Achieving the art of a true mushroom picker in picking mushrooms is possible only after several years of practice. But learning to entertain yourself with quiet hunting is very simple!

Mushroom picking places

Each mushroom picker has his own favorite places. One walks along the edge of the forest, the other picks up the spreading paws of spruce trees and finds porcini mushrooms under them. The third one has everything mushroom places registered, and he does not walk in vain through the forest in search of the treasured porcini mushrooms, but moves from one place to another, almost without looking at the ground. Some are waiting for autumn fogs; to start collecting real milk mushrooms.

Other mushroom pickers-experts go in the morning to the cattle field, where just yesterday they grazed cattle, where, it seems, everything has been trampled, and return from there with a basket of young porcini mushrooms that have grown near the juniper bushes and under the branches of young fir trees. City mushroom pickers learn about the appearance of mushrooms by stopping by the nearest market in the morning on their way to work.

Forest roads after rains are also examined by mushroom pickers quite carefully and, in most cases, successfully.

How to pick mushrooms

When harvesting, mushrooms are placed in a basket with their caps down. Mushrooms with long stems (porcini, boletus, aspen) are best placed on their side. Cut or picked mushrooms are cleaned of debris and soil with hands or a knife so that they do not contaminate the basket and other mushrooms. lamellar mushrooms When going to salting, the legs are cut off. They are preserved only in saffron milk caps, chanterelles, russula and voles. As a rule, all edible mushrooms are collected together and sorted at home according to certain species or according to the method of further use: for drying, salting, pickling. By the way, this procedure gives a real mushroom picker no less pleasure than picking mushrooms itself.

It is very important to know, when entering the forest with a basket, what and where mushrooms can grow in given time. When the summer is humid, they are looked for where there is less moisture, that is, in dry, elevated places well warmed by the sun, on the edges, clearings, away from tree trunks. On the contrary, in a roast and dry summer they grow more in the shade of trees, under spruce paws, in thick grass, on slopes between hills, where moisture is retained in sufficient quantities.

You should start picking mushrooms as early as possible, even before sunrise (at this time, in the absence of oblique sun rays they are much more noticeable). After sunrise, the search route is laid out so that its rays do not hit the eyes directly. You need to walk through the forest slowly, carefully looking at all the places characteristic of mushrooms. Having found one mushroom, look around, even sit down to change the angle - and you will be rewarded. Many mushrooms grow in families, groups, or even entire colonies, especially milk mushrooms and saffron milk caps. It happens that under one old birch you collect 2-3 dozen whites.

How to extract mushrooms from the ground

Mushrooms can be cut, broken, pulled out or unscrewed. Among the people, such expressions as “breaking” and “taking” mushrooms are common. "Breaking" lamellar mushrooms, and “take” (cut or unscrew) tubular ones. If we talk about mushrooms grown under artificial conditions, then practice has shown that it is impossible to rudely pull out mushrooms, disturb the top layer of the nutrient medium and break the mycelium. Probably this situation was transferred to the forest, to natural conditions. Mushroom pickers who uproot mushrooms are called mushroom poachers, and this method of collection is destructive. And, of course, we can agree with this. As for the harm to the mycelium, this is a controversial issue. In pastures where cattle are grazed, where the top soil layer is damaged by the hooves of domestic animals, mushrooms grow especially well (there is, however, a completely opposite opinion).

Near forest roads, where the top layer of soil is damaged and mixed, more mushrooms grow than away from roads. It turns out that loosening the soil and violating the integrity of the mycelium threads does not lead to a decrease in the number of mushrooms, but to an increase. Damage and rupture of the mycelium contribute to the appearance of mushrooms. There are more mushrooms in clearings prepared for planting than in untouched areas. After burning brushwood and wood debris, more mushrooms, butterflies, and other mushrooms appear in forest plots. But frequent visits to mushroom places, trampling and compaction of the surface layer of soil near cities leads not only to a decrease, but also to the complete disappearance of mushrooms.

So how do you pick mushrooms? Probably, the collection of volnushki should be left the same, that is, only the caps should be broken off. But, of course, you shouldn’t pull mushrooms out of the ground. You need to cut the mushroom with a knife as low as possible so that the remainder of the large root does not rot and harm the mycelium. There are other recommendations that it is better to twist some mushrooms out of the soil. One must assume that one should not object to this either. One thing is important here - we must take care of nature and especially such wealth as mushrooms.

Tips for those who pick mushrooms:

- Do not take a mushroom in its embryonic state: nothing will be added to the basket, but in two or three days it will grow and then it will be nice to put it in the basket.

It is better to take the mushroom by cutting it at the base of the stem, but without tearing off the moss cover: this leads to drying out of the mycelium and the formation of mushroom-cutting bald patches.

- Place the taken mushroom in a basket, clearing it of debris: pine needles, leaves, soil.

“If you don’t know a mushroom and don’t take it, then don’t trample it: maybe another mushroom lover will take it.”

- Choose medium and large healthy mushrooms - without signs of rot and wormholes, but not overripe or flabby, since such substances quickly accumulate toxic substances dangerous to humans; for the same reasons collected mushrooms put it into processing as quickly as possible: drying, salting, pickling:

— When collecting fragile, brittle mushrooms (russula, volushki, etc.), if possible, place them separately from large, heavy mushrooms.

Most city dwellers gradually lose the skills of navigating the forest, as well as distinguishing between edible and inedible forest products. The same goes for mushrooms, because it seems that they are much easier to buy in the store. But at the same time, we must also take into account the pleasure that can be obtained in the process of hunting for them. So, for example, how to search

About mushrooms

Most associate these organisms exclusively with their fruits - what can be seen, for example, in stores. But many people remember from biology courses that everything is not so simple. The first feature is that mushrooms are not plants. And they are really very different from them. Second: a mushroom is not only what is visible on the surface. It's just his body small part. And the main one lies underground - this is the mycelium. Few people do not notice that mushrooms grow in groups - having discovered one, you can find several more nearby. And all because the same mycelium is located in the soil, which is not roots in the usual sense of the word, but has a number of similar functions. It can extend over a fairly large space and comes to the surface in the form of mushroom bodies.

Properties and nutritional value

They are called forest meat, and this name is not accidental. They consist almost entirely of water, with proteins in second place, about the same amount of carbohydrates and very little fat. When dried, the amount of protein per 100 grams increases to approximately 30%, but it cannot serve as a substitute for meat. The fact is that most of protein is not digested human body due to a special substance - chitin, which is included in the cell membrane of fungi.

But we can’t ignore what they contain. great amount useful microelements and vitamins. Some of them can even serve as a medicine against certain diseases - a separate area called fungotherapy is studying these properties. But besides, we must not forget that this is quite a heavy food that takes a long time to digest.

Silent hunt

Mushroom pickers are often called hunters, and this is, in general, fair. Their task is actually to stalk their prey, since luck rarely smiles on those who go at random. And these people have the secrets of how to look for mushrooms, where to do it, and at what time. Of course, they are also distinguished from poisonous ones and have a number of other special skills and knowledge. So, what are the basic rules you need to know for a “silent hunt” to be successful?

Where and how to look for mushrooms?

There are places in the forest where a hunter is more likely to meet his prey. The main weapon here is knowledge. Some species prefer sunny edges and clearings, while others prefer shady lowlands. But there are some universal rules that help both beginners and more experienced mushroom hunters.

Firstly, you need to go out into the forest early in the morning, when there are still no slanting sun rays and the dew has not dried. It is the moisture after cool night will help you notice shiny wet caps in the grass.

Secondly, you need to remember the principle of mushroom growth - if you find one, then there will definitely be several more nearby. So you need to take a closer look around.

Thirdly, it is better to organize your first trips with more experienced guides. This will allow you to gain orientation skills in the forest, as well as understand how to properly look for mushrooms.

Fourthly, a special stick about a meter long with a slingshot at the end will be a good helper. It is very convenient to move the grass in front of you and to the sides so as not to miss a single boletus or boletus.

And yet, every fan of “silent hunting” has his own secrets on how to find White mushroom where to look for milk mushrooms. When going into the forest for specific species, you need to know not only when is the best time to collect them, but also their favorite places.

Mushroom season in the Moscow region

It is traditionally believed that it is necessary to obtain forest meat in the fall, but this does not mean that lovers of “silent hunting” put down their baskets for almost a year in October. In fact, the first mushrooms may appear as early as March, however, at this time there are very few of them; it is better to delay the start of the season until April-May (depending on the speed of snow melting and rise average daily temperature). In the Moscow region at this time they collect morels and strings, which look quite strange, but have wonderful properties. taste qualities.

At the end of May and beginning of June, boletus mushrooms and many others begin to appear summer mushrooms, and in July all the main species gradually begin to bear fruit, although this time is considered not very fruitful. The real active season opens in August, when the forests truly hide untold riches! This Golden time lasts until about mid-September and makes it possible not to have to figure out how to look for mushrooms in the forest, because they are literally everywhere and practically ask themselves to be in the basket. Experienced people know that over the summer there are several “waves” of growth or “layers”. The first of them falls on the second half of July, and the rest - on a short time until the beginning of this autumn. This is exactly the moment when it is best for a beginner to try his hand.

The main season closes at the end of October, although individual fans can extend it for a few more weeks. And yet, where to look for mushrooms so as not to go at random? Each type requires its own approach.

To begin with, you can go in the directions considered the most “fruitful”. In the Moscow region, mushroom pickers often go out at the stations Zhavoronki, Tuchkovo, Dorokhovo, Pobeda, Dachnaya, White Pillars, Lvovskaya, Donino, Gzhel, Zelenogradskaya, Abramtsevo, Khimki, Povarovo, etc. In fact, at the height of the season, it’s easy to understand what places are now They are popular - a lot of people with baskets come off the morning trains.

Other Features

When going into the forest, you must dress properly and follow all necessary rules precautions. For example, wearing a hat and Wellingtons. This will help protect you from ticks and snakes that are found in the grass and bushes.

Each mushroom picker must have a knife and a special container with him. An ordinary bag will not work, because what is collected in it will quickly “suffocate”, lose all its appearance and usefulness, crumble and immediately begin to rot. Willow baskets work best. As for the collection method, there are two directly opposite opinions: some believe that it is better to cut the mushrooms, while others insist that this method provokes rotting and death of the mycelium, so it is better to unscrew the stem from the ground like a screw. General opinion, unfortunately no.

Edible and inedible

One of the first rules of mushroom pickers is this: when in doubt, it is better to refuse. Learning to distinguish edibles from their poisonous counterparts is not so difficult; it is a matter of practice. But the fact is that even the most delicious boletus, boletus and boletus mushrooms can be fraught with danger. Before deciding where to look for mushrooms, you need to find a suitable place for this - a forest that is located far enough from highways and any other sources of pollution. Every cap and beautiful appetizing leg found near such places threatens to be poisoned. The fact is that mushrooms absorb everything harmful substances, like a sponge, and it is impossible to get rid of them. Therefore, you should think several times when choosing places to look for mushrooms in the Moscow region.

Another feature that affects edibility is mutual arrangement different types. Sometimes it happens that a mushroom picker finds a clearing with a whole family of caps. And suddenly, in the middle of this crowd, it is discovered that it is better to throw away what you have collected, since the poison that gets into the mycelium can, in the best case, cause severe poisoning.

In addition, you should not bring home large overripe specimens. It’s better to do it differently - pin the hat on a tree branch in the forest. This will make it easier for disputes to spread, and next year there is a chance to see former places a lot more mushrooms.

Symptoms of poisoning

Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, but it is important to correct it in time. After eating mushrooms and suddenly having doubts, you need to analyze your condition. The following symptoms should alert you:

• abdominal pain;
• nausea, vomiting;
• rise or fall in temperature;
• drowsiness;
• increased salivation and/or sweating;
• strong thirst.

The appearance of several of these signs after eating mushrooms is a reason to immediately seek help, even if it seems that this is not necessary. This can save someone's life, and you can even get poisoned by edible but improperly processed species.

How to cook?

Before looking for mushrooms in the forest, it would be useful to ask how they should be processed. They are hardly stored, so they must be processed immediately after collection. Just a few hours - that's all forest wealth You can safely take it to the trash heap, so it’s better to hurry up. First of all, you need to sort through everything, clean and cut it. Species such as morels and stitches require special attention - they need to be washed very carefully. Regarding conditionally edible mushrooms As a rule, they need to be soaked for several hours to get rid of bitterness. In general, the preparation of each type requires its own approach. Some are more suitable for frying, others for stewing, and others for pickling. But in the end it's a matter of taste.

Of course, there is no clear answer to this question. A sense for mushrooms is something innate, intuition. My son says: "here mushroomy“, and dives into the nearest bush for an oil can. We have a neighbor in the country, and even going into the forest with him only gets you upset: he follows you closely and collects boletus mushrooms, where you don’t even see russula...

And yet, to some extent, you can learn to find mushrooms by learning their preferences and habits.

Principle 1. Time and place

In different areas, mushrooms will be born in different time. In the mountains Central Asia The height of the giant raincoats occurs in late spring - early summer, until the ground dries out. In the spring, in the middle zone, we only collect morels and strings.

In the Crimean Mountains, in wet weather, the peak season for butter can be in June. Here they only appear in June spikelets. Spike mushrooms - boletus, aspen and porcini - are mushrooms that appear when bread begins to spike. Then comes the mushroom lull - until August. The end of August - the beginning of September is the most mushroom time in outskirts of Moscow.

Principle 2: Seize the moment

Waves of string morels, spikelets, autumn mushrooms fleeting: a week and the mushrooms are gone. How not to miss

moment? If you don't walk in the woods every day, you need to be on your guard. Signs mass appearance mushrooms: people with baskets filled the trains; fresh mushrooms were sold at collective farm markets and metro stations. And now there is also the Internet - take a walk on mushroom forums if you are far from the forest.

So how do you look for mushrooms?

Let's enter the forest. In a light birch forest there is a place for boletus, boletus and white boletus. On mossy hummocks and under ferns - chanterelles. Milk mushrooms are hiding under the fallen leaves. Boletus and pigs live in the pine forest.

Not every forest grows mushrooms even in the best season. Dense thickets they don't like. In a swamp, even if you come across a single boletus on a thin stalk, it will be wet and watery. The most mushroom places are forest edges and clearings. Mushrooms also like roads. If the road is unpaved and impassable, you can search along it.

But autumn honey mushrooms can hide in impassable thickets, where there are stumps or fallen trees.

How to spot a mushroom?

It depends. An umbrella mushroom, for example, is visible from afar. You walk through the forest, or even ride a bicycle along a path, and look around into the distance. The mushroom is large and can be seen from a distance. Milk mushrooms hide under the leaves. In an unfamiliar forest, I find the first milk mushroom by chance. Milk mushrooms are family mushrooms. Where there is one, the whole family hides. This means we need to carefully search the surrounding area. The same thing with chanterelles: I caught one - I searched the neighboring hummocks.

I'm not looking for honey mushrooms. I'm looking for suitable ones tree stumps. Now, if I were a honey mushroom, where would I want to grow up? If the stump turns out to be productive, I search the surrounding area. Honey mushrooms can also grow on the ground, or more precisely, on rotten mushrooms that hide in the forest floor.

Boletus, boletus and, especially, white boletuses can grow alone. Although, sometimes there are entire mushroom glades.

An experienced mushroom picker knows his forest like the lines of his hand. Where are which mushrooms and when are they born? And he hurries into the forest early in the morning, because he is not the only one who is such an expert. Whoever got up first was in time...

Principle 3: Fine-tuning the vision. Snake catcher method

It also happens: you walk through the forest and not a single mushroom is visible. Friends are collecting, and at least you got a fragile russula. What bad luck!.. It can help here fine tuning visions. Ask your friend not to pick the mushroom you find, look at it carefully, and adjust your eyes. It helps me. I read somewhere that this is what snake catchers do.

Principle 4. Main

Not everything in the forest is mine. More precisely, there is nothing of mine there. I'm a guest. Whatever the forest offers me, I thank you for that. If the year is fruitful, the mushrooms jump at your feet, so I never take everything. I'm leaving it for divorce. Moreover, I don’t knock over a toadstool or a rotten mushroom. In the forest we are both guests and hosts. Just under no circumstances users.

As is known, the most expensive mushrooms, truffles grow underground. Here's how scientific pigs look for mushrooms:

Mushrooms in the forest

Autumn is mushroom time

Autumn - best time for harvesting mushrooms in the forest, my photo of mushrooms - bright that confirmation. As a rule, in central Russia, market stalls are literally overflowing with these forest gifts in September-October. Mushroom rush on the market - sure sign, by which city residents can determine the beginning of the autumn season for collecting these amazing plants. At this time, commuter trains are crowded with people with baskets, and mushroom pickers' cars are parked everywhere on the sides of the roads.

Photos of the family are oily.

Experienced lovers of “quiet” hunting can easily find old myceliums and collect a sufficient amount in two or three trips to their favorite places. Beginning mushroom pickers usually turn to their village relatives and familiar guides for help. But what to do when there is no one to turn to for advice, the area is unfamiliar, but you really want to taste fresh mushrooms fried with potatoes? A few simple recommendations, developed on the basis of our own many years of experience, will be useful for novice mushroom pickers and just those who like to spend free time Outdoors.

Where to look for mushrooms?

So, the first and biggest misconception of the average person is that mushrooms grow in the forest. In fact, in the forest itself, in the literal sense of the word, they are found much less frequently than on the edges, outskirts, in small forest plantings, along the banks of streams and ditches. It often happens that in a beautiful, clean mixed forest there are practically no mushrooms, but as soon as you go to the border of the forest and the field, the desired mushroom caps begin to flicker in the grass.

Therefore, when entering the forest, do not rush to rush into the thicket, away from other mushroom pickers - first of all, you need to check the edge of the forest, preferably on the south side.

You should not trust the statement that at the entrance to the forest, near the parking lot, mushrooms have long been collected by competitors. Almost all mushroom pickers think this way, so they inattentively examine the area adjacent to the road and miss the mycelium. The attraction of mushrooms to roads, tourist sites, and trails has long been noted. This is explained by the fact that in these places people often disassemble and clean the collected mushrooms. When cleaning, waste, and with it spores-seeds, fall onto the soil, germinate and contribute to further development mycelium.

Mushrooms also “love” cow trails. Porcini mushrooms are especially partial to this. If along the edge of a coniferous or mixed forest They constantly drive away livestock, then the probability of finding a porcini mushroom here is very high. It is not for nothing that there is a separate variety of porcini mushrooms, which is called “cow”. This is a mushroom that has a dense body, a thick, massive short stalk and a small, barely open dark brown cap.

What do the most delicious mushrooms in central Russia like?

It must be remembered that porcini mushroom, as a rule, interacts with coniferous trees. It prefers spruce, although it is also found in pine forests. The best place for the collection of whites are the outskirts mixed forests, where spruce and birch grow in approximately equal proportions.

Photo of porcini mushrooms with boletus mushrooms and photo of boletus mushrooms.

Boletuses, on the contrary, have a negative attitude towards needles - it is better to look for them in young, densely grassy plantings of birch and aspen. Often, to collect boletuses, it is necessary to push apart the grass thickets in a half-bent state. Traditionally, boletus can be found on the slopes of reclamation ditches, streams, and small rivers overgrown with young trees. For a prosperous life of the boletus mycelium, only two or three birch and aspen trees standing on the bank of a ditch in the middle of a field or on a small island in the lake are enough. In such places you can stumble upon a whole family of “redheads” and collect up to twenty pieces from one mycelium.

Photo of a boletus family.

The boletus is most often found in small forest birch plantings. The height of such plantings usually does not exceed two human heights. The distance between the trees here must be at least a meter, otherwise the mycelium will not get required amount moisture and light. Ideal place for collecting boletuses are young, sparse forest birch plantings, lined with sphagnum moss. In such places the most beautiful and delicious view boletus - blackhead. It’s not easy to find it, since the main part of the mushroom’s body is usually hidden by moss, and only a small part dark hat peeks to the surface.

Boletus and saffron milk caps grow only in coniferous forests, mainly in pine forests. Russula, chanterelles, honey mushrooms and milk mushrooms are found almost everywhere.

It is impossible not to note the “propensity” of mushrooms for high-voltage power lines stretched along forest area. This is not explained by the paradoxical influence of electric current on the development of mycelium, but by the fact that trees growing under power lines are regularly pruned, which creates favorable conditions for mushroom growth - the soil receives plenty of moisture and sunlight. In addition, the high-voltage line is one of the best reference points for novice mushroom pickers.

When choosing a direction for going on a “quiet” hunt, you must remember that mycelium develops faster in more humid places, that is, in lowlands, but not swamps. Air temperature also plays a huge role in the formation of the fruiting body of mushrooms, therefore mushroom season V northern regions begins later than in the south.

When a large number of mushrooms are found, a gambling person quickly becomes inspired, which often leads to weakening of vigilance and loss of landmarks in the area. Therefore, if you find a mushroom family, place the basket at the place where the first mushroom was found, remember its location relative to the landmarks and proceed to a leisurely collection, without losing sight of the basket.

Photo of the composition "Autumn Still Life". How do you like it?!

Each lover of “quiet” hunting has his own secret signs of mushroom luck. Over time, you will develop them too. And remember: whoever seeks will always find.

Dear friends and site guests! If you have interesting photos mushrooms and you want to show them off, send them to me, and I will post them in this article and indicate your authorship (of course!). Mailbox address on the main page.

And now - mushroom soup recipe !

To home - "Travel and Leisure"

In Russia, mushroom picking is almost considered a national sport. According to statistics, every third resident of our country goes out into the forest with a basket in the fall. But if before the revolution in Russia there were up to 40 kg of mushrooms per capita per year, today it is only 3 kg. Why?

Looking in the wrong place!

Mushrooms (especially high nutritional value- white, boletus, boletus) are not so easy to find in the forest. A lucky few get a full basket of boletus; most come out of the forest with russulas and pigs.

— The main thing in “ quiet hunt“Know mushroom places,” says Vera Mokeeva, candidate biological sciences, Researcher Department of Mycology and Alcology, Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University - Mushrooms reproduce using spores, which, when exposed to favorable conditions, form a mycelium. New mushrooms subsequently grow from it. Such myceliums persist in the soil for quite a long time, so experienced mushroom pickers They remember the place where they once reaped a rich harvest, periodically visit there and do not tell anyone about the “place of mushroom power.”

How to find a mushroom place?

There is no point in looking for mushrooms in thick grass and forest thickets. They usually grow in clearings, sunny meadows and forest edges, in moist but not soggy soil. Some types of fungi - mycorrhiza-formers - are closely associated with the root system of certain tree species (aspen mushrooms, boletus mushrooms), others - xylotrophs - with living or dead wood (honey mushrooms, oyster mushrooms) - and with what older tree, the greater the likelihood of finding mycelium under or on it.

It is known that the mushroom yield is not constant. The fertility of mycelium depends on the weather. If the summer was hot and dry, there will be few mushrooms in the fall. Moderately warm and in moderation rainy summer promises a rich mushroom harvest.

Take valuable ones

A mycelium is a sponge that absorbs all the nasty things from environment.

“In most edible mushrooms, the mycelium is located near the soil surface and absorbs a large number of moisture from the environment, explains Candidate of Pharmaceutical Sciences Igor Sokolsky. “If the soil is contaminated with water-soluble xenobiotics, they easily penetrate the mushrooms and can accumulate in quantities that render edible mushrooms inedible.”

Autumn mushrooms are the safest and healthiest. The mycelium “gives out” all the accumulated negativity with the first harvest, later autumn mushrooms you can safely collect. They are the safest. Exceptions are mushrooms collected along highways, railway tracks, landfills, landfills, etc. Eating them is extremely dangerous.

Another important mushroom nuance is edibility. Unlike other products, mushrooms are conditionally edible. By the way, this term has taken root exclusively in our country. All over the world, sow mushrooms, volushki, russula, lacticaria, morels, milk mushrooms, rows (and other mushrooms that have a poisonous or acrid taste in their raw form) are considered inedible.

— Toxins conditionally edible mushrooms are resistant to heat treatment (that is, neither frying nor boiling can neutralize them), explains Elena Tereshina, Doctor of Biological Sciences, - you can eat them (if you really want to) only in salted form and exclusively in “ at a young age"(that is, rotten wormy mushrooms- overgrown plants should be left in the forest “bed”).

Mushrooms of the first and second nutritional value - porcini, boletus, boletus, saffron milk caps, chanterelles - are not only tasty, but also extremely nutritious. They are rich in vegetable protein (dishes made from them are recommended for fasting), carbohydrates and minerals.

Moderation and caution

Mushrooms are considered “heavy food”. The mushroom protein is enclosed in chiton shells, which are not affected by gastric juice, so they alimentary fiber are practically not digested, through gastrointestinal tract pass through and impede the digestion process.

An abundance of mushrooms on the table is fraught with eating disorders and indigestion.

To get the maximum benefit from mushrooms, begin processing them immediately after collection (the contents are biologically active substances higher in freshly picked mushrooms than in stale ones). Remember that young mushrooms are more nutritious and healthier than old ones, and the caps are more nutritious than the stems.

Most useful way mushroom preparations - drying. When drying, moisture is lost, but nutritional value rises. Mushrooms are best digested in crushed form - prepare mushroom powder, grinding dried mushrooms in a coffee grinder or mill.

Get treatment for your health

The medicinal properties of mushrooms are no less known than the recipes. Mushroom decoctions, tinctures and powders have been present in the arsenal of doctors since time immemorial. Chronicles indicate that Vladimir Monomakh treated with a decoction of chaga for a tumor lower lip. Mushrooms were also used by personal healers Empress Catherine II And Alexandra Fedorovna. Even before the revolution, about 50 species of mushrooms were considered medicinal.

Nowadays, a whole direction has emerged - fungotherapy (mushroom treatment). It is based on a solid evidence base. Penicillin, which saved millions of lives, was isolated from molds. After this discovery, it became clear that many fungi have antibiotic activity. The antibiotic agaridoxin, which acts on many pathogens, was obtained from the meadow champignon. The antibiotics drosophyllin, nemotin, biformin, and polyporin were also obtained from fungi. More recent studies have shown that mushrooms can regulate blood pressure and reduce cholesterol and blood sugar.

The discovery of the antitumor effect of mushrooms was a real sensation. Scientists discovered this property in the last century, drawing attention to the inhabitants of several Japanese villages, in which there was not a single case of cancer. It turned out that the basis of the diet of their inhabitants is mushrooms. Today, the antitumor effect of mushrooms is being actively studied, but what biological compounds of mushrooms have such an effect is not yet known for certain.

Supporters of fungotherapy believe that mushrooms can help with heart and lung diseases, boost immunity, and beneficial properties Almost every mushroom has it.

Raincoat is a hemostatic agent. Pieces of mushroom applied to the wound stop bleeding, prevent suppuration and help rapid healing.

Honey mushrooms are effective against E. coli and staphylococcus. Autumn honey mushrooms are used as a mild laxative. Morels help improve vision.