The value of deer truffle in the great Soviet encyclopedia, bse. The value of deer truffle in the great Soviet encyclopedia, bse Types of mushroom truffle

DEER TRUFFLE

truffle (Elaphomyces cervinus), an underground mushroom of the marsupial class. The fruiting body resembles a hazelnut or walnut, with a thick warty brownish bark. When ripe, the pulp turns into a black-brown dust, consisting mainly of spores. It usually grows in pine forests, in sandy soil, shallow from the surface. It is eaten by deer, hares, squirrels. It has nothing to do with real truffles.

Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB. 2012

What are the types of truffle mushrooms

Note: Very often, the size of one copy does not exceed the size walnut, but there are mushrooms with large potatoes and weighing more than one kilogram. Outwardly, it also bears a resemblance to potatoes.

The peridium (outer layer) may have a smooth surface or cut with a large number of various cracks, and there are also specimens with characteristic multifaceted warts. There is a pronounced marble structure in the cross section.

Picture 1. External features mushrooms

The pulp consists of an inner and outer "wreath", which have dark and light shades. On the internal and external "veins" are located spore bags, which have a wide variety of shapes. Species affect the color of the flesh, which can be white, black, gray or chocolatey.

Views

The truffle families include more than a hundred representatives of these famous mushrooms, which are classified according to the biological-geographical group and in terms of gastronomic value (black, white, red).

The most famous varieties are:

Black summer(Russian). This variety can reach a diameter of up to 10 cm and a weight of 0.4 kg. With the period of growing up, he can change the color scheme from white to yellow or gray-brown. The consistency of the pulp in young specimens is very dense, while in old ones it is loose. Representatives of the species have a sweetish nutty taste with a slightly noticeable smell of algae. Meet given view possible in such regions: Transcaucasia, Crimea, the European part of Russia and Europe. It can be found under oak, hazel and pine. Fruiting begins in June and lasts until early October.
Black autumn burgundy has a rounded shape and can weigh up to 0.32 kg, but in size it is no more than 8 cm. At maturity, the pulp is colored milk chocolate and is penetrated with streaks of white. On the palate, you can recognize the aroma of cocoa, although the Burgundy specimens have a bitter aftertaste.
Black winter endowed with an irregular spherical or spherical shape. The sizes of fruit bodies can be 8-20 cm and weigh up to 1.5 kg. The surface is covered with a reddish-purple hue, on which polygonal warts can be observed. They have a very pleasant musky aroma and can be found in moist soils under linden or hazel. Such amazing specimens can be found in France, Switzerland, Italy and Ukraine.
Black perigord(French) has an irregular or slightly rounded shape. The outer peridium is covered with warts, which, as they grow older, change their color from red-brown to coal-dark. Among all the known species, this one is considered the most valuable because it has a pleasant taste and strong aroma.
White piedmontese(Italian) outwardly endowed with an irregular tuberous shape of fruit bodies and in cross section can reach 12 cm. Very often there are specimens with a fruit weight of up to 300 grams, but sometimes fruits weighing up to 1 kg are found. Peridium can be yellowish red or brown in color. The pulp of the fruit is creamy or white in color, but specimens with a slight red tint can be found. The variety differs from its relatives in pleasant taste and an aroma reminiscent of garlic and cheese odors. This species grows exclusively in northern Italy.

Figure 2. The most popular types of mushrooms: 1 - black summer, 2 - black autumn (Burgundy), 3 - black winter, 4 - black Perigor, 5 - white Italian

We have provided a photo and description of only the main species (Figure 2), although in fact there are many more of them, and almost all of them are of high nutritional value.

Characteristic

Truffles grow exclusively below the soil surface in small groups. They can contain from 3 to 7 fruiting bodies, which have cartilaginous and fleshy pulp.

The range of localities of the families is very extensive and they can be found in the following regions: Europe, Asia, the USA and North Africa(Figure 3).

With regard to the extensive distribution, the following features can be distinguished:

The mycelium of the Piedmontese variety can form a symbiosis with the roots of poplar, birch and linden.
Perigord can be found in groves of beech, oak or hornbeam trees. It is mainly found in Spain, Switzerland and southern France.
Summer black grows well in mixed or deciduous forests, as well as in calcareous soils.

Figure 3. Distribution of fungi in the natural environment

You can meet this species in Central Europe, the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, Scandinavian countries and Ukraine. However, there were recorded cases of finding this specimen in certain regions of Central Asia.

Features of the

IN chemical composition there are no pronounced features. The popularity of this mushroom is based on its aromatic properties, which, it is assumed, can cause the awakening of some feelings and desires.

Today they are the rarest and most expensive, since the demand for them is much higher than the supply. In the vastness of our country, you can find only a black summer variety.

What a truffle looks like

If you want to find these mushrooms in the forest, you definitely need to know what a truffle looks like (Figure 4). Outwardly, the shape of the fruit bodies can be tuberous or rounded with a size of 2-10 cm. Peridium has a dark color range from bluish-black to brown-black. On the surface, pyramidal warts are very often observed, but there are species with a smooth peridium.

Figure 4. External features of truffles

The flesh of a mature specimen is loose, and a young one is dense. At the very beginning of growth, the flesh will be white and, as the specimen matures, it will acquire a brownish-yellow color. When cut, the light streaks give it a marbled color. The pulp is sweetish in taste and similar to a nut, and the aroma is similar to the smell of algae.

What a truffle looks like and where to find it - the author of the video will tell you.

The main differences from other mushrooms

Truffles on the market are very expensive and the price for 1 kilogram of such a rare product starts from 400 euros. Such a high cost of this type is associated with such factors:

The difficulty of growing;
Seasonal loot;
High level of taste and aroma properties (quality) of the product.

The value of each unit is measured by its size: the larger the copy, the more expensive it costs. The most expensive are mushrooms with large size fruiting body (like an apple), but such specimens grow less than 1% of the total world harvest. Walnut-sized specimens make up 10% of the crop, and grape-sized specimens make up 30%. The rest of the percentage is made up of very small mushrooms, and their cost is much less. The very small ones are mainly used for making a variety of sauces.

What does a white truffle look like?

Unlike the black one, the white variety cannot be bred. The difficulty of growing is due to the fact that it grows in limited regions of Italy (Figure 5).

Note: The seasonal harvest has made this variety a real gastronomic rarity. You can taste fresh mushrooms only during the harvest season, and this happens from October to January.

The cost of the white variety made it the most expensive delicacy in the world, which was able to furnish the price of caviar, foie gras and gold. For this reason, you can often find special auctions where you can buy the most different kinds this expensive gastronomic product. average price per kilogram is 3-4 thousand euros, and the most record cost is 330 thousand dollars per piece weighing 1.5 kg. Such a large copy was auctioned incognito in Hong Kong. In the rules of the auctions there is a mandatory clause on the provision of a complete pedigree, which includes the following points:

The exact weight of the specimen is up to a gram;
The name of the dog that found him;
Indicate the location of the tree where it was found.

Figure 5. External features of the white Italian variety

Due to its high cost and rarity, you can only see what a white truffle looks like in a photo or specialized video.

Features of the

The pricing policy and the power of the white truffle aroma make it a dream come true for any culinary gourmet. Chefs never cook them neat during cooking. Very often you can observe a situation in culinary dishes when they are added in the same proportion as spices and other spices.

It is customary to serve them with minimal heat treatment, as it can weaken the delicate taste and aroma. The strong point white is the aroma of fresh mushroom, so very often they are laid out in thin slices on an already prepared dish.

What does a black truffle look like?

The black (Perigord) variety is very similar in aroma to white, but its earthy and musky notes are weaker, and very often complemented by the smell of fresh hazelnuts. It is often added to culinary dishes during cooking (Figure 6).

Features of the

The black truffle is considered the most valuable specimen of this species, which grows very often in France. It has a second name Perigord because it is associated with the place of its growth.

Figure 6. Black truffles: features

A distinctive feature of this species is the special reddish-brown-black color of the peridium. The pulp is dark in color, and the smell is very characteristic and with pleasant taste... This variety grows in winter and begins to be harvested from January to March.

To date, there are many types of truffles that can be safely eaten without danger to health. However, there are many other fungi that, if ingested, can cause digestive tract upset or severe intoxication (Figure 7).

It is very easy to mistake a false truffle for a real culinary rarity. They may have external similarities, but at the same time they belong to a different family. For example, deer grows in the wooded areas of Europe and North America and it is not edible for humans, but animals eat it with great pleasure.

Figure 7. Appearance and features of the false truffle

Reindeer truffle can cause stomach upset, but at the same time, false truffle is deadly to human health. Outwardly, it has an oblong shape, dark red or beige in color and belongs to the Basidiomycete family. Fruiting body poisonous mushroom can grow up to 10 cm in length and will have a characteristic unpleasant odor. The inedible species include tombolans (steppe truffles), which grow in Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, North Africa and southern Europe. However, among the tombolans there are also edible mushrooms.

All truffles are appreciated by gourmets due to the fact that they are rare and quite tasty. But in today's material, we will study an inedible representative belonging to the family of Elaphomycetes and the genus Elaphomycetes. We will talk about a deer truffle - a small fruit body, which is also called rain or grainy. People do not consume these mushrooms for food, but they are very popular with representatives of the animal world. Squirrels, deer and hares lean on truffles, a real battle for fruiting bodies can begin.

Description

Like the rest of this family, truffles grow directly in the soil. They are small, grow up to a maximum of 5 cm in diameter, but in fact there are much fewer specimens. By weight, they reach 18 grams. everyone.
In the process heat treatment(drying) the shape remains practically unchanged. It remains round or tuberous. By external characteristics these fruiting bodies resemble walnuts or hazelnuts. They feel quite compacted.
The fruiting body itself is covered with a crust with bumps and the semblance of warts. This crust is about 3 mm thick. The color of the mushrooms is light yellow, brown with rusty blotches, brown-red, brown-golden. In early spring, quite bright specimens of a reddish tone are sometimes found.
This representative has no basis. The soft part is hard, painted radially, and includes several layers. The edges are orange, thin, followed by a whitish color, then thicker gray-brown blotches. The composition of the pulp ends with a thin white layer, and in the center of the mushroom is black-gray.
In some cases, the central part may be whitish, painted in a dark gray tone. The soft part is bitter, the aroma is practically absent, in some cases it is simply unpleasant.
In young animals, the soft part is colored with a light marble tone. It is reddish with light spots. Mature fruiting bodies take on a violet or brownish-purple hue, dust is formed. This powder is a spore that is either black or brown-black in color.

Sprouting

Fruit specimens can often be found in forest belts in which pines grow. They can also live with fir trees. Fruiting bodies are found in larch trees, squares, park areas. Sand is considered a favorite soil for growing.
Mushrooms are not directly underground, they prefer to settle closer to the soil surface. They live at shallow depths, for example, under a litter of leaves, moss or pine needles.
It will be possible to find fruit bodies at a depth of 2 to 15 cm, but the average is 5 cm. The mushrooms are located in the root system of trees. This is how mycorrhiza is built. The species of trees suitable for these purposes can be very different.

Doubles

In terms of external characteristics, this fruiting body has certain similarities. A close relative of the mushroom in question is the prickly truffle. It has a skin pigmented with a brownish-yellow tint. Truffles grow in birch groves or near single trees of this breed.
Also, the discussed variety of fruit bodies has another double, which is called nothing more than a red-brown truffle. It is a small tuber or bunch that grows up to 7 cm in diameter. The surface is brown-red or brown-pink. The soft part smells good, looks like a brain.
The deer specimen refers to the marsupial fruit bodies that live underground. It does not look like a real delicacy, it was often used by fraudsters who betrayed this fruit body under the guise of a delicacy. The genus includes about twenty varieties. Some species grow in the coniferous belt, others - in the larch trees of Europe.

Edibility

It was mentioned earlier that mushrooms are not eaten. However, these specimens are considered a real treat for some inhabitants of the animal world. We are talking about squirrels, mice, badgers, wild boars, deer, etc.
If the year is not productive, the squirrels begin to dig the ground in order to find these fruiting bodies. They break the soil to a depth of 8 cm. When you really want to eat, they look for truffles under the snow.

In today's article, we have considered everything that affects a representative of the Elaphomycetes family. This is a deer truffle that is not consumed by humans for food. This fruiting body serves as a snack for forest dwellers, which is often used by hunters. They lure squirrels and wild boars to such specimens.

Truffles - mushrooms of the underground kingdom of nature, are rightfully aristocrats among other representatives of the spore. The culture of these delicious mushrooms goes back to the time of Avicenna, who mentioned them in his medical treatises. Today, truffle is an expensive delicacy in French cuisine. The price for 1 kilogram of fresh mushrooms in European markets reaches thousands of euros.

There are about 10 species of edible mushrooms in the world, of which the black truffle is considered the most valuable. Summer truffles can be found on the territory of Russia. The homeland of the delicacy is the Mediterranean: France, Italy, Spain.

IN last years industrial production truffles are established in China, USA, New Zealand, Australia and England. The most valuable food species for gourmets: Perigord, Piedmont, winter.

Delicacy mushrooms: extraction and cultivation

Unlike other species, these mushrooms prefer to settle underground. Their unpresentable appearance makes ordinary people doubt the exclusivity of this product. But the highlight lies in their unique aroma, attractive to animals. Like any other mushroom, they multiply by spores that form on the fleshy stalk. But for a truffle growing underground, wind, birds and animals, which in natural conditions are carriers of seeds over long distances, are inaccessible. Therefore, for successful reproduction, nature has endowed underground inhabitants strong attractive aroma. Finding them underground requires the excellent scent that pigs and dogs have. Therefore, animals have become the main earners of gourmet truffles.

Pigs are dexterous in finding truffles due to their nature

In France, Spain, Italy, mushrooms are searched for with the help of trained pigs, but recently dogs have been trained to search for truffles. Pigs tear the ground hard in search of food and often break the tender threads of the mycelium. Dogs, unlike piglets, are able to call the owner to the location of the truffles without damaging the ground.

Mushrooms growing naturally under the canopy of deciduous trees are considered truly tasty. The fungi are located between the roots of plants and form a kind of symbiosis, which qualitatively distinguishes the fungus from its above-ground counterparts. Depending on the species, certain types of higher plants are preferred. So, for example, black and summer truffles grow between the roots of hornbeam, hazel, oak, beech. Piedmontese prefers to settle in symbiosis with poplar, birch, elm, linden, rowan, hawthorn.

The popularity of the delicacy has prompted some entrepreneurs to cultivate mushrooms in other areas. the globe... In the 17th century, attempts were made to artificially cultivate truffles, which were crowned with success. Since then, the breeding of the delicacy has been practiced all over the world.

Types of edible mushrooms

What is a truffle? This is a representative of the kingdom of marsupial (ascomycete) fungi that grow underground and multiply by spores. It grows from the mycelium network, forming a fleshy spherical body with a diameter of 2.5 to 10 cm. It has a rich mushroom aroma with a hint of overcooked sunflower seeds or walnuts. If you put it in water, then after a while the liquid will become Brown color and will taste like soy sauce. Spores are found inside the fruiting body in a kind of sacs.

The color of the delicacy differs depending on the species and has a brown-black or bluish tint. The cut reveals cream colored marble veins. The pulp is very dense, with aging the mushroom becomes loose. Truffle varieties are not uncommon in nature, but not all of them are edible and have good flavor... Some species have a sickening smell of rotten herring, rotten onions or tar, nauseating to humans.

The following types are edible:

black (perigord);
summer;
Piedmont (Italian);
winter.

The most expensive mushroom in the world is the white truffle

White truffle (Piedmont or Italian) is extremely rare and only grows in the deciduous forests of the Piedmont region of Italy. This species has a unique aroma that allows you to combine it in different culinary delights. Its smell will make any dish taste delicious. The white truffle from Piedmont is considered the most expensive and popular of all types. An alternative to Piedmont is Perigord, whose aroma is not so good, but is still considered one of the best delicacies in the world. It is harvested in some regions of Spain, Italy and France, covered with deciduous forests. Collection time: November to March.

Summer truffle grows up to 10 cm in diameter; it is found in regions of Central Europe, Russia, Scandinavian countries, on the Black Sea coast. The mushroom is harvested in the summer before the onset of the autumn cold. It is a type of Perigord truffle with a pleasant nutty aroma. Recently, it has been recognized as an object of hunting for sophisticated mushroom pickers in the forests of Russia. On the territory of the Moscow region, Ukraine and Belarus, you can find the Polish or Trinity truffle, which has the shape of a medium-sized potato.