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Meadow raincoat. Raincoat mushrooms: varieties, medicinal properties and cooking recipes

Raincoats by many lovers " silent hunting are among the most recognizable mushrooms. Almost every mushroom picker - from young to old - had to "stumble" about them at one time after the summer rainy season, when the round fruiting bodies of raincoats appeared en masse in clearings and edges of coniferous and mixed forests, on fallen trees and old stumps, as well as on pastures , in meadows and even in city parks. There is a wonderfully pleasant feeling of childish joy in stepping on such a “ball” or kicking it like a ball and knocking out a brown cloud of mushroom spores. But even despite the general recognition and edibility of most types of raincoats at a young age, these mushrooms do not suffer from the excitement of fans, moreover, many mushroom hunters try to avoid them altogether. The most common reason for hostility to these mushrooms is their taste "for an amateur": raincoats are included in the "mediocre" fourth category nutritional value, and bear fruit at the same time as the more popular "noble" and tasty, and. The second serious reason- fake raincoats that can end up in the basket instead of real ones. Theoretically, they are considered inedible due to their specific taste and smell, although some gourmets call them very pleasant, similar to truffles, and are very successfully consumed in small quantities (literally a couple of slices) as an exquisite seasoning for main dishes. It’s embarrassing to admit, but quite often the dislike of mushroom pickers for raincoats arises from elementary ignorance of their properties, the wrong method of preparation and even collection, although knowledgeable people claim that these mushrooms have a number of unique invaluable advantages, and in Italy they are also considered the most delicious.

From the point of view of science, raincoats are classified as belonging to the Champignon family (Agaricaceae), which includes several genera (combining at least 60 species) of Gasteromycetes mushrooms, which are characterized by the formation of spores inside the closed fruiting bodies that open after they ripen. Outwardly, they are easily recognizable by the rounded, pear-shaped (club-shaped, pin-shaped or even yun-shaped) structure of the fruiting bodies, which do not have a pronounced hat typical of cap-butt mushrooms, but often have a false stem that smoothly passes into the upper fruit spherical part. Depending on the species, raincoats may differ in size, shape, place of growth, the nature of the “eruption” of spores after maturation, the presence of a smooth, spiny or tuberculate-warty surface, and other features. The common thing for all of them is that the mass fruiting of these mushrooms occurs in the middle of summer - autumn, and only young specimens with dense pulp (gleba) are suitable for food, which, in fact, are popularly called "raincoat", as well as hare potato and bee sponge. In the unripe form, the gleba has an elastic-fleshy texture. white color with a pleasant taste, but with age it gradually acquires a yellow-olive, and then brown hue, loses its taste, becomes flabby and, in the end, collapses, forming a slimy or powdery dark spore mass, which soon pushed out. Old fruiting bodies with gleba that has lost its whiteness, and, moreover, ripened (with spore mass), are not eaten and are popularly called “puff”, “dust”, “grandfather or wolf tobacco”, “tobacco mushroom”, etc. .

Types of raincoats

Among the people, the name "raincoat" can be used in relation to several of the most common genera - Raincoat (Lycoperdon), Golovach (Calvatia) and Porkhovka (Bovista), whose names in the scientific literature can often be used as synonyms. For example, the same Meadow Puffball appears in encyclopedic sources and classifications as Lycoperdon pratense, Bovista queletii, Calvatia depressa, and even as Vascellum pratense. This is due to the fact that until 2008, all these genera were united in the common rainfly family (Lycoperdales), although later, on the basis of molecular phylogenetic studies, mycologists distributed them into different taxa of the Agaricomycetes class: puffballs, golovachs and flies - to champignons, and pseudo-puffballs similar to them (Sclerodermataceae) - to boletes. Despite this, most mushroom pickers are still more comfortable separating all these mushrooms simply into “puffballs” and “false puffballs”.

The appearance of a typical raincoat is characterized by small size (up to 6 cm in height and up to 7 cm in diameter) of a closed fruiting body, covered at a young age with a double shell. Its outer layer is usually painted white, may be with small cracks, scales or spikes (up to 2 mm long). As the fungus matures, it gradually falls off, like an eggshell, and exposes the inner dirty-brown or ocher layer of the shell, covering the spores, which are ejected after ripening through holes or irregular cracks in the uppermost part of the fruiting body. Of the raincoats, the most famous and collected are Meadow raincoat(Lycoperdon pratense), pear-shaped(L. pyriforme) and pearl(L. perlatum), which in different sources may also appear as real or edible. They all grow in approximately the same places and are very similar at a young age: even the meadow raincoat, despite the name, is quite common in forest glades. However, unlike other species, the pear-shaped raincoat prefers to live not on the soil, but on well-rotted and moss-covered wood. And in a pearl raincoat, the “spininess” of the upper fruit part is so pronounced that it highly likely can even be confused with some representatives of the Golovach genus (for example, with the Golovach oblong).

The golovachs differ from the raincoats described above in larger sizes (at least 7 cm in diameter and in height), and after the spores ripen, their fruiting bodies break either more strongly or equatorially, after which the mushrooms look as if their heads were “torn off” - in the form bowls or goblets filled with spore mass. Otherwise, they are much like ordinary raincoats - at a young age they have a white shell and white flesh (gleba) with a pleasant mushroom smell, which turns brown with age and loses its taste, gradually turning into spores. They meet similarly from the second half of summer on the edges and glades of forests. various types, meadows and pastures. The most common among golovaches are Golovach oblong(Calvatia excipuliformis), baggy(Calvatia utriformis) and giant(Calvatia gigantea, or Langermannia gigantea). The giant golovach among them has the largest dimensions: in the practice of mushroom pickers, several cases were recorded when its diameter reached 50 cm and its weight was 20 kg! Interestingly, it is this mushroom and pearl raincoat that gourmets call the most delicious among raincoats. Alas, the obvious disadvantage of the giant goby is that it always grows alone, and not in groups, and it appears very rarely in one place, which is why it was called "meteor".

Powders, unlike typical raincoats and golovaches, never have pronounced pseudopods and are characterized by a spherical (or slightly flattened) shape of the fruiting body of relatively small (no more than 5–6 cm in diameter) sizes. The surface of these mushrooms, as a rule, is never covered with thorns - it can be smooth or slightly rough due to cracks. At a young age, both she and gleba (pulp) are always painted white, and with age it gradually changes to gray-steel, in some species it is almost black. Our most common are Porkhovka lead-gray(Bovista plumbea) and blackening(B. nigrescens), which outwardly differ in size and color of the pulp - the latter in adulthood is slightly larger and after ripening the pulp has a rich, closer to black color. The combination of such noticeable external signs as the absence of a pseudopod and thorns on the surface of the fruiting body is not typical of most raincoats, but at some stages of development it is observed in pseudo-raincoats, so flies are most likely to be confused with them. By analogy with other raincoats, at a young age, all fluffs are edible, but only as long as their flesh remains white.

Nutritional and medicinal properties of raincoats

Speaking about the nutritional value of raincoats, it is impossible not to notice that the fourth category, which many consider "mediocre", at one time included rarely collected and little-known mushrooms, which by no means testified to their bad taste. Some mushroom pickers claim that ready-made raincoats are not much inferior to the same ones, although sometimes during their preparation a smell of wood appears, which completely disappears at the end of cooking. A clear advantage of these mushrooms is that they can be cooked without pre-treatment (boiling or soaking), like many "noble" mushrooms. But unlike the latter, raincoats acquire the most expressive taste precisely in a fried form, and in the soup, as knowledgeable "mushroom-eaters" testify, they become an unpalatable "rubber sponge". It is interesting that in the process of cooking these mushrooms there is a secret: so that they do not lose their aroma, it is not recommended to wash them - just clean them with a dry knife in dry hands. The disadvantage of absolutely all raincoats is that their flesh, with the slightest loss of whiteness, already becomes cottony and inedible. Please note: it can change color even after picking mushrooms, and not only during long-term storage, and even during the usual long "silent hunting". Therefore, it is advisable to collect raincoats as soon as possible (for example, while walking with a dog) and prepare, respectively, immediately. This, by the way, can eliminate such an unpleasant situation when, when raincoats get into a common basket with other mushrooms, the latter, by the end of the collection, turn out to be studded with spikes that easily peel off from the former.

It is impossible not to mention the healing properties of raincoats, which our ancestors knew about. These mushrooms have unique hemostatic and wound-healing properties, so they can even be used in the forest to treat wounds and cuts, like plantain - just break a freshly cut raincoat and apply the pulp to the wound. Similarly, it can be used to treat burns, ulcers, purulent wounds, acne, smallpox, urticaria, and the like. Decoctions and soups from raincoats in folk medicine are considered the best medicine for the treatment of stubborn bronchitis, laryngitis and even tuberculosis. And the giant golovach, plus, also has antitumor properties: the indispensable anticancer drug calvacin was obtained from it, which is active against almost half of the studied malignant tumors (cancer and sarcoma). Mature specimens of raincoats can be successfully used for: spores of a ripe mushroom should be set on fire and fumigated with smoke bushes and trees; repeat the procedure after a week. So that such a valuable natural medicine is at hand not only during the fruiting period of raincoats, but also all year round, these mushrooms can be harvested for future use. But given that their flesh quickly loses its whiteness even after harvesting, not to mention the long drying, they need to be cut into very thin, translucent slices and dried as quickly as possible. Note: if it is not possible to immediately cook freshly harvested puffballs, they should be boiled to stop the ripening process, and then fried as usual as much as possible.

In fairness, it should be noted that in the literature, some types of raincoats appear as inedible or conditionally edible. Such, for example, are puffballs blackberry (L. echinatum), brown (L. umbrinum), small (L. pusillum), soft (L. molle), etc. These species are much less common than those described above, so the edibility of some of them has not yet been fully studied, while others are classified as inedible either because of an unpleasant taste or because of an “unpresentable” appearance - on the surface of such mushrooms there are thick dark spines (blackberry , brown) or scales (small, soft). Theoretically, if you use the white young pulp of such mushrooms as food, you won’t be able to get poisoned by them, but general idea about the "vaunted" taste of raincoats will still deteriorate. Therefore, when picking mushrooms, it is better to give preference to specimens with a “light appearance” typical of most edible raincoats.

False raincoat (false raincoat)

Despite the fact that the specific structure of a closed fruiting body does not allow one to confuse a puffball with poisonous cap mushrooms, it is also impossible to relax too much when picking it, since a false puffball can get into the basket instead. This mushroom is found in places typical for real raincoats - in pastures and meadows, in clearings and forest edges, and outwardly it can be more likely to be mistaken for a fluff, since it also does not have a pseudopod. The fruit body of the false puffball is often laid underground, like in truffles, but later always comes to the surface, it looks like a medium-sized tuber (up to 10 cm in diameter) with a finely scaly or smooth thick (in some species up to 10 mm!) shell. Unlike a real puffball, which at a young age has spikes or scales that peel off as the fungus matures, a young false puffball is always smooth, painted in white, off-white or yellowish shades, and already with age it becomes covered with cracks, warts or scales of ocher-coffee colors. After ripening, the fruiting body cracks from above, but the spores do not form dust, but remain inside the torn mushroom for a long time. Please note: the main difference between false raincoats and real raincoats is the hard leathery shell (peridium) and the dark purple color of the ripened pulp, which smells strongly of raw potatoes. By the way, even with the beginning of maturation (color change), the gleba of false raincoats remains dense for a long time, while in real raincoats, after darkening, it quickly softens.

In the scientific literature, all false puffballs appear as inedible due to an unpleasant taste and smell, or slightly poisonous, prone to accumulate toxic substances with age. However, some gourmets find their specific taste similar to spices or truffles and often use a small amount of white (!) Pulp of young puffballs for food without compromising health. However, experts say that all types of false puffballs in large quantities, and some even in small quantities (bulbous false puffball), cause a gastrointestinal disorder characterized by nausea, diarrhea and vomiting, appearing 15 to 40 minutes after eating false puffballs. . Given that out of 150 known species, at least seven are found only in Russia (ordinary, warty, stellate, bulbous, spotted, delicacy-like and powdery), you can meet them with approximately the same probability as real raincoats. But since the pulp of these mushrooms begins to ripen early, and noticeably repels bad smell, and the shell does not happen to be two-layered, as in the case of flukes, with careful collection of these false mushrooms the percentage of hitting them in the basket can still be minimized. The main rule is to cut (break) a young raincoat and make sure that it is edible by the presence of perfectly white pulp and the absence of an unpleasant odor.

Unfortunately, despite the fact that raincoats grow almost everywhere and in large numbers, and they can be, frankly, invaluable, a mushroom picker with a full basket of small and large white "balls" - raincoats is a rarity. It remains to be hoped that the above information will help many novice mushroom hunting enthusiasts to change their attitude towards this "familiar" mushroom, the collection of which most even experienced mushroom pickers absolutely in vain leave only for extreme cases of rare "mushroomlessness".

A lot of mushroom pickers undeservedly bypass these mushrooms, and completely in vain. Young raincoats are very tasty and healthy mushrooms. And most often they are among the first to appear in the spring forest, so for lovers of just such gifts of the forest, they will be a pleasant variety in the diet after a long winter, when dishes from fresh mushrooms collected in the forest are still a rarity on the table.

Raincoats belong to the mushroom family. The fruiting bodies of these fungi different types have a rounded pear-shaped shape, most often white. Many of them have a pronounced false foot, and their sizes can be medium or large (like giant puffballs).

In young mushrooms, the entire cap is covered with small growths, similar to thorns, which fall off over time. The spores of this ripen inside the fruiting body, when they ripen, an opening opens at the top of the fruiting body, through which the spores spread around the fungus. The color of mature spores can be from green with an olive tint to brown.

Popular names for this type of fungus:

bee sponge;
rabbit potato.

And raincoats, in which spores are fully ripe in the fruiting body, are called:

fluff;
pyrkhovka;
duster;
grandfather tobacco;
wolf tobacco;
tobacco fungus, etc.

Raincoats belong to the mushroom family

Edible types of raincoat

Raincoats include the following common groups of fungi:

true raincoats;
bigheads;
fluff.

Typical raincoats are small (5-6 cm in height, 2.5-3 cm in radius). Their fruiting bodies are closed, in young individuals they are covered with a double membrane. The outer layer of the shell of the fruiting body may be covered with cracks, small scales or spines. As the fungus ages outer layer falls off, exposing the inner - brown or ocher - layer, which covers the ripening ones.

Gallery: raincoat mushrooms (25 photos)

Where raincoats grow (video)

Raincoats meadow, pear-shaped and pearl

All of the above types of true raincoats are the most common category 4 mushrooms in the central regions and the middle zone of our country. They are very similar to each other, and the pearl species is also called real, or edible. It is covered with large thorns, which makes it look like goblin mushrooms.

Golovachi

Mushrooms of this genus are similar to raincoats, some mushroom pickers often confuse them. The main differences between golovaches and raincoats:

larger sizes (at least 7 cm in height and 3.5 cm in radius);
the fruiting body of these mushrooms, after the spores ripen, is torn much more strongly than that of ordinary raincoats.

Otherwise, they look about the same as raincoats. The most common species of golovach are described below.

Golovachi

Golovach baggy

Popular names for this variety of raincoat:

Golovach is vesiculate;
The golovach is rounded;
The golovach is bag-shaped;
Raincoat hare;
The golovach is belly-shaped.

The fruiting body of such a bighead can be 10 to 20 cm in diameter, rounded, slightly flattened from above, fine-grained inside, tapering downwards. Young golovachi light- milky, growing up, become brown with a gray tint. Cracks pass through the fruiting body of an adult golovache, and tubercles similar to warts will appear. Old mushrooms in the upper part open up, becoming like bowls with torn parts.

This mushroom belongs to the 4th category; only young golovachs are used for food.

Golovach baggy

Golovach oblong (elongated raincoat)

Synonyms - golovach marsupial. This species has a fruiting body of a peculiar shape - pin-shaped or club-like. The pseudopod is elongated, the top looks like a half of a ball. The height of the fruiting body, together with the pseudopod, is from 8 to 14 cm; in rainy and warm weather, it can grow even more. The thickness of the upper part of the pseudopod is about 4 cm, and the lower part is about 6-7 cm. But different sources indicate different values of these indicators.

Young mushrooms are white in color, which eventually turns yellow and then brown. Spikes are located on the entire surface of the fruiting body. The flesh of young mushrooms is white, turns yellow over time, fades, then turns brown. The upper spherical part of the fruiting body opens, and a brown spore powder falls out. The young oblong golovach is quite edible.

Golovach oblong (elongated raincoat)

Golovach giant

This mushroom is the largest among all varieties of golovach. Some of its specimens can grow in height up to 0.5 m, and weight reaches 18-20 kg. It is this representative of the golovachi genus that is considered the most delicious of all representatives of the genus. But, unfortunately, giant gobies always grow alone, and do not appear in one place, and this is considered their main drawback.

How to collect raincoats (video)

Poison False Raincoats

But in the family under consideration there are also inedible species, some of which are also slightly poisonous.

False puffball warty

This mushroom belongs to the category of inedible mushrooms from the genus Sclerodermaaceae. Usually grows in "families" in deciduous forests and groves (especially on the edges or forest clearings), occurs in meadows in the grass and on roadsides. Growth period - from the first decade of August to mid-October. The fruit body is 3–5 cm in diameter, tuberous in shape, the color of the outer shell is brownish. The outer shell is leathery, corky, leathery.

False puffball warty

False raincoat ordinary

The fruit body of this fungus is tuberous in shape, 5–6 cm in diameter, the shell can be smooth or covered with small scales. The color of this raincoat is dirty yellow. When the shell cracks, small warts appear.

Medicinal properties of puffball mushroom

Not all mushroom pickers know that raincoats have unique healing properties. They are able to stop bleeding, and also have a healing effect. In the case of a severe cut, you can simply break this freshly picked mushroom and apply the pulp to the wound - the blood will stop very quickly. Similarly, it can be used to treat other skin diseases:

severe burns;
poorly healing purulent wounds;
acne;
hives, etc.

Raincoats have unique healing properties

Decoctions are prepared from mushrooms, which are used to treat inflammatory processes in the upper respiratory tract:

bronchitis;
tuberculosis;
laryngitis.

The giant golovach has the ability to prevent the growth of malignant cells, therefore, on the basis of this fungus, the medicine calvacin was made, which helps in the fight against malignant tumors in different parts human body.

To this useful mushroom was always at hand, it is harvested and for future use (pickled, dried).

raincoat habitats

Varieties of raincoats can grow in different places. The baggy golovach usually occurs from the last ten days of May to mid-September in open sunny places - forest edges or clearings, in shallow ravines, in pastures. Most often grows singly.

The elongated raincoat appears in the forests, on the edges or forest clearings from the second decade of July. The last mushrooms of this species are found in mid-October.

How to cook raincoat mushrooms (video)

Raincoat Mushroom Cooking Options

Only young mushrooms should be used for cooking. They can be fried, stewed, cooked first courses.

Stuffed zucchini

Peel young zucchini, cut into rings 2.5-3 cm thick. Remove the middle (together with seeds), boil in salted water until half cooked, put in a colander to drain the water. Then roll in flour and fry sunflower oil. Pass young mushrooms through a meat grinder along with onions and fry in sunflower oil. Fill zucchini with minced mushrooms.

Vermicelli casserole

Vermicelli is boiled in salt water, thrown into a colander. Raincoats are finely chopped, fried in butter until tender. Then the fried mushrooms are mixed with vermicelli and raw eggs, spread in a form greased with oil and sprinkled with crushed breadcrumbs and put in an oven heated to 170 - 180 degrees for 1/3 hour. Pepper is added to this dish to taste.

Although raincoats belong to category 4, you can cook a lot of delicious and tasty treats from them. healthy meals. Fried young mushrooms are especially tasty.

Gallery: raincoat mushrooms (35 photos)

Raincoats (Lycoperdon) are unique mushrooms of the fourth category, which belong to champignons. All of their species have a specific closed fruit body, round or pear-shaped. The people called them hare potatoes, dusters, tobacco mushrooms and many more names. In addition to the fact that raincoats are extremely tasty, they are also useful, as they have a rich chemical composition and have a number of medicinal properties, among which the main ones are antitumor and antibacterial.

Their antioxidant qualities are also of great value: they absorb radionuclides and heavy metals and easily cleanse the body of them. Currently, on their basis, a number of drugs have been developed that not only heal the body, but also have a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin, rejuvenating it.

general characteristics

The raincoat is a completely unpretentious mushroom with a fruiting body, which, depending on the species, can have a wide variety of sizes and weights from a few grams to two kilograms. Its surface may be white, grayish white or yellow, sometimes it is covered with small spikes or warts. The white flesh turns yellow over time, and when the spores mature, it turns into a dark brown powder that is released into the air. The raincoat is edible only when young, when it has a delicate structure, pleasant aroma and high taste.

Description of edible species

In Russia, there are several types of edible raincoats, which vary considerably in both shape and size.

Raincoat: where and how to collect (video)

Giant

The giant raincoat, gigantic or golovach (Langermannia gigantea) looks like a huge ball, it can also sometimes have a slightly flattened shape. Its fruiting bodies, with smooth or flaky skins, can reach over 50 cm in diameter. Its color ranges from white to yellow, depending on the age of the fungus. Also, as it grows, the color of the pulp changes from white to greenish-brown.

The giant puffball often grows singly. If a group of mushrooms is met, then it can have more than ten mushrooms that form large rings. Fruiting begins in August and ends in early October.

prickly

Prickly puffballs (Lycoperdon perlatum) are also called pearl, blackberry or needle puffballs. Their pear-shaped, slightly flattened fruiting bodies are white and then light brown in color and miniature in size, they reach from 2 to 6 cm in diameter and up to 5 cm in height. The skin of the surface of the prickly puffball is covered with small warts, it is initially white, and in the process of growth it acquires a brown color. Young specimens have a pleasant white flesh with a sharp taste and delicate aroma. Over time, it turns gray, and then purple-brown and is no longer suitable for food. The collection of prickly raincoats begins in July and ends in early September.

pear-shaped

Pear-shaped puffball (Lycoperdon pyriforme) is named after the shape of its fruiting body, resembling a pear, the thick part of which reaches about 7 cm in diameter and 4 cm in length. Young mushrooms have a milky color, which eventually becomes dirty brown. Thick skin is initially covered with small spikes, which fall off over time, and the surface of the raincoat begins to crack.

The white pulp does not have a very bright taste, but it has a very pleasant mushroom smell. Over time, it becomes brownish-red, and then turns into a brown powder. Fruiting lasts from July to early October.

Description of false species

In addition to delicious edible puffballs, there are also poisonous ones. Visually, their differences can be identified by looking at the pictures with their image.

Warty

Warty raincoat (Scleroderma verrucosum) is poisonous mushroom with a tuberous fruiting body with a yellowish-gray, and then a light brown surface with thick and hard skin. Its diameter reaches 5 cm, the leg is absent. The aroma of the warty puffball combines the aroma of young raw potatoes and herbs. These mushrooms appear at the end of May, their fruiting lasts until early October.

Common false raincoat

Common or orange puffball (Scleroderma citrinum) with a fruiting body about 6 cm in diameter has a tuberous shape, a smooth and thick shell of a dirty yellow or brown color with small scales in the upper half of the fungus. Characteristic folds are located in its bare lower part. The white flesh becomes almost black when ripe, speckled with white fibers. Although this false raincoat is considered inedible, but it has an aroma and taste somewhat reminiscent of truffles, they are added in small quantities (no more than two or three slices) to various mushroom dishes. The collection period for common puffballs begins in August and ends in September.

Spotted

Spotted raincoat, panther or leopard sclerodema (Scleroderma areolatum) is characterized by a spherical or pear-shaped shape. The diameter of the fruit body ranges from 1 to 5 cm. The smooth, very thin skin is white or cream in color, as it grows, it changes to brownish-yellow. Small scales with peculiar rims are scattered on its surface, it is this structure that creates the leopard pattern. The white flesh of young mushrooms changes over time to greenish-brown or dark purple with white veins. The smell is weak, sweet. The legs of the spotted raincoat are absent. bears fruit this species mushrooms from August to early September.

Places of growth

Raincoat edible and false (poisonous) are found in the temperate latitudes of our camp almost everywhere and on any soil. They love open, well-lit and humid areas, so they can be found in fields, meadows, sunny glades of any forest. At the same time, you should be aware that these mushrooms, as a rule, do not grow in the same places every year. The season for collecting raincoats, depending on the type, has a different time frame.

Important! It is not necessary to collect raincoats in ecologically unfavorable places, since they absorb all harmful substances much more actively than other mushrooms.

Cooking methods

Prepare various dishes and you can make preparations for the winter only from young raincoats with snow-white pulp. Before cooking, mushrooms must be washed and peeled. Use them for food immediately after collection, they are not subject to storage.

Raincoats baked in the oven

Ingredients:

Mushrooms - 1 kilogram;
Onion - 200 grams;
Mayonnaise - 5 tablespoons;
Cheese - 300 grams;
Vegetable oil - 3 tablespoons;
Salt, black pepper, dill.

Cooking method:

Clean the mushrooms and cut into large pieces.
Cut the onion into thin half rings and add to the mushrooms.
Make a marinade from mayonnaise, vegetable oil, salt and pepper.
Pour marinade over mushrooms and leave for an hour.
Cheese grate on a coarse grater.
Transfer the pickled raincoats to a sheet of foil, wrap well and bake in the oven for half an hour.
Expand the foil, cover the mushrooms with chopped cheese and send open to the oven for another ten minutes.

Sprinkle the finished dish with chopped herbs before serving.

How to dry raincoats (video)

Medicinal properties

Currently, the healing properties of the raincoat are used not only by folk, but also by official medicine. Due to its cleansing properties, preparations based on raincoats are used after suffering severe inflammatory processes. The wound healing, analgesic and resolving effects of the pulp of this fungus are often used for injuries, diseases of the throat, skin and kidneys.

For quick healing of wounds, mushrooms are cut into thin large plates and applied to the damaged area. Decoctions and alcohol tinctures used for rinsing and internal use. ethnoscience uses raincoat spores to prepare drugs that lower blood pressure, increase immunity and stop the growth of neoplasms.

Latin name: Vascellum pratense
Synonyms: Vascellum field
Department: Basidiomycetes
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaric
Family: Champignon
Genus: Vascellum
Mushroom cap (in diameter, cm): 2-5
Flesh: dense
Season: June-October
Edibility: edible

Vascellum field - edible mushroom of the family Lycoperdaceae, living on fertile soil, on lawns or in parks, grows in groups. Vascellum field has a simpler name - field raincoat. Harvest time: summer-autumn. Field puffball spores are grey-olive brown.

Vascellum field has a spherical shape, and a slightly flattened top, a light brown or white shade of the fruiting body. There is also a spore opening at the top of the mushroom. The surface of the vascellum is powdery and completely covered with small spines. There is a leathery septa between the small stem and the spore area of the fruiting body of the fungus. Vascellum pulp is soft, juicy and very tasty.

The base of the vascellum is slightly thinned, 2-5 cm in diameter. The height of the fungus is 1.5-3.5 cm. In a young mushroom, the surface of the fruiting body is white and has thin spines. In the process of growth and under the influence of precipitation, the spines are washed off, and the surface turns yellow and gradually acquires a light brown tint.

The pulp is dense, in the process of ripening the mushroom becomes even softer, darkens. The flesh of a young vascellum is considered edible.

Before eating the Vascellum fungus, it is necessary to clarify in which place it grew. The fact is that Vascellum is very susceptible to toxins and radionuclides, so you should not eat a field raincoat that grew near a source of radionuclides and toxins. Before cooking vascellum, it is necessary to peel the mushroom from the top layer of the skin, since it is very tough and tasteless.

Vascellum field is not only a delicious mushroom from which you can cook a variety of dishes, but also a healing agent. Vascellum can be used to make a variety of useful tinctures and medicines. Appearance vascelluma resembles smaller varieties of the common puffball.

In cooking, only young vascellum is used, many gourmets note that a well-fried field vascellum tastes like meat. The fungus is unpretentious to growing conditions, likes to grow in meadows and fields, in parks and forests, steppe areas and pastures. The most delicious is the white vescellum, which has not yet acquired a brown color. The field raincoat will grow better on fertile soil, with large quantity organics. For a better understanding of what kind of field vescellum has, you can look at photographs of this type of raincoat.

Raincoat (lat. Lycoperdon) is a genus of mushrooms of the Champignon family. Also known as pearl or real raincoat. In the people, ripe specimens are called:

tobacco mushroom;
fluff;
duster;
wolf tobacco;
grandfather tobacco;
wolf tobacco.

This type of mushroom got its popular names for the property it smokes when you click on it.

Young fruiting bodies are called sponge bees or hare potatoes.

Where and when does it grow

Tobacco fungus can be found all over the world, with the exception of the cold areas of Antarctica. They prefer to grow in coniferous or deciduous forests, meadows, city parks, grassy glades. It feeds on organic remains, which is why its habitat is so extensive. Grandfather's tobacco bears fruit from early summer to late autumn.

Botanical description

In a raincoat, the hat and stem form one fruiting body. It, depending on the species, reaches various sizes and weights: from a few grams to two kilograms. Shape: round, ovoid or pear-shaped. The surface of the pulverizer may be white, grayish-white, or yellow, sometimes covered with warts or small spines. The white flesh, as it matures, shrinks and transforms into a dark spore powder, which is released through a hole in the top of the mushroom and spreads through the air. The body of an adult tobacco fungus is covered with a two-layer shell. The inner shell is leathery, and the outer one is smooth.

Edibility

The raincoat is an edible mushroom, but due to its individuality, some features must be considered:

If on the cut the flesh has a yellow or green tint, then such a mushroom is not suitable for eating. It should be dense, pure white, uniform and elastic.
It is necessary to collect only young mushrooms. This representative of the fungal kingdom is aging rapidly. And such fruiting bodies are no longer suitable for consumption.

Edible types of raincoats:

Giant. Giant or golovach (Langermannia gigantea) - a huge ball, but sometimes it can be a little flattened. Weight can reach 8 kg. Covered with smooth or flaky skin. In an adult mushroom, the color changes from white to dirty green. The pulp is crumbly. This is a rare species and in conditions middle lane does not occur often. Grows in meadows, fields or old pastures; can be found in deciduous forests.

Pear-shaped (Lycoperdon pyriforme). The name comes from the shape of the fruiting body, which looks like a pear. Its thick part reaches about 7 cm in diameter and about 5 cm in length. The young milky-colored body is covered with a double shell, from which a small false leg extends. The outer layer is spiny, covered with cracks or scales. In an adult fungus, the thorns fall off and this layer begins to crack. The inner gray-brown or yellowish shell opens, which closes the spores. They penetrate through the holes on the top of the raincoat after maturation.

Spiny (Lycoperdon perlatum). Also known as pearl, blackberry or needle. The shape is pear-shaped, slightly flattened. They grow from 2 to 7 cm in diameter and up to 4 cm in height. The skin is covered with small spines or warts. Initially white in color, and over time - gray and purple-brown, which is already a sign of unsuitability for food. Collection begins in early July and ends in early September.

Golovach oblong (Calvatia excipuliformis). Outwardly, it resembles a bubble, pulled together to the bottom. It looks smooth, but upon closer inspection, you can see that it is covered with inconspicuous, delicate, thin spikes. The flesh of a young mushroom is white, an adult is dark, sometimes almost black. Mushroom pickers are often confused with false puffballs due to the combination: the absence of a pseudopod and the presence of needles.

Raincoat Meadow (Lycoperdon pratense or Vascellum pratense). White spherical shape, which eventually flattens and turns brown. Small sizes from 1 to 6 cm in diameter and from 1 to 5 cm in height. Has a wrinkled pseudopod. It grows mainly on the edges of the forest, meadows and clearings. Used only at a young age.

Except edible species, there are also false ones:

Warty puffball (Scleroderma verrucosum). The poisonous representative of the tuberous form is yellowish-gray, and eventually light brown, with hard and thick skin. Up to 5 cm in diameter. The complete absence of a leg is characteristic. The aroma in the aggregate can be compared with the smell of raw potatoes and herbs.

Raincoat Common or orange (Scleroderma citrinum). Fruiting body up to 6 cm in diameter. Form - tuberous, smooth. The shell is thick, dirty yellow or brown in color with small scales in the upper half of the fungus. The flesh is white, but becomes black with white fibers when ripe. The smell can be compared to a truffle.

Spotted, panther or leopard sclerodema (Scleroderma areolatum). Mushroom pear-shaped or spherical. In diameter from 1 to 5 cm. The leg is absent. The skin is smooth and thin. White or cream in color, at a more mature age it changes to a brownish-yellow. The leopard pattern is created by small scales scattered over the surface, with characteristic rims. White flesh, as it ripens, changes to greenish-brown or dark purple with white streaks. The smell is sweet.

Usefulproperties and contraindications

The raincoat has long been used not only in folk, but also in official medicine for its medicinal properties.

It contains:

chromium;
calcium;
sodium;
potassium;
fluorine;
phosphorus;
iron;
zinc;
rubidium.
molybdenum.

The pulp of the mushroom contains amino acids:

cystine;
methionine;
tryptophan;
phenylalanine.

Beneficial features:

improves the cardiovascular system;
cleanses the body and removes radionuclides, toxins;
improves immunity;
hemostatic;
differs in antitumor properties;
improves the body's metabolic processes;
favorably affects the skin, making it supple and healthy.

Broths and infusions from young fruit bodies are used:

at elevated temperature;
at high pressure, angina pectoris;
to relieve inflammatory processes, for example, with throat bumps, chronic tonsillitis or severe pain in the kidneys;
to reduce hemoglobin;
to inhibit the growth of malignant tumors and the progression of leukemia;

Not recommended for pregnant and lactating women and children under 5 years of age. Take with caution in diseases of the pancreas, kidneys and exacerbation of diseases of the digestive tract. You should not pick mushrooms in an area with poor ecology, near factories and roads, as they may contain toxins and pose a health hazard.

Storage and preparation

After collection, they are placed in a cold place, so the mushroom will not lose its beneficial properties for 1-2 days. To increase the shelf life, it can be frozen by cutting into small pieces. In this form, it can be up to 6 months.

When dried or salted, the shelf life increases to 12 months. Young representatives of this genus of mushrooms can be cooked without prior boiling.

Before frying, raincoats are boiled for about 10 minutes. And when consumed boiled, boil for at least 15 minutes for full readiness.

You can cook raincoats safely and tasty according to various recipes. The main thing is to collect only young mushrooms, having previously cut the fruiting body to make sure that this specimen is white and edible.