Delicious chicken mushrooms (ringed cap)

Ringed caps should be collected only by experienced mushroom pickers, who can distinguish them from very similar in appearance, but poisonous cobwebs. The cap of a young mushroom has a rounded shape, ovoid or almost spherical (Fig. 1). Due to its brownish-pink color, it resembles the shell of brown chicken eggs, put on a thick leg. The diameter of a young hat is about 4 cm, as it grows, it can reach 8-10 cm.

Growing up, the mushroom changes the shape of the cap: a bulge appears in the center, giving the chicken a resemblance to a wide cap. The edges of the cap of a young fruiting body, attached to the stem, diverge to the sides and break the film (veil). As a result, approximately in the upper third of the stem of the mushroom, a ring, or skirt, is formed, with jagged edges hanging down. If the weather is dry, then the edges of the cap dry out and crack a little towards the center. The skirt also dries out and becomes hardly noticeable, but the ring on the leg remains and serves as one of the main distinguishing features of the chicken.

If you turn over the plucked mushroom and look under the hat, you can see thin plates of the spore apparatus adhering to the stem. In a young fruiting body, they have a white or yellowish color (Fig. 2). After the cap opens, the plates turn yellow, and when ripe, the spores acquire an ocher (rusty) hue. The spore powder has the same color and leaves rust-like marks on the hands. The color of the plates serves as another sign that makes it possible to distinguish the ringed cap from poisonous counterparts similar to it.

The surface of the mushroom cap has fine wrinkles and is covered with a light bloom resembling flour or pearl pollen. Closer to the edges of the cap, this plaque can form small scales. Unlike fly agarics, which sometimes have a similar shade, these scales are thin and never occur closer to the center of the cap, located exclusively along the edge.

The stem of the mushroom has the shape of a regular cylinder. Its base (lower part) is slightly thickened. The surface of the leg has a silky texture, but above the skirt ring it may look like scaly. Here it is painted in pale yellow.

The part of the stem located below the ring is brighter than the upper part (Fig. 3). A slightly swollen base makes the mushroom look like a fly agaric or. A distinctive feature is the absence of a cover (Volva) around this swelling in chickens.

So, based on the description, we can conclude about the main differences between the edible chicken mushroom and similar toadstools:

• a rounded or slightly convex hat of a brownish, buffy hue with a powdery light bloom in the center;
• the absence of any flakes or scales on the entire surface of the cap, they can be found only on the very edge;
• in an adult mushroom, there is always a ring of a torn-off film-spread, and in a young one, it connects the upper part of the stem and the edge of the cap;
• at the base of the leg there is no membranous or cobweb cover;
• in an open mushroom, plates of yellowish or ocher color adhered to the stem are visible.

The dense flesh of the chicken does not change color when cut or broken. The smell is pleasant, mushroom, spicy. The ringed cap tastes like a chicken breast.

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Where do chicken mushrooms grow?

You can meet the ringed cap almost throughout Europe and Asia, in North America and on the Japanese islands. They spread far to the north, even in Lapland and in the Russian tundra, chickens can be collected in birch elfin. Mushrooms also choose mountain coniferous forests for settlement. Mushrooms prefer acidic soils where blueberries and lingonberries grow.

In central Russia, they are most often found in mossy, slightly marshy areas. The prevalence in such places made it possible for people to call them bogmen and bogmen. In Belarus, it is found almost everywhere and enjoys well-deserved love and popularity.

From the beginning of July until the very frosts, chickens appear in light coniferous and mixed forests in small groups. Very often, fruiting bodies are arranged in rings (“witch circles”). In some areas, the mushroom is practically unknown and is considered unsuitable for food, despite the positive characteristics of mushroom pickers who know it.

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How to cook chicken

Caps are good in any form: they are salted, marinated, fried. Some housewives advise you to boil chickens before frying, but many fry them fresh. If the option with boiling is chosen, then you need to remember that you should not boil the caps for a long time - they will be ready in 5-10 minutes.

An interesting recipe: make a batter from an egg, flour and mayonnaise. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan, dip the mushroom pieces in batter, fry for 5-7 minutes. After this treatment, the mushrooms acquire the characteristic taste of chicken meat.

For marinating and salting chickens, any recipes are suitable. Before salting, mushrooms need to be boiled. A simple pickling method is as follows: boil the mushrooms for 10 minutes, drain most of the liquid, and add salt, spices and a little vinegar to the rest to taste. Boil for another 5-7 minutes and pour hot into jars. Marinated chicken keeps well in the cellar or refrigerator.

When you first try to collect a ringed cap, it is best to take the advice of experienced mushroom pickers. They can show and explain where the real mushroom is, and where is the toadstool that looks like it. In case of doubt, you should be guided by the basic rule of mushroom pickers: if you are not sure, you should not collect.