissected or wavy edge. The fungus sometimes reaches a fairly large size: the diameter of the fruiting body is usually 6-35 cm, but individual specimens grow to a record 60 cm. Its height is about 20 cm, and its weight often exceeds 6-8 kg: it happens that mushrooms weighing 14 kg. The color of the fruit body in young mushrooms is whitish-yellow, while in mature ones it is brown with a hint of rust;
• the stem is root-shaped, attached to the middle of the fruiting body, thick (up to 5 cm in diameter), goes deep into the ground and is therefore hardly noticeable. Its length is about 13 cm. The color is yellowish-white, sometimes darkening with age up to black;
• the flesh is dense and fleshy, fragile in young specimens, similar to wax, in adults - hardening, tough. It has a nutty taste and emits a strange smell that is not at all like the aroma of mushrooms;
• the spore-bearing layer is located on one side of each blade of the fruiting body. It has a grayish or white-cream shade, slightly rough to the touch or, conversely, smooth;
• spores ellipsoid, white to pale yellow.

Distribution and fruiting season

This type of mushroom grows in the Northern Hemisphere and is found in mature coniferous or coniferous-broad-leaved forests of the Krasnodar, Khabarovsk, Krasnoyarsk Territories, Altai, Primorye, Karelia, as well as in the Moscow, Sakhalin, Chelyabinsk regions and the Caucasus. It also grows in Georgia, the Baltic States, Asia, some European countries and North America. The fruiting period is August-September.

Sparassis can cause the development of red-brown rot, which often causes the death of plants.

Similar species and how to distinguish from them

The peculiar appearance and habitat practically excludes the possibility of confusing curly sparassis with any other species. Outwardly, it has a strong resemblance to the lamellar sparassis (Sparassis laminosa). However, it is quite easy to distinguish them from each other - the lamellar one has more rigid blades with a solid edge, yellow color, and grows mainly on oak. It is also edible and delicious mushroom, which is under protection, but it is even rarer than the hero of our article.

Primary processing and preparation

A very pleasant taste and tender pulp - these qualities made curly sparassis famous in cooking. It is usually fried, dried, or boiled into soups. Only young fruiting bodies are suitable for cooking, as they are still quite soft. Ripe mushrooms, the flesh of which has darkened, become tough. Sparassis must be thoroughly washed off the ground before use. Note that he is reluctant to part with dirt.

This mushroom is not only tasty, but also healthy: it is often used in traditional medicine. It contains in its composition substances that have a suppressive effect on cancer cells. Also, the pulp of the fungus has an immunomodulatory and bactericidal effect. Unfortunately, this species is on the verge of extinction due to irrational exploitation of the forest fund. Therefore, when you meet this species of sparassis in the wilderness, it is better to just take a picture of it as a keepsake, do not collect this already rare mushroom.

Other names:

• Sparassis curly

"Mushroom Happiness"

mushroom cabbage

boron cabbage

hare cabbage

Dragel curly

Sparassis curly, appearance:

Where does Sparassis curly grow:

will grow August to October in coniferous forests, most often near pine roots. AT Russian Federation can be found in Altai, Krasnoyarsk Territory and Primorsky, as well as in Krasnodar and Khabarovsk.

Distribution areas: Novosibirsk, Moscow, Sakhalin - the island of Kunashir, Chelyabinsk, in the Republic of Karelia and in the North Caucasus. Outside of Russia, it is found in the Baltic States, Georgia, Belarus, Ukraine, in Asia, Western Europe, and in the east of North America.

Sparassis curly: use

Very tasty edible mushroom. It has a strong specific smell, which has no similarity with mushrooms, is appreciated by lovers for its nutty taste. But the older the mushroom, the more inedible, overripe specimens become bitter, unsuitable for food. Usually used in dried and fried form, suitable for making soups, known in folk medicine.

Spasassis curly: similar species

Curly is very similar to sparassis sparassis lamellar - Sparassis laminosa, which has yellow flaky branches are rougher, flatter and smoother. It grows at the end of summer and also in autumn in deciduous forests, most often near oak roots. As tasty as curly sparassis, but much less common.

like him and ram-mushroom Grifola frondosa, tinder fungus (branched) Grifola umballata . These mushrooms are found at the very base of the trunk, or stump of a deciduous tree (oak, elm, etc.)

Sparassis curly, curly - PHOTO:

A mushroom with the unusual name of mushroom cabbage, hare cabbage, mushroom happiness, or curly sparassis (Sparassis crispa) has a mass useful substances, however, is a rare species, therefore, in many countries of the world it is protected by law.

General information and description

By appearance the mushroom resembles a head of cauliflower, which is why it has such a name. In England, it is called "mushroom-brain" or "mushroom-ruffles". All names quite accurately convey the features of the mushroom, which, instead of the usual hat, has a whole shock of winding, branched branches-lobes growing from the central stump.

The size of the mushroom exceeds the size of many edible mushrooms - its height is from 5 to 35 cm, and its diameter is from 5 to 60 cm. The color is cream or pale yellow, with age the twigs-blades become ocher-brown, dark in color.

The pulp of a young mushroom white color, with a resinous aroma and nutty flavor, but in mature specimens it becomes tasteless, tough and bitter.

The leg to match the mushroom is thick, up to 15 cm long, light yellow in color, sometimes with brown spots. With age, the color changes to black.

The habitat of hare cabbage is quite wide, but at the same time, the fungus remains a rare occurrence in the forests of Europe, Eurasia and North America.

Most often, the mushroom can be seen at the base of the trunk or on a fresh stump. Moreover, it grows on them for several years, and bears fruit from mid-summer to late autumn.

Mushroom happiness in the photo

Medicinal properties

The rabbit cabbage mushroom contains many substances useful to humans, it is an edible mushroom, moreover, it is also used in medicine, producing from it medications. For these purposes, people have to grow a rare mushroom on purpose; specialists from the USA and Japan are especially successful in this matter. It was they who developed and patented the technology for growing the mushroom. Under artificial conditions, the fungus is grown on a sterilized substrate of sawdust and wheat bran.

Sparassis curly contains in its composition biologically active substances with anticancer and antimicrobial activity. The polysaccharides contained in the mushroom stop the growth of sarcoma, kill liver cancer cells, leukemic cells, and stop melanoma. In addition, they improve the blood formula, activate its movement, produce antibodies that protect the body from cancer.

In addition to polysaccharides, mushroom happiness contains other compounds that determine its medicinal properties. This is an antifungal agent and sparassol, ScI and ScII substances that can suppress the human immunodeficiency virus.

The antibiotic, which is part of the fungus, inhibits the development of Staphylococcus aureus.

Traditional Chinese medicine uses it to lower blood sugar levels, treat hypertension, prevent cancer, heart attacks and strokes.

Preparations made on the basis of sparassis are also used in gynecology for the treatment of benign and malignant tumors and hormonal disorders.

The mushroom is used to treat obesity, it promotes weight loss, and at the same time supplies useful minerals and amino acids to the body.

mushroom in cooking

Only young specimens of rabbit cabbage are eaten while they are still soft, tender and light in color. Pre-soaking and boiling is not required here, the mushroom is already quite tasty. Overgrown, darkened mushrooms are not used in cooking.

Mushroom cabbage is suitable for frying and drying; these mushrooms cannot be salted and pickled. Substances contained in rabbit cabbage prevent the development of mold, so the fungus can be long time store in the refrigerator at positive temperature, or frozen.

Curly sparassis combines two features at once, due to which the average consumer knows almost nothing about it - an extremely unusual appearance and relative rarity. In view of this, inexperienced mushroom pickers, having stumbled upon sparassis in the forest, bypass it. Meanwhile, this mushroom has a lot of advantages, for which knowledgeable people value it very highly.

Sparassis curly - photo and description

Sparassis mushroom is known under different names - curly, curly and curly sparassis, hare, mushroom and hog cabbage, ram mushroom (however, this name is often used in relation to another type of mushroom). Sparassis is a good edible mushroom and a typical representative of the biological genus and family of the same name.

Unlike most forest mushrooms, the fruiting body of sparassis has the shape of a rounded, spherical or irregular shape bush. Its height and diameter reach 5-20 cm, and often the diameter exceeds half a meter. For this reason, the weight of one mushroom can easily reach several kilograms. The structure of the fruiting body is a set of "curly" branches or lobes growing from a common root. The branches are flat and wide (up to 3 cm), but very wavy, often with dissected edges. In general, the appearance of the fruiting body strongly resembles the fruit of a cauliflower, but only more “loose”.

In young sparassis, the color is whitish, which gradually becomes yellowish with age, and in “old age” ocher or even brown. Darkening usually begins at the edge of the blades.

Inside the mushroom is a white dense pulp, which has strong smell, quite different from mushroom. At the same time, the taste of the pulp strongly resembles a nut. In young fruits, the flesh is brittle, but over time it becomes more rigid and even woody.

Although the central leg, from which all the lobes grow, is quite long (up to 13 cm) and wide (up to 5 cm) in sparassis, it is almost invisible from the outside, since it goes deep into the ground. While the mushroom is young, the color of the stem takes on one of the shades between white and pale yellow. But with aging, the leg becomes very dark, acquiring a brown or even black color.

Fruiting bodies of curly sparassis appear on the surface of wood from August to October. Occasionally, the first mushrooms can ripen as early as the end of July. Sparassis is a fairly rare but widespread mushroom. Its populations are always very small, but they can be found in many parts of the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere. In Russia, it can be found almost everywhere from Karelia in the north to the North Caucasus in the south and from Sakhalin in the east to the Moscow region in the west.

Nutritional qualities of sparassis

Hare cabbage is a good edible mushroom suitable for any type of cooking except pickling and pickling. Best of all, the excellent taste and nutritional qualities of sparassis are manifested when frying and cooking soups. The taste of the mushroom is quite unusual and is a bit like a nut.

The mushroom goes well in salads (and even raw), excellent in soups, great when baked with cheese, meat or seafood. In the classic fried form and stewed in sour cream, sparassi is also very good. Finally, it makes an excellent filling for dumplings and pies, and dried and powdered mushrooms can be successfully used to make mushroom sauces and gravy.

At the same time, as often happens with mushrooms growing on wood, only young fruiting bodies are edible. light color. With age, the fungus becomes stiff and acquires a distinct bitter taste, although cases of hare cabbage poisoning have not been noted.

Sparassis curly is well known in traditional medicine. The bioactive components contained in this fungus have a powerful antimicrobial effect. It is also well known about the effectiveness of Sparassis in the fight against malignant tumors especially sarcoma and melanoma. Also, this mushroom is used in the treatment of hormonal disorders, diabetes and even obesity.

All these medicinal properties of rabbit cabbage have been confirmed by scientific research in recent decades. For this reason, in the countries of Southeast Asia, the mushroom is widely used in pharmacology.

Growing sparassis curly at home

The large mass of the fruiting body (often 2-4 kg, sometimes more than 5), the excellent taste and complete safety of this mushroom make it a desirable prey for both the mushroom picker and the knowledgeable cook. Unfortunately, there are two significant problems that prevent you from pampering yourself with autumn sparassises every year - a rarity and a protected status.

As for the rarity, it should be taken literally: this mushroom is not at all easy to meet in the forest. It makes no sense to go on a quiet hunt specifically for sparassis, since the probability of accidentally stumbling upon it is extremely small. Experienced mushroom pickers remember where and under which tree they once managed to stumble upon hare cabbage, and then for several years every autumn they come to this place. If you do not know such fruitful places, then you should not count on a successful outcome of a quiet hunt for this mushroom.

The second problem is that curly sparassis is listed in the Red Book of Russia as a rare species. That is, in principle, it is impossible to collect it in the forest, even if by some miracle it was possible to accidentally stumble upon it. Of course, this does not stop most mushroom pickers, but you should always remember about the protected status of sparassis.

In view of the foregoing, the issue of growing this fungus under controlled conditions becomes relevant. Luckily, rabbit sprouts are fairly easy to cultivate.

Like most edible mushrooms that grow on wood, rabbit sprouts are relatively easy to cultivate. In general, the technology is about the same as in cases with oyster mushroom, but you need to take sawdust not from hardwood, but from coniferous wood. As mentioned above, this fungus prefers pine, spruce, cedar, fir and larch.

For the preparation of a nutrient substrate, it is recommended to use as fresh sawdust as possible. And of course, they should not contain any traces chemical substances, which is treated with wood to control insects and pathogens.

To improve the nutritional quality of sawdust and obtain a finished substrate, they are mixed with a small amount of hay, bran, gypsum and a combined mineral supplement. Further, it is very important to get rid of the competing microorganisms present in the substrate. To this end, sawdust with additives added to them must be poured with water, brought to a boil and then boiled for 1-2 hours.

When the solution has cooled, the water must be drained and the substrate laid out on a fine mesh so that excess water can be drained from it. The optimum moisture content of sawdust is 70%. This indicator occurs after about 10-14 hours of drying on the grid. Determining the readiness of sawdust is quite simple: they should be moist to the touch, but should not stick to your hands.

The substrate, freed from excess moisture, is placed in a plastic bag in layers of 5 cm, sprinkling each layer with crushed mycelium. Then the bag must be tightly tied. Over time, the mycelium will sprout and entangle the entire substrate with a dense mesh, turning it into a monolithic block. When this happens, it is necessary to carefully cut small holes (2 by 2 cm) in the bag through which the fruiting bodies will break through.

If there is a suitable plot of land, for example, in a garden, in a greenhouse, or even in a specially designated area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe garden, rabbit cabbage can also be grown on solid logs of wood. This method is good because it does not require the hassle of regularly changing the substrate, since on solid wood the mycelium will give birth for several years in a row, and not one or two seasons.

As in the case of sawdust for sparassis, you need to choose trunks coniferous trees. The size of the barrel is determined only by questions of convenience. If desired, you can use both a huge log ten meters long and 30 centimeters in diameter, and small saw cuts several tens of centimeters long.

It is highly desirable that the wood be freshly cut, or have a short shelf life. This not only eliminates the possibility of infection by competitive species, but also eliminates the need for additional moisture. In addition, sparassis, in principle, prefers fresh "food" to dry and stale.

In the trunk, in increments of 10-15 cm, cuts are made with a drill, which are then inoculated with mycelium and sealed with the same sawdust. Further, the trunk is laid in a shady part of the garden or in a greenhouse so that it is in contact with the ground along its entire length and does not sag anywhere. This eliminates the possibility of the wood drying out: it will itself draw moisture directly from the ground.

Properties of mushroom cabbage (sparassis curly)

How much does mushroom cabbage (sparassis curly) cost (average price per 1 kg.)?

Moscow and Moscow region

This mushroom, unusual in appearance, can easily be mistaken for a head of cauliflower, but this inhabitant of the forest still belongs to the species of mushrooms that are actively used for food. Mushroom cabbage, which also has a number of other names (boron cabbage, hare cabbage, mushroom happiness, curly sage, and curly or curly sparassis) is listed in the Red Book of Russia as a rare species.

By the way, it is noteworthy that there is also an unscientific name for the mushroom - the ram-mushroom, which is mainly used in translations of books by foreign authors. The fact is that the domestic mycological literature refers this name to a slightly different type of fungus that belongs to the Tinder family - Grifola frondosa.

On the territory of Russia, mushroom cabbage (curly sparassis) can be found in the Altai, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Primorsky and Khabarovsk regions, as well as the Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk, Moscow and Sakhalin regions. In addition, this fungus is often found in the North Caucasus and the Republic of Karelia. Outside the Russian Federation, mushroom cabbage (curly sparassis) is known in the Baltic States, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Western European, Asian countries and the states of North America.

Mushroom cabbage (curly sparassis) is distinguished by a fruiting body of a bushy, round, spherical or irregularly spherical shape. This is a rather large mushroom, the mass of which sometimes reaches 6-10 kilograms. Outwardly, the fruit body of mushroom cabbage (curly sparassis) actually resembles a cauliflower head. At the same time, young mushrooms are characterized by a whitish color, which becomes yellowish a little later, and in the mature state it turns into ocher or brownish shades. The edges of the lobes of the fungus begin to darken first.

The dense pulp of mushroom cabbage (curly sparassis) is white in color, rather brittle when young. Over time, as well as when it dries, it becomes hard, waxy-horn-like consistency, but still has a strong specific smell, which is completely different from mushroom. In terms of taste, mushroom cabbage (curly sparassis) is more like a nut.

This edible mushroom is mainly suitable for making soups, but can also be used for frying and drying. However, this mushroom is suitable for food only at a young age, since the brownish fruiting body becomes very hard. Mushroom cabbage (curly sparassis) is considered an excellent filling for dumplings; it is often baked with shrimp, spices and almonds under cheese. In dry form, mushrooms are ground into powder, after which a tonic drink is prepared on its basis.

Calorie content of mushroom cabbage (curly sparassis) 30 kcal

Energy value of mushroom cabbage (curly sparassis) (The ratio of proteins, fats, carbohydrates - bzhu).