Useful properties and varieties of delicacy mushroom - oyster mushrooms

Oyster mushrooms have long become a familiar part of the diet of many people. They have a pleasant taste and are very nutritious, as they are close in composition to meat. Oyster mushrooms grow in the woods on trees and stumps, but today they are preferred to grow under artificial conditions, which greatly facilitates harvesting. And it makes oyster mushrooms one of the safest mushrooms, as it does not absorb pollution and toxic substances from the soil. Having studied what can be useful oyster mushrooms, you can safely include them in your diet.

Description of the

veshenes. Oyster mushrooms are a genus of the veshenkov family, which includes several species. As a rule, oyster mushrooms grow on dead trees and stumps, from which they receive the necessary nutrition, including cellulose and lignin.

Thanks to the simplicity of cultivation and high yield of vesicles, they are easy to breed not only on an industrial scale, but also at home. At the same time, a non-waste production is obtained, since, after harvesting the mushrooms, the substrate with mycelium can serve as a feed for cattle or a fertilizer for the garden, which increases the yield by 30%.Oyster is the second most popular fungus in Russia among those grown in industrial conditions.

Mycelium of oyster mushrooms is well amenable to storage, which facilitates the cultivation of these fungi under artificial conditions. Thanks to this ability, you can buy mycelium in most garden and garden shops. It will well take root in sawdust, cereal straw, husks from sunflower seeds and other plant residues, where it can find cellulose and other essential nutrients.

Oyster mushroom

The most common species is oyster mushroom. Its other names are oyster mushroom oyster or oyster mushroom. This edible fungus is grown on an industrial scale in most countries of the world. To prepare dishes use young specimens, the size of which does not exceed 7-10 cm. Old mushrooms become stiff and lose culinary properties.

In the natural environment, oyster mushroom grows in the forests of the temperate climatic zone in large families, although there are also single mushrooms. It can be found on tree stumps, windmills, dead woods or weak trees. As a rule, oyster mushrooms grow on deciduous trees, in coniferous and mixed forests it is much more difficult to find it.

Collecting oyster mushrooms in natural conditions is rather difficult, as the families of this fungus grow quite high, in uncomfortable places, merging into a multi-tiered structure with a common base. The period of fruiting of this fungus in the natural habitat falls at the end of summer-beginning of autumn - it can last from August to October, and sometimes even to the first frosts. If the cold spring came out, the mushrooms can begin to grow in May or June.

Oyster Royal

Another type of oyster mushroom that occurs under different names. It is called steppe, as it mainly grows on pastures, meadows. Other names of this fungus are:

• white steppe fungus;
• ering;
• steppe oyster mushroom.

Unlike other species, the royal oyster mushroom grows on the roots and stems of plants belonging to the umbrella family.

Collect it in the spring, starting from March-month. Externally and for its taste, the oyster mushroom is similar to mushrooms or real mushrooms, although the flesh is slightly rougher. It usually has a white or yellowish convex bonnet, which, with age, turns into a conical one and grows to 25 cm in diameter. Unlike the common oyster mushroom, whose cap is usually located to the side of the leg, the oyster mushroom is more like a habitual mushroom with a leg in the center of the cap.

Steppe oyster mushroom is very rich in easily digestible proteins - their content reaches 15-25%, and after heat treatment can increase up to 70%.Also in these mushrooms is the whole complex of vitamins belonging to group B and essential for health ascorbic acid.

Oyster pink

Pretty exotic variety is oyster mushroom pink. It is distinguished by the bright color of the cap, which pales with age, and becomes golden when cooked or fried. To admire the beautiful color of these veshenki can be seen on the photo:

The pink oyster mushroom also has several names:

• oyster flamingo;
• mushroom flamingo;
• Pleurotus djamor.

This is a very thermophilic and fast-growing mushroom, it prefers the climate of subtropics and tropics. It can be found in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan, Brazil, Singapore, the West Indies, Ceylon. However, it is quite possible to grow it in Russia, observing some rules:

• with a stable drop in air temperature to 10-15 degrees, logs with mycelium are moved to storage in a room with a temperature of at least +15.
• In the spring, when the air warms up to +15 degrees, the logs are returned to the ground again.

For convenience, logs with mycelium can be planted not in the open ground, but in containers or other containers with peat or earth mix.

The pink oyster is very similar in its useful and nutritious properties to the common oyster mushroom. It also refers to low-calorie foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals.

This kind of cherry is very poorly kept. Even in the refrigerator, at a temperature of no higher than +4 degrees, they can retain their properties no longer than 3 days. After that, the mushrooms have a fishy smell, they lose taste and deteriorate.

Useful properties

By its composition, oyster mushrooms are closer to meat products than to vegetables. They are rich in protein and very nutritious, but at the same time the cheeks have a rather low calorie content - only 38 kcal in fresh form. After extinguishing the caloric content will increase almost twice, up to 78 kcal, but still the oyster will remain a dietary product.

Dishes from cherries are very nourishing and allow you to get rid of hunger for a long time with a small portion. Therefore, these mushrooms are often included in the diet of those who diet or just follow the diet. In addition, oyster mushrooms are rich in instant carbohydrates and fats that do not harm the figure. Oyster mushrooms contain many vitamins - groups B, C, E, D2, PP.They are also rich in mineral substances( their quantity reaches 8%), such as potassium, iodine, iron, calcium and others. Therefore, they are very useful for the prevention and treatment of iron deficiency anemia, for strengthening and growth of bone tissue, and the treatment of rickets.

That's interesting! According to the content of vitamins and minerals, oyster mushrooms exceed vegetables and can serve as a substitute for meat.

With regular consumption of food, oyster mushrooms help reduce cholesterol, normalize blood pressure. They have a bactericidal effect and the ability to remove radioactive substances from the body. Therefore quite often oyster mushrooms are recommended to introduce into the diet of people who restore health after a serious operation, trauma, radiation or chemotherapy.

Thanks to the ability to break down fats, oyster mushrooms bring a lot of benefit to people seeking to lose weight or suffering from cardiovascular diseases. Zinc and magnesium, which form part of these fungi, strengthen immunity and increase resistance to unfavorable conditions.

Due to the fact that mushrooms oyster mushrooms grow in an isolated substrate, and not in open soil, they do not accumulate toxic and harmful substances from it, like other fungi. Therefore, they can be included in the children's menu from the age of 1.5 years, and the mushroom broth - from one year. However, the portion size should be quite small, since mushrooms are quite heavy food and the baby's stomach can not cope with a large number of them. Especially cautiously it is necessary to be till 5 years.

Contraindications

Despite the fact that oyster mushrooms have considerable benefits for the body, improper use of them can bring him harm. In particular, the abuse of these fungi causes flatulence and diarrhea. It is especially important to control the size of the portion for elderly people and small children( up to 12 years).On them, overeating will affect more clearly, although the heaviness in the stomach will be provided to any person who has exceeded the norm.

Like any other product, oyster mushrooms can cause allergic reactions caused by individual intolerance to the product. Therefore, with a tendency to allergies, include them in your diet should be cautious.

Also, precautions are needed for those who suffer from cardiovascular or renal diseases. This is due to the fact that veshenki contains chitin, which is poorly absorbed by the body. However, if the mushrooms are finely chopped and fried on high heat, chitin almost completely collapses.

At the same time fried oyster mushrooms are a very heavy dish, so they should be excluded from the menu for those who suffer from problems with the pancreas and gall bladder.

Those who first encountered these mushrooms, often wondering whether it is possible to eat oyster mushrooms, like russula, for example. The answer to this question is unequivocally negative. Oyster mushrooms require heat treatment, although not as long as other mushrooms. They can be stewed, fried, boiled, salted and marinated. Before roasting or braising oyster mushrooms, you can not boil it. The cooking time of these mushrooms takes an average of about 10-15 minutes.

How to choose and store oyster mushrooms

To get a delicious dish, it is important, first, to choose correctly, and secondly, to learn how to store oyster mushrooms correctly. In shops you can find them of all kinds, big and small, light and dark. In order not to make a mistake with a choice, it is worth paying attention to the following points:

• the color of mushrooms. It must be homogeneous. Fresh oyster mushrooms, usually gray. It can vary slightly from lighter to dark, but without sharp spots. The yellow or brown color of the mushrooms, as well as the cracked bonnet, indicate that the fungus is old and withered;
• to touch the mushrooms should be soft, but elastic. If they do not restore the form after pressing or crumbling in their hands, it is better to refuse the purchase;
• the cut of the fungus should be smooth and light, without traces of wormholes and other damages.

A big disadvantage of the vesicles is that they do not tolerate transportation very well. With improper packaging, they can easily turn into porridge when transported. No less difficult to keep oyster mushrooms. Even in a vacuum package, they can be stored in a room temperature not more than a day. If you provide them a constant temperature of about -2 degrees, the shelf life can be increased to two months. Knowing how many oyster mushrooms are stored in the refrigerator, you can calculate the required amount for a certain period, so that the mushrooms do not disappear.

Important! To store fresh oyster mushrooms is better in a general form, not washed. These mushrooms very quickly and easily absorb water, so after washing, the shelf life will decrease, and the oyster mushrooms will acquire a watery taste.

Those who prefer to prepare products for future use, it will be interesting to know how to freeze oyster mushrooms fresh. These fungi are well tolerated by frost, and their shelf life in this form is increased to 1 year. Before freezing, the mushrooms are cleaned of adherent debris, the hard base is cut off, washed and dried.

There are no special rules indicating how to clean the oyster mushrooms. Usually these mushrooms are not required to be cleared of forest debris - leaves, earth, needles. Thanks to growing in a substrate, oyster mushrooms are obtained by rather pure mushrooms. Remains of the substrate can be cut off, and the particles adhering to the caps can be easily removed with water.

Wash oyster mushrooms carefully, making sure that the mushrooms do not lie in the water for a long time, it is better to use a colander in which small portions for rinsing are spread. Frozen can be whole mushrooms, and chopped.

It is most convenient to immediately divide the oyster mushrooms into portions that will be used for cooking, so that you do not waste time separating the frozen coma. Defrost the mushrooms before cooking in the future is not required. They can immediately be laid out on a heated frying pan or added to the soup.

Oyster mushrooms are extremely tasty mushrooms, which at the same time have a huge number of useful properties and benefits. In addition to the rich composition, they can boast of great nutritional value, which is surprisingly combined with low caloric content. Cultivated in a special substrate, these fungi practically do not cause poisoning and do not have side effects with reasonable use, so even young children can be included in the diet.