Hedgehogs are very cute creatures that we often meet in the forest or in gardens. From fairy tales and cartoons we remember how these animals store mushrooms and fruits for the winter, but this is nothing more than a myth, because they never store supplies for the winter.
And what hedgehogs eat, we know very vaguely. When we feed these forest dwellers, we commit big mistake, because most often we give them milk.
Who are hedgehogs?
The European hedgehog familiar to us belongs to the hedgehog family. These animals reach twenty to thirty centimeters in length and weigh no more than a kilogram. The most memorable thing about their appearance is their spines, of which there are about five to six thousand on the body of hedgehogs.
The common hedgehog lives in small forests, on the edges and near bodies of water in Europe, the British Isles and even in New Zealand. They coexist well with humans and can often be found in villages and gardens. Hedgehogs lead night look life, and during the day they take refuge in their nests, which they build in the roots of trees, abandoned holes, bushes and holes. They are homebodies by nature, because even at night they prefer not to stray far from their shelter.
In winter, they close their burrows and hibernate until the air temperature reaches 15 degrees Celsius. And if, as we know, they do not stock up on food for the winter, then a logical question arises about what hedgehogs eat in winter. In fact, all summer they stock up on fat, which must be more than five hundred grams for the animal to survive hibernation.
What do hedgehogs eat?
What hedgehogs eat in cartoons and fairy tales is only part of their diet. Hedgehogs, like people, are omnivores. From animal food they prefer amphibians, caterpillars, worms and small animals. They often eat eggs and chicks if they are in a nest located on the ground.
But mice and rats are very rare prey, because the prickly animals cannot keep up with the nimble rodent. main feature What hedgehogs eat is that the most poisonous creatures, such as vipers, May beetles and hairy ground beetles, do not cause any harm to their health, because hedgehogs are resistant to various types of poison.
But among plant foods, hedgehogs still prefer fruits and berries, although they also eat mushrooms.
What does a domestic hedgehog eat?
Very often these cute animals become pets. And, if in nature they live on average three to five years, then in captivity their life expectancy can increase to ten years. Of course, few people are ready to catch beetles and innocent frogs for them, and you won’t find special food for such pets in the supermarket. Therefore, it is very important to know what hedgehogs eat if they live in your home:
Lean cooked meats such as beef, chicken or turkey breast;
Chicken by-products: giblets, liver, hearts;
Fruits such as apple, pear. Don't feed the animal exotic species fruits and citrus fruits;
Berries only in season. It is best that they come from the garden or agriculture;
Some of the vegetables are also in small quantities: pumpkin, cucumber, carrots;
Raw chicken or quail egg should be given no more than once a week. It is best that they are homemade;
Live insects or zoophobes;
And, of course, drinking water, preferably distilled.
Often forgetting what hedgehogs eat in the wild, owners give them what they eat themselves. This is a huge mistake that can lead to the death of the animal. Here is a list of foods that should never be given to hedgehogs:
Onion and garlic;
Exotic fruits that do not grow in the hedgehog habitat;
Dried fruits can cause serious intestinal obstruction in animals;
Seeds and nuts. They contain too much fat, which can lead to gastrointestinal upset;
Milk. Hedgehogs do not digest lactose, and the fact that they love milk is the most common myth;
Fried, salty, spicy, and other things that people love so much, but are so destructive for the body, especially such a small one as that of a hedgehog;
Food for cats and dogs. They are absolutely not intended for these animals;
Alcohol, carbonated drinks and other “delights” of civilization. All this poisons humans too; what effect will such a “delicacy” have on a little hedgehog!
What hedgehogs eat in the wild should be present in their diet and at home. Only with a balanced diet will the animal be healthy, active and live a long and happy life. However, everything here is the same as with people.
Since childhood, we have known everything about hedgehogs: they carry mushrooms and apples on thorns to eat in hungry winters, they love milk very much, they do not drown in water, and they are friends with a bear cub. And we are wrong in everything (except maybe the last one)!
Hedgehogs do not like to meet people. They are nocturnal in the forests of Europe, Asia and even Africa. That's why people came up with own hedgehogs, guided by imagination and speculation. And this is what happened.
ZOOSPRAVKA
Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)
Class - mammals
Order - insectivores
Family - hedgehogs
Genus - common hedgehogs
The common, or European, hedgehog is a small animal. The body length rarely exceeds 30 cm, and the weight is 800 g. The hedgehog is forced to constantly eat: the weight of insects and small vertebrates caught in one night is often equal to own weight hedgehog
Hedgehogs are relatives of porcupines
Not true
Despite their external similarity (which, however, is limited only by the presence of quills), porcupines (Hystricidae) and hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) are quite far apart on the phylogenetic tree. Porcupines are one of the families of the order Rodents, and hedgehogs belong to the order Insectivores, and their closest relatives are moles and shrews. Unlike herbivorous porcupines, hedgehogs eat everything, and give preference to animal prey.
They can "shoot" needles
Not true
Hedgehog quills are modified hair. The spines are made of keratin, they are hollow inside and reinforced with transverse partitions. Thanks to this structure, the light needles are very durable - a hedgehog curled up in a ball can remain unharmed if it falls from a height of several meters.
Each needle is connected to a bunch of muscles that lift it at the slightest danger. But a hedgehog cannot shoot off a thorn, just as a person cannot tear off a hair without the help of his hands. The needles themselves fall off about once every 18 months, but not all together, but one at a time. Therefore, hedgehogs are never left without protection.
Hedgehogs carry mushrooms and apples on needles into the hole
Not true
The love of hedgehogs to collect mushrooms and apples and pin them on thorns is the most common legend, which is reproduced in millions of children's books. This belief is almost 2000 years old: the funny feature of hedgehogs was first mentioned in “ Natural history"Ancient Roman scientist and writer Pliny the Elder.
The misconception of the ancient polymath was later shared by Charles Darwin, who believed the report of one of his correspondents. In reality, hedgehogs eat insects and also small mammals. Animals eat only rotten fruits from plants, but they don’t even carry them anywhere. During the winter, hedgehogs hibernate, so they do not need to make reserves - animals accumulate nutrients in the form of fat.
Hedgehogs love milk
Partly true
To lure the animals, the owners country houses They leave a saucer of milk on the porch. Indeed, hedgehogs often drink it, but then feel very bad. Like most mammals, these animals feed on milk only when they are young. In adults, the enzyme that is necessary to break down lactose, the milk sugar, ceases to be produced.
Undigested lactose enters the large intestine, and the bacteria living there happily eat it. This process is accompanied by the release of gases, which provoke bloating and other unpleasant symptoms.
In addition, milk sugar “pulls” water onto itself, leading to diarrhea. So, after drinking milk left with the best intentions, hedgehogs will suffer for quite a long time, and in severe cases they may die.
They live a very long time
Not true
IN wildlife The lifespan of large species of hedgehogs ranges from 4 to 7 years, small ones - from 2 to 4. In captivity, pets please their owners longer: large species- up to 10 years, small ones - about 4-7 years. The numbers are not very impressive, but for a small animal this is quite a lot. Although scientists cannot say for sure what characteristics of living beings affect longevity, the correlation between body size and life expectancy is beyond doubt. Large creatures, on average, live longer than small ones.
Most often, hedgehogs die from starvation during hibernation. In addition, they have natural enemies, capable of eating the animal, despite the needles. The main killers of hedgehogs are raccoons and foxes, as well as large birds of prey such as owls and golden eagles. Cats and dogs can also attack hedgehogs, especially when the uninvited guests eat the food left in the bowl by the owners.
From the heat they throw themselves under the wheels
Not true
Hedgehogs do not have a tendency to commit suicide, although many animals end their days on the roads. Hedgehogs try to crawl across highways for a reason. Highways and country roads divide animal habitats into fragments that are too small. Using radio beacons, scientists have found that in the wild animals travel more than a kilometer per night, and the average range of one hedgehog can exceed 20 hectares.
In addition, constant crossing of relatives leads to degeneration of the population, as genetic anomalies accumulate in it. Trying to miss their neighbors, hedgehogs crawl onto the highway, and the outcome of such journeys is often sad.
In 2006, environmentalists estimated that in the UK alone, at least 15,000 hedgehogs are killed every 12 months. Dutch experts, in turn, concluded that if there is no additional protection or they are not equipped with underground tunnels, then very soon the Netherlands will be missing a third of hedgehogs.
Stomp at night
Is it true
Hedgehogs are nocturnal animals and most They sleep during the day, emerging from their hiding places only at dusk. In the wild, animals spend their nights searching for food: slugs, snails, worms, beetles, centipedes, insect larvae, and even baby mice and frogs. Despite the fact that the owners of pet hedgehogs leave them food, the animals still try to find prey in the closet, behind the sofa, under the sink and in other secluded places.
Hunting instincts and biological rhythms make hedgehogs wake up at night and search the house even when they are not hungry. Due to the characteristics of gait and long claws hedgehogs wandering around the house are indeed accompanied by stomping.
Don't drown in water
Partly true
European hedgehogs are good swimmers, although sometimes they cannot get out of lakes with steep banks. Animals have mastered movement on water in order to survive among the rivers, lakes and swamps of Eurasia. And here African hedgehogs They don’t know how to swim and, if they fall into a pond or barrel of water, they will inevitably die.
They are immune to snake venom
Partly true
Unlike mongooses, which are completely immune to snake venom, hedgehogs - big fans of hunting snakes - are only partially resistant to it. From lethal effect The animals are protected by the erinacin protein, but if the snake manages to bite the hedgehog several times, the fight may not end in the animal’s favor.
The main salvation of a hedgehog is needles. The aggressor provokes the snake to attack and, when it rushes, exposes sharp spines. When the wounded enemy is exhausted, the hedgehog jumps on the snake and gnaws its spine.
They love beer
Is it true
To get rid of slugs, summer residents set beer traps - they bury a container of beer in the ground, and then collect the pests that crawled to the bait. Hedgehogs are also not averse to drinking - like many other animals, they like the taste of the drink. And like all drinkers, the animals get drunk and can even fall asleep next to the trap. If a hedgehog drinks too much, he will get alcohol poisoning with all the accompanying symptoms.
Infested with fleas
Can predict the weather
Not true
Every year on February 2, Canadians and Americans lure marmots out of their holes to see if the animals will see their shadow. The inhabitants of the New World borrowed this custom of determining what spring would be like from the ancient Romans, who also tortured hedgehogs. For several millennia, the accuracy of the forecast has not changed and, as in the famous joke, it is 50%: either he will guess right or he will not.
Daria Zelenaya
Magazine "Around the World" 2014
A hedgehog is a predatory animal that mainly lives in the forest. However, it can also be kept at home. Hedgehogs, both in the forest and in the house, accumulate a lot of fat. This process begins in the spring and continues until late autumn. This is why hedgehogs need to eat a lot. Many people are interested in the question, what do hedgehogs eat at home?
What to feed a hedgehog at home?
First, let's find out what hedgehogs eat in nature. Note that they eat different foods because they are considered omnivorous animals. Basically, hedgehogs eat frogs, earthworms, caterpillars, amphibious insects, etc. In addition to snakes, insects and beetles, hedgehogs are excellent at keeping poisonous insects. They eat May beetles, bugs, hairy ground beetles, and similar insects.
In the forest, hedgehogs also eat mice and birds, but this can be called an exception. In addition, hedgehogs eat berries and fruits. Therefore, if you have such a nice animal in your house, then you can feed it berries and fruits. However, your hedgehog should not be given food from the kitchen table.
The best food for a hedgehog who lives at home is special food, so if you don’t know what to feed your hedgehog , then it is best to purchase specialized animal feed. It is not so easy to get such food in the CIS countries, so many people prefer to buy high-quality cat food.
Which products to choose?
For such a lovely resident of your home, you can create a special diet and contain specific products.
Domestic hedgehog The following products can be given:
- Fruits and berries.
- Raw egg (1 time per week).
- Chicken giblets.
- Boiled meat (not fatty).
- Insects.
It is important that everything you give your hedgehog is fresh, otherwise it will get sick. Make sure that no food remains are left in the cage. It is impossible for a hedgehog to eat spoiled food. It could poison him. You should not feed your pet hedgehog the following foods:
- Milk.
- Grape.
- Citrus fruit.
- Fast food products.
- Nuts, seeds.
- Onion and garlic.
The idea that hedgehogs eat milk is very common, however, this is a legend, since milk is simply a destructive product for this animal. One of the most important points is that the hedgehog's cage should always be clean. drinking water. Since the hedgehog is considered a predatory animal, the food must contain proteins and animal products.
If you decide to have a hedgehog, then you must not only know what the hedgehog eats, but also comply with certain requirements and create special conditions for its maintenance. This is a forest animal, so it will be quite difficult for the owner to get used to the leashes of this animal. You need to create a special house for the hedgehog where he will sleep, relax and eat.
We have already talked about what hedgehogs eat, but we must not forget that these animals still prefer live food. Hedgehogs are very desirable “guests” in areas where they always meet different kinds snake. This means that hedgehogs eliminate these unwanted crawling intruders.
They love to sleep in winter, so you need to feed them well pet so that he could lie normally for a month and a half and come to his senses. You need to create all conditions for your hedgehog to make him comfortable and warm. If you follow all the conditions for keeping a hedgehog at home and correctly create its menu, then this cute animal will normally live with you for about 5-6 years.
If you cannot keep a hedgehog at home, then it is best to return it to the forest or area. In nature, a hedgehog will definitely find live food for itself and will live long enough.
Hedgehogs are rarely kept as pets; more often it happens that you find an uninvited guest at your dacha, naturally, you will want to feed him, and if you have small children, then tame him. The question arises: “What do hedgehogs eat?” By the way, it should be noted that, contrary to all the cartoons and fairy tales, they do not carry mushrooms, berries and fruits on their needles. It happens that a leaf falling from a tree gets attached to them. In winter, these animals hibernate, which means that in the fall they need to make all the necessary supplies.
"Live" food
So, these creatures are omnivores. The matter cannot be accomplished without live food, for example, invertebrates, amphibians and even reptiles. Everyone knows the fact that they eat vipers - their poison does not affect them, so in a fight the hedgehog always remains the winner. If there are snakes in your area, then this prickly animal will be useful to you. In addition to snakes, small hedgehogs eat bedbugs, ladybugs(orange), they are not afraid of the poison of bumblebees, hairy caterpillars, bees and even Spanish flies. In case a cherry tree is blooming in your garden and is being attacked by cockchafers, attract a prickly pet to your territory. During the night he can eat as many as two hundred grams of insect pests, which means that he will be quite effective in the fight against the annoying cockchafer. It will also help get rid of snakes.
If you find a hedgehog in the forest, there is no need to disturb it and forcefully drag it to your site. Try to carefully move him, but if he leaves, do not try to take him to you again and again. When the animal is sleeping, do not wake it. Insects (such as earwigs and beetles), grubs, snails, earthworms, slugs, and snails are what hedgehogs eat. It is rare, but it happens that they attack vertebrates. In addition, they also use plant foods: various berries, fruits, mushrooms and even acorns.
What to feed at home?
If you decide to get yourself a prickly friend, then you need to know what hedgehogs eat in captivity. Many people think that they love milk and other dairy products, but in reality they should not be given it. Because they are lactose intolerant. You can pamper your prickly pet with eggs, meat and bread. Under no circumstances should you give them food for other animals; it contains too little protein. Treat your pet to ice cream; small hedgehogs in captivity will also happily eat porridge made from oatmeal flakes.
Hedgehogs are also kept in special institutions. These could be shelters and other animal centers. Of what hedgehogs eat in these conditions, we can name mainly insects: at one time the prickly pet is given a large Madagascar cockroach or a grasshopper, in addition they are given zoophobes (about 5 pieces), crickets (about 8) and a small spoonful of mealworms . Feeding is done twice a day (morning and evening). Small hedgehogs and pregnant and lactating females feed approximately four times a day. In some cases, prickly pets are given mice or a tablespoon of minced meat (low-fat). Giving hedgehogs sausage, hot or cold (excessively) food is prohibited. You should also not feed them sweets, cabbage, potatoes and other foods that have a strong odor.
In Ukraine and Kazakhstan, hedgehogs are not only cute little animals!
Ukraineda zhane kazakhstanda kirpiler - sol tek zhannyn andarynyn!
It’s also a “signature” food!
Having asked, among other things, the residents of Stolin Smolovary (in Volyn) what food is considered their “specialty”, I did not expect to “run into” an unexpected answer: “Actually, we are the village where they eat hedgehogs...” About that We have heard that the French eat frogs (for which the dark people called this nation “frogs”), the Chinese eat snakes, and the Vietnamese eat dogs. But what can a hedgehog become a delicacy?!
It is known that the Romans back in the 4th century. BC e. Hedgehogs were raised for meat - it was baked together with needles in clay. 
Method for preparing hedgehog meat. Real masters of culinary art coat the hedgehog with a thick layer of sticky clay mixture and place it in the fire in this shell, making sure that it does not burn, and to do this, turning it from side to side from time to time; As soon as the layer of clay becomes dry and hard, remove the roast from the heat, allow it to cool a little and then peel off the shell, along with which the needles stuck to the clay come off. With this method of cooking, all the juices remain in the roast, and the result is an excellent dish, according to those who eat it. In the old days, a lot of hedgehogs were eaten in Spain, especially during Lent. www.povodok.ru
The simplest and convenient way cooking hedgehogs - in clay. The gutted hedgehog is coated with a thick layer of clay and rolled into a fire or placed on the coals. The approximate readiness time is 1.5-2 hours; the hedgehog's needles and skin will fall off along with the clay. survival.com.ua
Besides. Among the ancients, the hedgehog also had its place in medicine: its blood, entrails and even droppings were used to prepare various medicines; in addition, it was burned entirely, and the ashes of the animal had the same use as those of a dog. And now hedgehog fat is considered a healing agent. The ancient Romans used the prickly skin of this animal to nap woolen cloth and therefore carried on a lively trade in hedgehog skins, which brought in such significant income that a special resolution of the Senate was required to regulate it. In addition, the prickly skin was used as a comb for carding flax. Some rural owners still use hedgehog skin when they need to wean a calf from its mother; To do this, a piece of prickly hedgehog skin is tied to the sucker's nose and this forces the mother to repel the pet, which is already becoming painful for her, and to accustom him to other food. In addition to all this, some hat makers prepare a special kind of prickly hats from natural hedgehog skin. www.povodok.ru
653. KUNFU3 – HEDGEHOG
Essence.
The terrestrial [hedgehog] is known, and the mountain [hedgehog] is a porcupine carrying arrow-shaped quills; in its nature it is close to the terrestrial [hedgehog]. As for sea urchin, then it is a type of fish with a shell.
Actions and properties.
The fat and dried liver of the hedgehog prevent the outpouring of matter into the insides. The ash of sea and land urchin cleanses, absorbs and dries.
Cosmetics.
Salted land urchin helps against elephantiasis, and the meat of land urchin helps against leprosy due to its strong absorbent effect. The burnt skin of a ground urchin helps against fox disease.
Tumors and acne.
The skin of the sea urchin is included in medicines for jarab, and its meat is very useful for “pigs”.
Wounds and ulcers.
The ash from the skin of a hedgehog is useful for contaminated ulcers and destroys wild meat. Its meat is very helpful against “mumps” and nodular indurations.
Tools with joints.
Salted meat of the land urchin is useful against paralysis, against spasms, against all kinds of nerve diseases and against elephantiasis.
Respiratory system.
Ground urchin meat is good for consumption.
Nutritional organs.
Meat land urchin useful for upset nature, salted [its meat] with sikanjubin*) works well against dropsy, as does his liver, dried in the sun, on a shard.
Eruption organs.
Sea urchin good for the stomach; it softens the stomach and drives away [urine and menstruation]. Salted meat of land [urchin] with sikanjubin* helps with kidney pain. Ground [urchin] meat is good for children who wet the bed; Constant consumption of this meat sometimes even causes difficulty urinating.
*) Shikanjubin- according to Abu Ali Ibn Sina (Avicenna) - This is vinegared honey - a mixture of vinegar and honey. “Treatise on Vinegar Honey” (“Risola fi-s-sikanjubin”) - describes the preparation and medicinal use mixtures of vinegar and honey of various compositions.
*) Sikanjubin from seeds according to the general recipe:
It quenches fevers and stomach burning, breaks off mucus and clears it, suppresses bile, opens blockages of the liver and spleen and drives urine.
Compound. Take good old wine vinegar - ten Ritlov and add clean fresh water in the amount of twenty Ritlov or more or less depending on the degree of acid and quality of the vinegar. Then put fennel root bark and celery root bark there - three of each ukiyi, fennel seeds, anise and celery seeds - one each ukiye; All this is left to stand for a day, after which it is boiled over low heat until one sixth of it has evaporated. Then remove from the heat and leave until cooled, then filter and add for every two parts of this mixture of water and vinegar, boiled with bark and seeds, one part of sugar. tabarzad or one part of honey for every two and a half parts of a mixture of vinegar and water, boiled with roots and seeds. All this is boiled over low heat until half remains, then removed from the heat, cooled, filtered and consumed; skim off foam during boiling.
Whoever wishes, after skimming the foam and after the liquid has boiled once or twice, add three unground saffron dirhams; Having wrapped it in a bundle, hang it in a cauldron and from time to time crush the bundle with your fingers so that the strength of the saffron passes into liquid. Some people, having finished preparing sikanjubina, soak two in it dirham crushed saffron, but do not boil with it. www.medhis.ru
Fevers.
Ground [hedgehog] meat is useful for chronic fevers.
Poisons.
Hedgehog meat is useful against reptile bites.
www.bibliotekar.ru
In modern interpretation:
- Hedgehog meat in any form is used internally for strokes, neuroses, pulmonary tuberculosis, and leprosy.
- According to Chinese scientists, hedgehog skin has a hemostatic effect. It is taken in powder form (1 g each) for internal bleeding.
The ash of sea and land urchin cleanses, absorbs and dries. Salted land urchin helps against elephantiasis. - The burnt skin of a land urchin, crushed into powder, helps against baldness if you rub the powder into the scalp daily.
- The ash from the skin of a hedgehog is useful for old ulcers and destroys wild meat.
Hedgehog meat is good for treating nodular indurations. - Salted meat of the land urchin is used for paralysis and spasms.
- Sea urchin softens the stomach, drives urine and menstruation.
Salted meat of a land urchin relieves pain in the kidneys and dropsy. - Ground urchin meat is useful for eating during nocturnal enuresis. Constant consumption of this meat even causes difficulty urinating.
Genrikh Uzhegov. Ancient recipes for healing. R-on-D. "Prof-Press", 2000
Is it allowed to eat hedgehog meat?
Theologians disagreed as to whether hedgehog meat could be eaten. It is reported that Ali b. Abu Talib forbade this. Malik and Abu Hanifa considered this undesirable. At the same time, al-Shafi'i, al-Leis, Abu Saur and many others allowed the consumption of hedgehog meat. The reason for the disagreement is the lack of reliable hadiths on this topic. Ahmad and Abu Dawud reported from Numeila al-Fazari: “I was near Ibn Umar when he was asked about eating hedgehogs, and he read the following verse: “Say: “Of what has been revealed to me, I find it forbidden to eat only...”(al-Anam, 145). Then one of the elderly people said that he heard from Abu Hurayra that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "This is one of the nasty creatures." Ibn Umar said: “If the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said this, then it is so.” However, one of the narrators of the hadith was Umar b. Zayd al-Sanani, whose narrations are not taken into account, and therefore scholars considered this hadith weak.
In such cases, it is taken into account important rule: In matters not related to rites of worship, everything is considered permissible until proven otherwise. Therefore, eating hedgehog meat is permitted, and Allah knows best about this.
HOW THEY ARE CAUGHT
When it came to the menu of hedgehogs, the faces of the interlocutors blurred into dreamy smiles: it seemed that the memories alone would make your mouth water. However, the cautious peasants immediately sensibly fell silent: the hedgehog is listed in the Red Book... And it is awkward to admit to a passion for “hunting”, which is perceived ambiguously even in neighboring villages. Therefore, this material became possible when an oath was given not to mention a single name or surname.
“We didn’t start this, and it won’t end with us,” think the rural hedgehog-eating philosophers.
The village chairman, Ivan Makarovich Loposhuk, has a personal opinion about this: perhaps “misfortune forced our ancestors to eat hedgehogs.” His relative, who served 25 years in prison “for politics,” and crow ate. He said it was delicious. The chairman remembers how in the 50s there was no bread in the village, and my mother baked it from acorns and picked bunches from hazel trees. People then tried everything, which is probably why they returned to the original Stolino-Smolar fishery for hedgehogs.
But why hedgehogs? Stolin Smolyary is a Volyn village in the middle of a forest, in which game is visible and invisible. There are “clouds” of ducks, as Ivan Makarovich says, local hare hunters go there, but is it possible to compare thin hare meat with fatty hedgehog meat?! There has also been a proliferation of foxes, which no one has hunted for a long time, because fur coats and hats made from their fur have become unfashionable.
The hedgehog hunting season in Stolinskie Smolyary coincides with the potato digging season. This is the second half of August. But already on the patronal holiday, which is celebrated here on July 28, St. Vladimir’s Day, few huts do not have “branded” food on the table.
At this time, hedgehogs are still “weak”, i.e. We didn’t gain fat, but the tradition, as we see, lives and flourishes.
They catch hedgehogs at night (they sleep during the day and go out fishing at night) and with dogs. Not every dog can be trained and forced to climb into the blackberry thickets where hedgehogs live. Having found prey, the dog gives a voice - and then, as they say, it’s a matter of technique. Local hunters have become adept at taking hedgehogs almost with bare hands. There are no less worries with a small hedgehog than with a wild boar. It is burned, and the remaining hard needles are removed with hot metal - there are special devices for this in Stolin Smolyars - local know-how. The carcass is cut up, the entrails are thrown out - and the period of waiting for the “belly festival” begins...
Literally a week before we visited Stolinskie Smolyary, in one hut they served roast hedgehog at a christening. The peasants, with respect for the owners, said that on each table there were as many as two plates of hedgehog meat... But this is the exception rather than the rule. Fortunately, the life of the prickly animals is somewhat safe until lovers of this delicacy learn to preserve the “fresh”. So far it has not been possible to do this, although they said that one family somehow managed to prepare “canned food” and they stood in a cold place almost until spring. The freezer comes to the rescue for some, but hedgehog meat, like any meat, does not tolerate long-term freezing.
Hedgehogs have been found in the area since time immemorial. Perhaps because they breed well in the surrounding forests - there are a lot of blackberries and clearings that they love. One man admitted that together with his godfather, he “caught” (in local terms, “caught”) as many as 60 hedgehogs overnight, and among them there were quite respectable individuals - a kilogram or more (this is already pure weight). Well, what to do with thirty (they were divided in half) hedgehogs?!
“And you take two 15-liter cauldrons, put fresh food in them, and into the oven,” the men dreamily recalled the summer.
They eat the hedgehog's heart, liver, and lungs. The meat is not seasoned with anything, because it is believed that seasonings only spoil the already pleasant taste. They say that hedgehog meat is tastier than pork, young veal, duck, rabbit and chicken. And even turkey meat. Fat has a unique taste, which is also very expensive. It is collected in bottles and used as medicine (for burns, various ulcers, lung diseases). To paraphrase popular saying about rabbits, then hedgehogs - “not only tasty meat, it’s also best medicines from tuberculosis!
- When medicine is powerless, a person will come to life on hedgehogs! You need to eat 6 - 7 hedgehogs and drink half a bottle of fat with a spoon - local recipes are shared with knowledge.
In the area, the residents of Stolin Smolyari are nicknamed “hedgehogs”. It happened that a girl from a neighboring village was embarrassed to marry a “hedgehog,” but, apparently, there are no visitors in the village who would not subsequently eat hedgehog meat. This is also a great snack: you can drink half a liter alone and not get drunk at all. Every year there are fewer and fewer hedgehogs, they move further and further from their “historical homeland”. Now hunters for the prickly delicacy have to travel to neighboring areas where hedgehogs emigrate (by the way, interesting fact, that this animal travels up to 5 kilometers during the night in search of food!) It’s good that they stopped “pawing” the babies and let them grow up.
Stolino-Smolyar hedgehogs have surpassed the most important Volyn delicacy - eels, which are found in Lake Svityaz. There is a joke in Volyn (very close to the truth) that for many local professors, writers and officials, the road to diplomas, titles, awards and positions is paved with eels.
And now the capital’s “bosses” are bringing pots of hedgehogs to Svityaz... Polish and Ukrainian customs officers are asking for them - the village is a few kilometers from the state border of Ukraine and its residents enjoy the right of unhindered passage to Poland.
We didn’t have to try what hedgehogs taste like: it was out of season. Local housewives convinced us that knowing that there was hedgehog in the pan, we would overcome understandable disgust and pity (and as soon as they eat them, these cute little animals?!) “We’d follow the smell!” - the women laughed and invited me to come to Stolin Smolyary for the patronal feast.
Now Sergei is busy implementing a new project, the main component of which will be hedgehogs.
“I want to create a brand that doesn’t exist anywhere else,” he admits. – Any attempts to bring to our soil something that is already well promoted abroad are doomed to failure.
There are technologies and traditions there, and we will never be able to match that quality. You need to make your own trick.
The idea to enrich world gastronomy with hedgehog meat came to Bukushev after he was treated to this delicacy by fellow hunters.
Sergei remembered the stories of the old-timers of his native village, who during the war years often had to escape hunger precisely at the expense of such a resource.
At the same time, the old people noted that they would not refuse to eat a hedgehog now, but in Peaceful time It's somehow indecent.
The farmer intends to engage exclusively in the breeding of spiny animals for the first two years, having purchased a batch of breeders from a nursery in Sverdlovsk. And only then will dietary hedgehog meat reach the market, and the external market at that.
“I don’t think that such a product will be appreciated in Kazakhstan,” says the businessman. – Our people are conservative, to be honest.
But the kitchen Western Europe very receptive to innovations, and I plan to promote my hedgehogs there in two years. My focus is primarily on France. I'll get even with them for the foie gras.
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