Mushroom Yezhovik: description, habitat and application in cooking

Mushroom ezhovik is an amazing gift of forests. This publication will tell you about two types of this fruit. You will learn how it looks, in what places it prefers to grow and what can be cooked from it.

Description of scaly hedgehog

In nature, there is a motley fungus Yezhovik. It belongs to the Yezhovikov family. It is also called a hawk, a quiver, a scaly hedgehog, a tiny ezhovik. In Kyrgyzstan, people consider it a black mushroom. Not for nothing is one mushroom so many names, after all, looking at it, each person comes up with their own associations.

The hat of a scaly hedgehog reaches a diameter of 25 centimeters. It is convex along the edges, and in the center there is a small depression. The color can be gray-brown, dark brown with brown large scales. In young mushrooms, the cap has a velvety surface. The older it is, the rougher its scales become and the stronger they bend. Its sturdy leg has a diameter of 1-3 cm, a height of 2-8 cm, can expand slightly with age.

Where does the motley fungus Yezhovik grow?

It can be found in deciduous, coniferous and pine forests. It can grow on any site, but prefers sand, calcareous or moss-covered soil. It grows one by one or forms rows. It can be found between August and November. The most active fructification in these fungi in September. It happens that they have faded hats, and they look like a different kind - yellow hedgehogs. Let's see how they differ.

Yezhiviki yellow mushrooms

This species is not popular among mushroom pickers. However, its taste and appearance resembles a chanterelle. Alternative names of the given gift of forests - ezhovik (hydnum) vyemchaty, deaf chanterelle.

Hat yellow ezhovikov fleshy with a relief surface. It is velvety and dry to the touch. Its edges are convex, and in the center there is a small depression. The color can be from light-ocher, pink-yellow to red-orange, dark-brown. The diameter of the cap can reach up to 25 cm. When pressed and ripened, it becomes dark red, and in the dry season it acquires whitish or light yellow color. Under it are small, elongated needle spines of yellow-pink color. If you touch them, they will easily break. The yellowish leg of this fungus has a thickness of up to 3 cm, a length of up to 5 cm and slightly narrows below.

Yellow fungus Yeovik has an external resemblance to chanterelles. The difference lies in the fact that the first under the hat are thorns, and the chanterelle - the plate. They also have a common habitat. Still this kind of mushrooms reminds small red-yellow ezhoviki, but differs in size and in that the cap and thorns of the last orange-reddish shade.

Application in Cooking

Yeovik - a mushroom, which has a special spicy smell. It can not be liked by every person. It is classified as the fourth category in terms of nutritional value. From young Ezhovikov, you can prepare marinades, pickles, fried dishes. Still they will turn out very tasty in a dried kind. Mature specimens are more bitter, so before they can be cooked from, they need to be boiled.