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A polypore is a mushroom that can be seen growing on old trees or stumps. At first glance, it is difficult to believe that it can be eaten. However, despite its unsightly appearance, this species is used for medicinal and culinary purposes. Cooking tinder fungus is very simple - there are many recipes for tea, salads and first courses. But first you need to decide which varieties can be eaten.
What tinder fungi can be eaten
There are many varieties of tinder fungus. They are divided into inedible, conditionally edible, medicinal, and edible.
For cooking, you can use the following varieties:
- Sulfur yellow... Belongs to the category of conditionally edible, since only young specimens can be eaten, on which there are no dark spots.
- Scaly... Used in medicine, dried, pickled and added to sauces and soups. This species grows mainly on elms.
- Liverwort... Grows on oaks, young mushrooms are pickled or salted.
- Umbrella... Similar to large bouquets, this mushroom variety is popular in China as one of the main dishes.
- Winter... It grows on the trunks of alder, birch or willow. The pulp is edible.
- Sheep... The only variety that looks like a "normal" mushroom. It is used as a base for aqueous and alcoholic infusions. It can also be dried, pickled or salted.
Scaly tinder fungus can be dried, pickled and added to sauces and first courses
What can be made from tinder fungus
Edible varieties can be eaten in different forms. For example, make the following dishes from tinder fungus:
- Dry, salt or pickle the tinder fungus.
- Prepare the tincture.
- Make a salad.
- Cook the soup.
- Make tinder fungus tea.
- Boil the side dish or fry the second course.
How to cook tinder fungus
Before you start cooking the tinder fungus, it needs a primary heat treatment for 40-45 minutes. After that, you can start the cooking process:
- Cooking. The most important manipulation before further action. The mushrooms are boiled in lightly salted water for about an hour, after which the liquid is drained.
- Frying... Boiled polypores are fried in sunflower oil for 10 minutes. If necessary, add sauce or spices, and all this languishes under the lid for another 10-15 minutes.
These are the main stages of preparation - the rest of the steps will depend on the chosen recipe.
Tinder fungus recipes
For the use of freshly harvested mushrooms, you can use the basic cooking recipes. They can be used to prepare first and second courses. True, it is worth remembering that when cooking the mushroom, a not very pleasant smell may be released.
Scaly tinder fungus cutlets
This option requires the following ingredients:
- fresh mushrooms - 1.5 kg;
- three cloves of garlic;
- white bread - 200 g;
- salt, spices - to taste;
- one chicken egg;
- flour - 200 g.
You can add cheese or meat to the minced meat, and use breading instead of flour
The cooking process looks like this:
- The mushrooms are peeled and soaked in warm water for 3 hours.
- The product must be cooked for 20 minutes, then drain the boiling water, rinse with cold water and allow to cool.
- Mushrooms are scrolled in a meat grinder in several passes. For the rest of the ingredients, once is enough.
- Add salt, pepper, egg to the resulting minced meat and mix.
- Cutlets are formed, doused in flour and fried over low heat until tender.
Tinder fungus with sour cream
The dish can be served with boiled potatoes or buckwheat.
For cooking you will need:
- fresh mushrooms - 300 g;
- onion - 1 pc .;
- vegetable oil - 90 g;
- sour cream 30% - 150 g;
- a bunch of dill;
- salt, pepper - to taste.
When all the ingredients are ready, you can start cooking:
- The mushrooms are peeled, dipped in boiling water and boiled for 5 minutes.
- Onions are cut into strips and fried in vegetable oil.
- Mushrooms are finely chopped, added to the pan and fried for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper if necessary.
- Sour cream is added to the mixture, the products are mixed and stewed for 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle with dill on top and cook for another 5 minutes.
The finished dish is recommended to be served hot.
Collection and preparation of mushrooms:
Mushroom pate
For this simple recipe, you need a few products:
- fresh mushrooms - 1 kg;
- onions - 600 g;
- sunflower oil - 200 g;
- salt and pepper to taste.
The pate is ideal for making sandwiches for breakfast
Step by step cooking:
- The mushrooms are washed, chopped, peeled and boiled in boiling water for 40 minutes.
- The broth is drained, and the tinder fungus is left to cool.
- Chop the onion finely and mix it with mushrooms, salt and pepper.
- The resulting mass is fried in a large amount of sunflower oil until tender (about 15 minutes).
- Then cover the pan with a lid and stew for another 5 minutes.
- The cooled mixture is mixed until smooth with a blender.
How to prepare tinder fungus for the winter
To prepare dishes from tinder fungus in winter, it must be preserved in advance. To do this, hot pickled mushrooms are placed in jars, 70% vinegar is added (1 tablespoon per liter). The product is then sealed with a metal lid.
You can also pickle mushrooms. To do this, they are pre-boiled and placed in a jar, alternating with layers of bay leaves, garlic and pepper. Filled cans are tightly closed and stored in a dark place.
Drying tinder fungi is very easy. They are cut into small pieces, strung on a strong thread so that they do not touch each other, and hung to dry in the open air.
Terms and conditions of storage of polypores
Polypores are ideal for all methods of harvesting for the winter, since they do not lose their useful properties for several years under the correct storage conditions in the refrigerator.
To prevent dried workpieces from spoiling, they must be kept in a room with low humidity and the absence of insects. If all conditions are met, workpieces can be stored for a very long time.
Conclusion
Despite its low popularity and lack of awareness, cooking a tinder fungus is not difficult at all. You can make almost any dish from it: cook the first, fry the second, add to the filling of pies. Some hobbyists even brew tinder fungus. It has many medicinal and useful properties, the main thing is not to be mistaken with the choice of an edible species and not to forget that it needs primary processing. A ready-made delicacy can please guests or household members.
