Types of oyster mushrooms that can be grown at home. Oyster mushroom - delicious and healthy mushroom, description and types

Oyster mushrooms (oyster mushrooms) are mushrooms that belong to the basidiomycot department, the agaricomycete class, the order agaric, the veshenkovye or pleurotum, the oyster genus (Latin Pleurotus). These mushrooms grow in natural conditions or are grown artificially.

Residents of English-speaking countries call the oyster oyster mushroom (oyster mushroom), because it resembles an open oyster, and the Japanese know it as a flat mushroom. The Russian name "Veshenka", apparently, arose due to the peculiarities of the growth of these mushrooms, which cover the trunks of trees, as if suspended in the air.

Oyster mushrooms (mushrooms) - description, characteristics, photos.

Oyster mushrooms belong to mushrooms in which the fruit body consists of hats, smoothly turning into the leg. The hat is solid, slightly thinning to the edges. Its shape is round or oval-elongated, resembling a shell. The diameter of the cap varies from 5 to 17 cm, although there are mushrooms that have a cap size of 30 cm. In young cubs, the smooth glossy surface of the cap is slightly convex, with the edges slightly tucked inside. However, as they age, they unfold, and the cap itself flattens.

Depending on the type of coloring Oysters can be whitish, gray, brownish, lemon yellow, brown olive, ash-violet and even gray-lilac with hints of pink or orange.

Himenofor with rather rare and wide plates whitish, yellow or gray in color, it descends deeply on the stem. The white plates of the young fungus turn gray or yellow with age.

The tubular stem tapers towards the base, usually located eccentric with respect to the cap. Its dimensions reach a maximum of 50 mm in length and 30 mm in thickness. The oyster legs are painted white, yellowish or slightly grayish.

The fruit body of the young fungus is elastic and juicy. the pulpwhich becomes fibrous, dry and hard as it gets older.

Spore powder oyster is white, cream or pinkish depending on the type of fungus.

Types of Oysters, photos and titles.

The division of oyster mushrooms into species was carried out in accordance with the species of the trees on which these fungi developed, therefore the classification is rather arbitrary. Most scientific sources indicate that today there are several dozen species of these mushrooms in the species of oyster mushroom, which can be both edible and inedible. Among the most famous varieties of oyster mushrooms stand out:

Oyster ordinary (oyster) (lat. Pleurotus ostreatus) - edible mushroom, which also has names oyster mushroomor lump. The size of the meaty cap varies from 5 to 15 cm, reaching 25 cm in diameter for some mushrooms. As the fungus ages, the slightly convex, rounded or oval-elongated cap becomes flatter, in some cases funnel-shaped. The color of the oyster cap is quite changeable and can be light gray, slightly brownish or ashy with a slight violet hue. As it ages, it fades and becomes pale gray or slightly yellow. The edges of the cap curved inward gradually become straightened and become wavy or dissected-lobed. If common oyster mushrooms grow in conditions of high humidity, mycelial plaque may form on the smooth glossy surface of the cap.
The oyster mushroom is whitish, cylindrical, slightly curved and tapering towards the base of the fungus. It is eccentric with respect to the cap, sometimes taking a lateral position. The leg length is barely 5 cm, and the diameter varies from 8 mm to 3 cm. Its smooth surface at the very base often becomes velvety-felt. Bright plates of the hymenophore, located rather rarely, run low along the leg. As the fungus ages, their color changes to a dirty gray or yellowish. The fruit body is dense and elastic, although over time the flesh becomes hard and rather fibrous. The taste of young oysters is pleasant, with a slight presence of anise notes. Under natural conditions, this species is common in temperate countries, where it grows in deciduous and mixed forests on rotten stumps or a cluster of dead and fallen branches. The fungus is also found on birch, aspen, mountain ash or willow trunks weakened by diseases. Most often, these mushrooms form mass clusters, from which multi-tiered bunches are formed - they can contain more than thirty fruit bodies. The mass collection of oyster oyster mushrooms begins in August-September and lasts until mid-November-early December. In some cases, due to favorable weather, the first fruiting bodies may appear already in late May or early June.

- is an edible mushroom, resembling a shepherd's horn in shape. The cap of the fungus is horn-shaped or funnel-shaped, sometimes acquires a lingual or leaf-like shape. The sizes of a fleshy and smooth cap vary from 3 to 12 cm in diameter. In young mushrooms, its edges are folded down, but as they age, they level out, bend up and often crack. The color of the oyster horns depends on the conditions, place of growth and age, and varies from light sand to gray with ocher hues. The consistency of the pulp in the cap also changes as it ages: over time, from dense and elastic, it becomes rigid, with pronounced fibers. In contrast to other species of oysters in a cone-shaped oyster, a rather curved leg is well developed, the length of which can reach 8 cm with a thickness of no more than 2 cm. the result is a peculiar pattern. It attaches to the head side. Voshenka grows abundant in groups, mainly on the stumps and firs of an elm tree, although in very rare cases it is found on wood of other hardwoods. In the area of growth includes almost the entire territory of Russia and the North Caucasus. There are populations of horned oyster mushrooms in China, as well as on the islands of Japan. The period of abundant fruiting begins in the first decade of May and ends in mid-September.

- inedible mushroom due to its tough rubber flesh. The species got its name because of the film, which covers the hymenophore plates in young mushrooms, but as it gets older, this kind of blanket breaks, and its remnants can be observed along the edge of the cap. In young peas of this species, the hat resembles a large kidney, however, as the fungus grows, it covers the trunk of the tree and takes the form of an open fan with a convex surface and tucked down its edges. The surface of the cap is smooth and slightly sticky with visible wet strips radially diverging from the trunk. The fruit body is colored in gray-brown or solid-brown tones, which in dry weather become gray-steel shade. With aging, the color of the cap fades, it becomes whitish or almost white. The leg is almost absent. Hymenophore plates of oyster mushrooms covered with a yellowish-cream color. The whitish flesh of the fruit body, which by its smell reminds of being cut raw, has a dense rubber texture. The first oyster mushrooms of this species, growing alone, appear at the end of April on fallen or dried aspen trees in mixed and deciduous forests of Denmark, Latvia, Sweden, Ireland, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and other countries of Central and Northern Europe. The fruiting period ends at the end of June.

refers to edible mushrooms. The size of the fleshy semicircular, elliptical, or tongue-shaped cap varies from 4 to 10 cm. In young oak oaks, its surface, painted in yellowish or cream colors, is covered with scales, slightly convex, but as the mushroom grows, it becomes flatter and even concave. The edges of the caps are wavy, and in old mushrooms they are sometimes dissected by shallow cracks and remnants of the blanket that protected the hymenophore. Velvety stem with remnants of a filmy ring from 4 to 10 cm long, has a cylindrical shape, sometimes thickening towards the base. In relation to the head, the oak of the Oak Oyster can be located centrally or in a lateral position. Quite frequent plates of hymenophore run down the stem almost to its base. Their color changes with age and varies from white to cream or dirty yellow. The dense, slightly harsh flesh of the fruit body has a rather pleasant sweetish aroma. Oak Oyster Pike grows in many European countries with a temperate climate, as well as in North America, preferring the trunks of broad-leaved trees (oak, elm), although it can bear fruit on the remains of other species. Usually grows singly, only occasionally forming small clusters. Oak Oyster harvest begins in the second half of July and ends in early September.

Oyster mushroom (Latin. Pleurotus eryngii)she eringi, white steppe mushroom, royal oyster. It belongs to the category of valuable edible mushrooms. The round or oval cap of the young oyster of this species is slightly convex, but as it gets older it becomes flat or slightly funnel-shaped. The surface of the cap is covered with small scales or fibers and painted in red-brown shades. The size of the cap varies from 4.5 to 13 cm. The color of the skin eventually changes to brown or pale ocher. The height of a cylindrical white or brownish-ocher leg varies from 2 to 5 cm, and its diameter in the thickening near the base can reach 2.5 cm. In relation to the cap, the leg of the oyster mushroom is located in the center, rarely a little to the side. Lamellar type homophore with often located pinkish-cream plates that run down to half of the leg. The flesh of this species is white, sometimes with a slight brown or pink shade. Steppe Voshenka is common in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Egypt, Algeria, India, the foothills of the Tien Shan and the Pamir Mountains, as well as in other countries of Western Asia and Central Europe. These steppe mushrooms are also found on the territory of Russia (up to the Primorsky Territory) in the steppes of Central Asia. It is noteworthy that the mushrooms of this species form mycorrhiza with the roots of numerous umbrella plants, and do not use the trunks of dead trees as a substrate. Royal oyster fruit only in the spring months.

Oyster pulmonary (lat. Pleurotus pulmonarius), she is oyster whitish, oyster springor oyster beech - It is the most common naturally occurring edible member of the genus. The sizes of the rounded, lingual or fan-shaped cap with elastic pulp vary within 4-8 cm, although in some specimens they can reach 15 cm. Its slightly cracked edges are tucked down and much smaller in thickness than the central part. The color of the cap of the pulmonary oyster is white or creamy, with yellowing becomes yellow. White or grayish leg, covered at the base of a small pile, rather short (up to 20 mm), although there were pulmonary oyster mushrooms, in which it had dimensions of about 40 mm. Rarely located white plates of hymenophore run down along the eccentrically located leg almost to its base. Abundantly bear fruit on fallen rotten trunks of deciduous trees oyster begins in May and ends in late September. Spring oyster mushrooms alone are rare, mostly form fairly large clusters that grow together with legs.

, or oyster flamingo, belongs to the class of edible mushrooms. Weakly convex caps of young oysters of this species are painted in saturated pink or grayish-pink color. As the fungus ages, the tongue-shaped or rounded cap, reaching a size of 3-5 cm, becomes flat with thin and cracked edges, and its color is more pale with small yellow specks. The oyster pulp is light pink in color, with an oily taste and original flavor. A whitish-pink, short, curved leg no longer than 2 cm long connects with a cap on the side. The reddish-pink plates of the hymenophore, which run low on the leg, lighten with time. The area of distribution of the pink oyster mushroom includes Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Mexico, Brazil, Western India, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, as well as other countries of the subtropical and tropical zones. On the territory of the Russian Federation, the pink oyster mushroom grows in the forests of the Far East and Primorye.

Lemon and oyster mushroom (lat. Pleurotus citrinopileatus), ilmak or golden oyster - quite rare edible mushroom with a pleasant taste and original flavor. The average size of the caps varies between 3 and 6 cm, although in some specimens it can reach 10 cm. In young cubs, the cap has a celtic shape, which, as it grows, gradually acquires funnel-shaped outlines with refined edges resembling dissected blades. Her lemon-yellow color fades with age and becomes whitish, sometimes completely white. Young Ilmak have a rather long cream-colored leg, up to 6-9 cm high, located in the center of the cap, but as the oyster mushroom grows older, the oyster cap shifts to the side and takes an eccentric position. Lemon and oyster mushroom grows in the North American continent and in Asian countries. On the territory of Russia, oyster mushroom is found in deciduous and mixed forests of Eastern Siberia, the Far East and Primorsky Krai. It grows in large groups on dry branches and remains of elm trunks. The number of mushrooms that make up the group can be up to eighty. The abundant fructification of oyster mushrooms lasts from the beginning of May to October.

Eating oyster mushrooms in food is possible only after heat treatment of the pulp. Oyster mushrooms are used for frying and stewing, making sauces and soups, salting and marinating. In addition, it should be remembered that these mushrooms, poultry and animal meat can complement each other, but they are not well combined with fish.

The pulp of oatmeal contains a complete set of useful substances that are necessary for the normal functioning of the human body:

Vitamins: B, C, E, D2 and PP,
Minerals: iron, calcium, potassium, iodine,
Amino acids: leucine, threonine, phenylalanine, valine.

The carbohydrates that make up the pulp of oyster mushrooms, almost 20% consist of sucrose, fructose and glucose, which are easily absorbed by the body and do not lead to the deposition of fat. Polished saccharides are a powerful immunomodulatory agent with antitumor activity.

Alcohol extracts and extracts prepared from the pulp of these mushrooms, allow for effective prevention:

thrombophlebitis,
hypertension,
atherosclerosis,
obesity.

In addition, oyster mushrooms are capable of removing various toxins and radioactive isotopes from the body. Due to the low calorie content, the presence of a large number of dietary fiber and fiber, mushrooms are actively used in dietetics to combat excess weight.

Many fans of "quiet hunting" undeservedly bypass their attention to this mushroom. Some, because they feel insecure, not knowing how oyster mushrooms growing in the forest look like, how to distinguish between edible and inedible, they are afraid to collect its poisonous counterpart. Others simply do not know where to look for it, looking at the ground under their feet instead of carefully examining the trunks of trees.

Perhaps, having learned more about these tasty, healthy mushrooms that can be collected almost all year round, many mushroom pickers will stop ignoring the numerous colonies of oyster fungi that have stuck to the trees.

It is important for mushroom pickers before going to the forest to learn how oyster mushrooms grow and how they look. Then there will be a good chance to return home with a full basket of a delicious product, from which you can cook a lot of healthy dishes.

So where better to look for these mushrooms? Where do oyster mushrooms grow?

They grow in zones with a temperate climate on stumps, dry and weak trees in multi-tiered groups, each of which consists of more than 30 fruit bodies that have grown together with bases. In nature, they usually prefer birch, aspen, mountain ash from all trees, they are sometimes found on oaks, growing very high from the ground, like poplar stumps. More often on trees of the middle band grows an ordinary (oyster) oyster mushroom. Experienced mushroom pickers know that by looking at the tops of the trees or by visiting the old cutting, you can harvest a good harvest of oyster fungus.

You can arrange your "mushroom plantation" on the old tree stumps of the garden plot, for this you need only to study,. They will get accustomed quickly, and it will be possible to pamper yourself with yummy almost all year-round, without departing far from home.

What does an oyster (ordinary) mushroom look like?

Even those who have never seen these mushrooms, often sold on the market, will be able to distinguish forest oyster mushrooms from other tree crops. A mushroom colony located on trees or stumps looks like this:

Oyster species

In addition to the common oyster mushrooms, other edible oyster mushrooms grow in the forests of the middle lane:

When can I collect the mushroom crop?

Wild oyster mushroom is very prolific. It bears fruit almost all year round. The mushroom pickers have the opportunity to collect it from early spring to December, and sometimes, if the winter is warm, even in January you can find young fungi. But the best time when you can collect oyster mushrooms, will be the summer-autumn season. Mushroom pickers are advised during the collection:

To collect specimens with a cap diameter up to 10 cm - they are more gentle.
Legs of old mushrooms to take undesirable, they are tough, tasteless.

Store the collected prey can be in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Beginner mushroom pickers should not fear that they will not be able to distinguish false oyster mushrooms from real ones, since poisonous specimens are not found among this species.

The benefits and harm of mushroom dishes

Like all food products, there are benefits and harms of oyster mushrooms when eating dishes prepared from them. To determine the benefits of oyster mushrooms, you need to consider what substances their tasty pulp contains:

The composition of nutrients, they are close to products such as milk or meat, but they are low in calories, which is important if you follow diets. A small portion of these fungi dulls hunger, creates the illusion of satiety.
Many useful amino acids, vitamins, minerals.

Thanks to this mineral-vitamin balance, the benefits of oyster mushrooms for humans is enormous. When used regularly, it is noted that:

Despite the fact that the oyster mushroom has numerous beneficial featuresIt is not recommended to eat it in the following cases:

If there is an exacerbation of renal diseases.
When there are pathologies of the heart or blood vessels.
In case of peptic ulcer, exacerbation of gastritis or stones in the gallbladder.

Sometimes people ask if oyster mushrooms can be poisoned. This question can be answered like this: it is impossible to poison a product with a fresh, prepared product that complies with all the technologies. The probability of poisoning will occur if:

Not kept the rules of storage.
Incorrect heat treatment was carried out.
Raw materials for cooking were collected along roads or in other environmentally unfriendly places, because mushrooms have the ability to absorb harmful substances around them.

If you have a weak stomach, then you cannot eat a lot of oyster mushrooms, like any other mushroom dishes. Possible indigestion, manifested by nausea and vomiting, weakness.

Calorie Product

Despite the huge amount of nutrients contained, the calories of oyster mushrooms is small. Depending on the method of preparation, the nutritional value per 100 grams of the finished portion can be:

38 kcal for fresh produce
23 kcal after cooking,
75 kcal after extinguishing,
50-90 kcal after frying.

What can you cook?

Oyster mushroom is universal, it is easy to cook various culinary masterpieces. You can:

Cooked mushrooms can be consumed as a separate dish or combined with other meat and vegetable products.

Features of inclusion in the diet of a pregnant woman

Opinions of doctors on this issue differ: some admit that mushrooms in small portions can be used during pregnancy, others categorically demand that such dishes be excluded from the diet. So who to believe? Especially if the expectant mother really wants to eat at least one fungus?

Most studies have shown that oyster mushrooms during pregnancy, eaten in small portions, can be useful if you follow certain rules while eating:

Chitin contained in mushrooms prevents the absorption of essential nutrients. To increase the usefulness of the dish and to destroy the chitin of a pregnant woman, it is necessary to take some vitamin C before meals. Many future moms have already been prescribed this drug by a doctor; it is enough to simply change the time taken.
Mushrooms must undergo compulsory heat treatment, they cannot be eaten raw, otherwise you can provoke poisoning of the female body, which is already susceptible to the development of toxicosis. Despite the fact that the usefulness of the product decreases from high temperatures, after processing the mushrooms still retain many useful properties.

By adding small portions of mushrooms to your diet, a pregnant woman can:

Oyster mushroom is good for humans except in some cases. It contains many essential substances that help the human body to deal with stress and infections, normalizing the work of the internal organs that remove harmful toxins. It is convenient to collect it, cutting off large colonies from tree bases. And you can not be afraid to collect by mistake a poisonous specimen, because such twins he does not exist.

The genus of mushrooms "oyster" has many varieties, hybrids. Today, thanks to cultivation, growing them at home has become available. All kinds of oyster mushrooms unite one feature - lush, hanging from the habitat of the mycelium. The density and size of the cap (from 10 to 30 cm) is influenced by the structure and degree of moisture of the substrate.

The color of the oyster cap can be yellow, grayish, purple, white, even pink. This mushroom is predominantly white juicy flesh, if it is young. Older specimens have a stiffer, fibrous texture. At home, they can grow and bear fruit year-round. The main thing with this - competently maintaining the required level of humidity, light, air temperature.

Oyster mushrooms

Let's look at the most popular types of oyster mushrooms, which are popular with mushroom pickers-homeworkers:

1. Oyster oyster mushroom - one of the most popular, valuable species, thanks to its excellent taste. The cap may be slightly mauve or brown. This variety feels comfortable with home-grown, and with the right approach to business, it pleases with a crop all year round.

Oyster oyster mushroom

2. The carob oyster mushroom has a cone-shaped cap, therefore it bears this name. In artificial conditions grown on stumps, mostly elm. The color of the cap varies from light brown (sand) to dark brown. It has an elastic flesh, a pleasant, albeit slightly specific flavor.

Horned oyster mushroom

3. Pink Oyster has another name - “Pink Flamingo”. This is a beautiful, fast-growing mushroom with wavy edges of the cap, delicate pink color. This variety is thermophilic, requires an individual temperature approach (from + 16 ° C to + 30 ° C at different stages). Begins to bear fruit already 10 days after seeding the mycelium.

Pink oyster

4. Lemon oyster mushroom (or ilmovik) has a bright color of a conical-shaped cap. This variety is distinguished by its unpretentiousness to the growing conditions, grown on the substrate and on the stumps. It is characterized by accuracy of fruit bodies, graceful elongated legs. Cap diameter varies from 5 to 10 cm.

Lemon oyster

5. Steppe oyster mushroom (ering) also called Royal. It is the most delicious variety of oyster mushroom, it has fleshy dense pulp, massive funnel-shaped leg. The cap of the fungus (5-10 cm in diameter) changes as the fungus grows: at first it is convex, then it becomes flat, and by the time of the harvest, it is already concave. This species is grown in special large jars or cans (photo below).

Royal Oyster (steppe)

6. The common oyster mushroom is the most popular variety, grown on stumps or on various substrates. Gives a harvest from summer - to the frost. It has a grayish-yellow or brown hat.

Oyster mushroom

7. Florida oyster mushroom - a mushroom of a light beige color or a grayish-white shade with a semicircular, slightly funnel-shaped cap (10-20 cm in diameter). Requires higher temperatures in the growing and fruiting stages.

Florida Oyster

8. Pulmonary oyster mushroom - consumed or processed only by the young, as the “old” mature mushrooms are distinguished by increased rigidity. The cap of the fungus has a lingual shape with slightly cracked edges, the color is white or brownish-cream. Pulmonary oyster mushroom fructifies from spring to the first cold.

Oyster mushroom

9. Late oyster mushroom - a mushroom with a refined, pronounced taste. May be brown, gray or brown in color. It has an ear-shaped cap, which can reach large sizes (up to 25 cm in diameter), young mushrooms are darker in color, and mature - lighter. Grown on stumps or chocks (oak, poplar, aspen), as well as on substrates (straw, sunflower).

Late oyster

10. White Elf - very tasty diet variety. It has an elongated solid leg. The caps of this mushroom with slightly curly edges are white. The surface of the cap may be scaly. It is grown on chocks or stumps, as well as on substrate blocks, too.

Oyster White Elf

The above varieties of oyster mushrooms feel great when artificially grown. With proper care, fruits abundantly. It is also worth mentioning the hybrids, which are characterized by high yield and unpretentiousness. The hybrids most preferred by mushroom pickers are: Dune NK-35, R-77, R-20, No. 420, No. 107.

Remember that you only need to unpack bags with mycelium in gloves, the material should be purchased from trusted vendors, the mycelium itself should be without black or green spots.

All of the above types of oyster mushrooms are adapted for growing at home.

Common oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) belongs to the genus of oyster mushroom, to the family of oyster mushroom. It is an edible and very tasty agaric, which is used in food in almost all countries of the world. By the way, now it is called oyster mushroom, and earlier the mushroom was called only oyster mushroom. The “blame” for the disappearance of the letter “e” is a feature of the rules of writing names in the post-Soviet period, when the fungus began to spread actively throughout Russia, and well, then little attention was paid to the correctness of the names. It is also called the oyster mushroom or the oyster oyster mushroom from Europeans and the people of America, and in Ukraine it is called glisten.

Description of oyster mushroom:

hat of changeable brown-gray, creamy-brown, bluish-gray color, darkening towards the center. Young oyster mushrooms have a brownish or dark gray shade, while adults have a purple-gray color. Also, the cap can fade with time up to gray-yellow or whitish. In diameter from 4 to 12 cm. A solid, roundish, fleshy, with a thin edge, the hat looks like an auricle or an oyster, for which it received one of its names. In young mushrooms, it has a convex shape with edges turned inward, in mature ones it flattens or takes the form of a wide funnel with wavy edges. Fruit bodies grow together at the base, as they grow in groups. The skin is glossy, pleasant to the touch. If fruit bodies form under conditions of high humidity, the cap is covered with mycelial bloom;
the leg is asymmetrical, often located closer to the edge of the cap, completely absent or short, up to 5 cm tall and up to 2 cm thick. In adult fruit bodies rigid, narrowed to the base. White color;
the flesh is dense, thin, juicy, soft and tender in young oyster mushrooms and rough, tough, fibrous in adults. White colour. The aroma is pleasant, with a touch of anise;
white plates smoothly descend from the foot, often located relatively to each other, up to 15 mm wide. In the area of connection with the leg there are jumpers;
spores are egg-shaped, slightly elongated, light gray-violet.

Spread and season of growth

Oyster mushroom mushrooms grow abundantly in forests with a temperate climate. Their habitats are fallen trees, stumps, dead or dying deciduous trees.

Most often, the common oyster mushroom settles on birches, oak, aspen, mountain ash or willow, occasionally giving attention to conifers. Grow in large groups and longlines and, very rarely, in splendid isolation. Sometimes companies of oyster mushroom have up to 30 accrete mushrooms, the total mass of which can reach 2.5 kg. Often grows at a decent height from the surface of the earth.

The optimal time for collecting these forest mushrooms is September and October, but depending on the region, they can also be collected in December. Sometimes it occurs in late spring - early summer. Mushroom is cold resistant.

Similar views and how to distinguish from them

Oyster mushroom is similar in appearance to the edible pulmonary oyster mushroom (Pleurotus pulmonarius). The main differences are in size and color: the pulmonary skin has a white color, the cap rarely grows more than 9 cm in diameter.

The heroine of the article is similar to other species - it is a horned (Pleurotus) and whitish (Pleurotus pulmonarius) oyster mushroom. Both of them are distinguished by a light tinge of the cap, and the horn-shaped one is also connected with reticulated plates that go to the leg. Also, the flesh of the whitish oyster mushroom is yellowish in color.

Fortunately, with poisonous mushrooms growing on the territory of Russia, oyster mushroom has nothing in common. A mushroom that can send a person to the hospital and, at the same time, looks like a oyster mushroom, grows in far away Australia - this is Omphalotus nidiformis.

But it is worth remembering that you can confuse the common oyster mushroom with several kinds of conditionally edible or inedible fungi found in the wild nature of Russia. For example, with pilolistnichkom (Lentinellus ursinus), whose flesh is very bitter.

Primary processing and preparation

Common oyster mushrooms are the 2nd and 3rd category mushrooms, they can be boiled, fried, stewed, salted. Very well they are suitable for making fillings for pies, pizza. Gourmets prefer to make sauces from them. They can and freeze for the winter in the raw. In general, oyster mushrooms are ideal for use in any dishes where mushrooms are required by prescription.

It is important to know that only young oyster mushrooms are used as food, their dimensions are not more than 7 cm. Before cooking, you do not need to peel these mushrooms from the skin, only surface debris is removed. Adult fruit bodies are not suitable for human consumption, as over time, their flesh becomes hard.

These mushrooms are very popular in America, Canada, Asian countries and are considered there as a delicacy. They taste like boletus and russula at the same time.

Benefit and harm

For a long time among the people were disputes about the benefits and dangers of oyster mushrooms. She was considered to be a very useful mushroom, but she was not advised to eat at all. But, according to the latest scientific research, the common oyster mushroom is rich in all the vitamins, minerals and other useful and nutritive substances that humans need. It contains a lot of proteins and amino acids - almost as much as in vegetables. According to these indicators, she could not beat only the legumes.

By the amount of fat, oyster mushroom is ahead of vegetable crops altogether, ensuring the supply of sterols and phosphatides to the human body. At the same time, there are many substances in mushrooms that the human body cannot synthesize - these are polyunsaturated fatty acids, as well as a lot of carbohydrates necessary for normalization of the intestinal activity, which help cleanse the body of toxins that reduce cholesterol levels.

In the fruit bodies of oyster mushrooms the mass of vitamins of group B, as well as E, C, D2. According to the content of vitamin PP, which has a positive effect on blood circulation and liver activity, this representative of the mushroom kingdom is considered the most valuable. Oyster mushroom is rich in minerals - potassium, sodium, copper, iron, calcium, cobalt, magnesium, phosphorus and others.

Also, oyster mushroom is able to absorb toxic substances, has immunomodulatory properties, fights against tumors, and due to its low calorie content, it is widely used in the preparation of a dietary menu.

Another useful substance that is contained in the oyster mushroom fruit bodies is mycochitin. It is not digested by the human stomach, but it has a beneficial effect on the gastrointestinal tract, especially on the intestines.

Attention! Because of the mycochitin content in mushrooms, people with diseased kidneys should use oyster mushrooms with caution.

However, doctors do not advise to use oyster mushroom in large quantities, as this fungus can cause flatulence or diarrhea, a feeling of heaviness in the stomach. In the diet of children under 12 years old and the elderly should also not be too much of these mushrooms.

Allergy sufferers should be careful when collecting oyster mushrooms - spores of these fungi can cause allergic reactions. And for people with diseases of the cardiovascular system, their use is contraindicated. You can not collect them and the road - these mushrooms are prone to the accumulation of heavy metals.

This mushroom is fragile, so it should be transported very carefully, because it will not sustain a long road and will turn into a mush, having lost its entire appearance.

Now common oyster mushroom is so popular in cooking that it is artificially cultivated in many countries. At the same time for its cultivation requires minimal costs, because it can grow in captivity on almost any substrate where there is lignin or cellulose, and its yield is always high.

Oyster mushrooms are edible mushrooms, often referred to as oyster mushrooms for their similarity in taste with these seafood delicacies. They got their name because of their “hanging” state. All species of oyster mushrooms are located on the stumps and trunks of trees in such a way that it seems as if they are suspended in the air. These gifts of the forest are rich in amino acids and other useful substances, and therefore are used with pleasure in cooking.

Oyster mushroom and autumn oyster

Below are photos and descriptions of common and autumn oyster mushrooms.

Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus)it is a mushroom with a lateral, semicircular, ear-shaped, greyish-yellow cap up to 20 cm in diameter. White meat, pleasant smell. The plates are rare, thick, first white, then yellow. Leg short, narrowed to base, pubescent.

Grow in deciduous forests on the stumps, trunks of dry trees of deciduous trees.

Collection time - from June to autumn frosts.

Young oyster mushroom is edible. It is used boiled and fried, salted and pickled.

Autumn oyster (Pleurotus salignus). The cap is one-sided, ear-like, elongated, up to 12 cm in length, up to 6 cm in width, young gray, gray-brown, then gray-brown. White meat, pleasant smell. The plates of the young fungus are white, then gray-brown.

Leg short, dense, slightly pubescent.

As seen in the photo, these species of oyster mushrooms grow in groups on the stumps and trunks of deciduous trees.

Collection time - September October.

It is consumed boiled, fried and pickled.

Steppe and horned oyster

Here you can find a photo and description of the mushrooms of the oyster mushroom of the species Pleurotus eryngii and Pleurotus cornucopiae.

Steppe oyster (Pleurotus eryngii) - steppe white mushroom. Cap up to 8 cm in diameter, flat-convex, irregular, fleshy, greyish-reddish, yellowish in old mushrooms. The plates are rare, wide, whitish-pink. Leg up to 4 cm tall, whitish.

It grows on plant roots, mainly umbellate, in the steppes. Collection time - in September - October.

Horned oyster (Pleurotus cornucopiae) has a cap up to 12 cm in diameter; in young mushrooms, the cap is convex, white or yellowish. Older mushrooms are horny and darker. The flesh is thick, white, pleasant taste and smell. The plates are rare, white or yellowish. Leg short, white.

It grows on the stumps and trunks of maple and elm.

Collection time - from the third decade of May to mid-August.

It is consumed boiled, fried and pickled. Oyster mushroom is especially good for filling pies and ravioli.