The world of mushrooms is truly fascinating and unique. These organisms are unique in themselves and can amaze with their shapes, complex life cycles, and taste.

In the forests, you can sometimes find an unusual mushroom that looks like coral. People call it "deer horns". Let's talk more about these mushrooms.

The correct botanical name is Ramaria flava. From Latin it translates as yellow Ramaria. Belongs to the department Basidiomycetes, class Agaricomycetes, order Homfaceae, family Hornycetes.

The habitat of this fungus is mixed, deciduous and coniferous forests of the Caucasus, the North-West of our country, as well as forests of Central Europe.

People call deer antlers so because in shape it really resembles the branched antlers of a male deer. To many, it resembles corals.

Sometimes in the guides of the mushroom picker you can find the following names:

The aerial part of the ramaria grows about 15-20 cm in height. The fruit body grows diametrically and reaches 20 cm in diameter. In the middle there is a dense hyphae plexus, which forms a common leg, and branched outgrowths "horns" emerge from it. These "branches" have a cylindrical shape and dichotomously branch at their apex.

The color of the aboveground part of the fruiting body is yellow, and the palette of yellow can have different shades. This depends on the substrate the ramaria is growing on, as well as the intensity of sunlight in the undergrowth.

Closer to the bases of the horns, the color can be rich yellow. If you press on the fruiting body, then a brownish color appears at the point of squeezing. On the cut, the flesh is marbled yellow. The smell is quite pleasant, reminiscent of the smell of freshly cut grass.

Ramaria has a low food grade. On the botanical scale of food categories - the fourth. There is no particular mushroom flavor. If the fruit bodies are old, the tops must be removed, as they accumulate substances that give a certain bitterness.

Collection rules and precautions

Many horned mushrooms are poisonous. In this regard, you need to know the yellow ramaria and be able to distinguish it from other "forest corals". Collection and procurement is carried out in August and September. At this time, deer horns can be found in the undergrowth as single fruits or in small groups of 3-4 "bushes".

Rules for collecting horned animals:

Important advice! If you are a novice mushroom picker, it is not recommended to collect horned mushrooms. Whether the horned mushroom is edible or not is difficult to determine. Some of them are so similar to each other that they can only be distinguished under a microscope. There is only one moment that calms down - among these mushrooms there are no highly poisonous ones that are fatal.

How to cook mushrooms properly

Soup made from "reindeer horns" turns out to be especially tasty. To prepare it, you will need the standard ingredients of mushroom soup - a clove of garlic, onions, herbs, carrots, potatoes, butter, salt, pepper and 300-400 g of this wonderful mushroom.

Boil the mushrooms separately in salted water for 20 minutes. We must drain this broth and do not use it. It may contain toxins. You can boil it twice for 10 minutes. It will even be better that way.

Then the soup is cooked in the usual way. Throw onions, potatoes, garlic, carrots into cold water, bring to a boil, add mushrooms. Cook for 10 minutes over low heat and add salt, pepper and herbs. It turns out a very tasty light mushroom soup. Children will especially like it, as the mushrooms in the soup are unusual.

Ramaria can be salted, fried with potatoes, added to salads. The main condition for cooking is that you always need to boil the mushrooms over low heat for 10-15 minutes in salted water. This helps to flush out toxins. This is especially important, because there are many moderately poisonous species among horned beetles. Primary heat treatment allows you to destroy and reduce the concentration of toxic substances to a minimum.

Young antlers can be dried. Overripe fruiting bodies can rot when dry, while young ones dry out easily. To do this, they need to be divided into the maximum possible number of "branches" with a part of the leg. A thread is passed through the leg. Further, mushroom garlands are hung in the shade in a dry and ventilated room.

When preparing dishes from dried ramaria, it must be soaked in water for 12 hours, and then rinsed thoroughly and boiled for 10 minutes.

Collect deer horns, cook culinary masterpieces from them, but be careful and careful!

Kira Stoletova

The antler mushroom stands out with its unusual shape and color among other mushrooms. It got its name because its shape resembles deer antlers or sea corals.

Description of the appearance of the mushroom

The color of the mushroom depends on the phase of its growth. Young antlers are light yellow in color; with age, it darkens and becomes bright orange. It doesn't have the usual mushroom smell.

Irina Selyutina (Biologist):

As a species, the mushroom was described in 1755 by the French botanist Joseph de Tournefort. However, its scientific name is yellow ramaria (Ramaria flava), this species received only 133 g later in 1888 thanks to Lucien Kele, the founder of the French Mycological Society.

Coral mushrooms, to which this species belongs, are considered basidiomycetes. Their spores are formed on the entire surface of the fruiting body, because the spore-bearing layer is located on the outside.

Ramaria, aka deer horns, is found on the surface of the soil and on rotten wood or stumps in all types of forests. You can find fruiting bodies in August-September, with good weather until October. Among the many species, poisonous are not found, but there is a division into conditionally edible and edible. It is best to eat only young organisms because older mushrooms taste bitter.

Reindeer horns are harvested from August to October. They grow in small colonies so they are easy to harvest. Also, delicious first courses are obtained from this type of mushroom.

Mushroom species

The antler mushroom has several similar species:

  1. Serpentine horned: It is a white fungus of color, which acquires a light pink hue with age. Its branches reach a height of 15-20 cm, and a diameter of 10-15 cm.
  2. Coral bunch: its body has thick, thin white branches. The flesh is tender, but becomes more rigid with age.
  3. Horned purple: the mushroom is small in size, its body length is 10 cm, diameter is 4-5 cm. There is no pronounced taste and smell.
  4. Horny golden yellow: has thick "branches" of light yellow color. Its collection begins in late August and early September.
  5. Horned crested horn: reaches a height of 5 cm. "Branches" have comb-like, sharp tips.

Beneficial features

The composition contains amino acids (methionine and tryptophan), as well as lipids, phytoagglutinin and sterol. The mushroom is often used in Chinese medicine to treat gastrointestinal diseases and improve lung function.

It also has anti-tumor effects and strengthens the immune system. Reindeer horns are used in cosmetology to slow down the aging process.

The calorie content of the deer horns mushroom, or yellow ramaria, is 55 kcal per 100 g of product. Such a high calorie content allows it to be used in the preparation of various dishes. The mushroom is also perfect for a vegetarian menu.

Contraindications

This mushroom, like other types, has certain contraindications. These include:

  • children under 12 years of age;
  • pregnancy and lactation period;
  • chronic gastrointestinal diseases;
  • individual intolerance (allergy).

You should be careful when collecting, because it has inedible counterparts.

Before cooking, they should be thoroughly rinsed under running water. You should not pick these mushrooms near highways and large industrial enterprises.

Application

This type is often used in traditional medicine. It is used to prepare medicines for joints and cleansing the body of worms (flat, round, tapeworms).

Irina Selyutina (Biologist):

Ramaria yellow, or deer horns, has found its application in cosmetology. Here it is used for anti-aging procedures. Its use in this area has been substantiated by its ability to retain moisture in the skin epithelium, which is much greater than the same property of glycerol and hyaluronic acid. Its natural polysaccharides deliver beneficial substances to the deep layers of the skin, and the vitamin D included in the composition becomes an activator of the metabolic process in the skin.

Also used in cooking. The cones are especially suitable for pickling and drying. They make delicious soups and mushroom caviar.

In cooking

Despite the fact that ramaria belongs to the 4th taste category due to its characteristic bitterness, young mushrooms are still used in cooking. However, only young specimens and bases are best suited for these purposes, since the "twigs" are bitter.

Fresh reindeer horns are washed, cut into small pieces and boiled.

It also makes delicious sauces and fillings for savory pastries. Ready-made deer horns taste like seafood or boiled chicken. The mushrooms brought from the forest are sorted out, where it is required - the lower part of the leg with pieces of turf is cut off. Washed and then boiled for 15-30 minutes in salted water. After that, the broth is drained and not used for other dishes.

For mushroom salad take:

  • boiled mushrooms - 150 g;
  • carrots - 150 g;
  • small onion - 1 pc.;
  • vinegar - 2 tablespoons;
  • sunflower oil - 1 tablespoon;
  • garlic - 2 cloves;
  • salt, pepper, herbs to taste.

Finely chopped mushrooms are combined with carrots and garlic. Then salt, add pepper and herbs, season with vegetable oil, let it brew for 30 minutes. At this time, the onion is cut into rings, pickled and mixed with salad.

Pickled antlers have a particularly delicate taste. To prepare them, you need to take: lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, black pepper and vegetable oil. Pickled horns resemble corals in their appearance.

First course recipe:

  • mushrooms - 400 g;
  • carrots - 150 g;
  • potatoes - 400 g;
  • hard cheese - 150 g;
  • butter - 50 g;
  • salt, pepper, herbs to taste.

Boil mushrooms for 30 minutes, cut into small pieces. Vegetables are also chopped and thrown into a saucepan.

Mushrooms, salt, pepper and herbs are added to the boiled vegetables and left over low heat for 15 minutes. Then add grated cheese and butter, if desired, add cream or sour cream sauce before use.

In medicine

To combat stomach ulcers, you can prepare a medicinal tincture according to the following recipe:

  • Rinse 150 g of fresh mushrooms thoroughly, dry and refrigerate for 2 days.
  • Cut the prepared mushrooms into small pieces and pour 500 ml of alcohol or high-quality vodka;
  • Leave to infuse in a dark place for 30 days, then strain. After that, treatment is started.

With an ulcer, drink 1 tbsp. l. medications three times a day before meals. The treatment period lasts a month, then take a break for 14 days and repeat the course.

Conclusion

Antler mushrooms are among the most unusual of their kind. They are appreciated for their exotic shape and pleasant taste. Most often found on stumps and dry trees in coniferous forests.

It is often used in the preparation of various dishes. Also, this type of mushroom helps in the treatment of certain diseases. But you should be careful when collecting them, they may be confused with false representatives of this group of "deer horns".

Horned mushrooms, or as they are called horned mushrooms, belong to the family of basidial plants. They have a fruiting body of a fleshy consistency. They are coral-branched, clavate and subulate. Most often they are white with a yellow tint. Completely covered with a spore-bearing smooth layer.

You can find such a crop in the forest on the soil, less often found on the wood residue. They are not poisonous.

Horned beetles have a large variety and sprout in large numbers, we just sometimes do not pay attention to them. Many mushroom pickers pass by. Maybe this is correct, because unfamiliar plants can be poisonous, but some horned horns are quite edible. Even if you pick such an unfamiliar mushroom, then you will not get poisoned, the only thing is to spoil your dinner, since some species have a specific taste.

The horned is a very curious representative of the mushroom kingdom. It plays an important role in the life of the forest. He is also a close relative of chanterelle mushrooms, and as you know, chanterelles are able to strengthen human health.

A variety of slingshots

This mushroom has a large variety. Let's consider the most common of them and their description.

Pistil species. Can be found in deciduous forests in the southern regions. Has a fruiting club-shaped body. The height can reach 15 cm. The isolated spores are white. Has no specific smell. Completely edible.

Truncated - a bright representative of basidiomycete plants. It has a clavate shape with an expanded and thickened apex. Height is not more than 14 cm. The mushroom itself is wrinkled and dark orange in color. In places of damage, it instantly darkens. Odorless, sweetish in taste.

Reed. Belongs to the genus Claviadelfus. The form is vertical lingual. Height no more than 13 cm. Has a smooth and dry surface. If it is already old, then the surface of the body begins to wrinkle. The color is pale cream, but with age it acquires a yellowish tint. The pulp is dry, white in color and without a characteristic odor. It produces a light yellow spore powder.

Comb-shaped. Coral shape. Grows up to 10 cm in height. The pulp is quite fragile and light. It does not have a specific smell, but it tastes bitter. It can be found in mixed, coniferous and deciduous forests. Germinate in soil and grass.

Fawn belongs to the kralloid family. It grows in the form of a bush with branched branches with pointed branches. The apex is lobed-flat. Horny white with a cream shade. Highlights white spores. When cut, it is fragile, has no special smell and has a bitter aftertaste.

The yellow horned mushroom can be found in deciduous, coniferous or mixed forests. It mainly grows in the forests of Karelia. The body color is yellow. No more than 18 cm in height. Many branched, dense bushy cylindrical branches grow from thick white stumps. The fruit body is yellowish. The pulp is moist and off-white in color. It smells like grass, the taste is dull. The older the plant, the more bitter the taste.

Edibility of mushrooms

Very often in the forests you can meet mushroom pickers who claim that they know everything about mushrooms. But what can they say about slingshots? In order not to accidentally get poisoned and to know for sure whether this mushroom is edible or not, we have prepared a small cheat sheet.

Benefits of Edible Slingshot

Very often they are called coral, as they look very similar to them. Compared to others, they have a number of advantages:

  • when fully ripe, the weight is almost one kilogram, which makes it easy to feed all family members;
  • are not affected by worms, so when cleaning you will not encounter unpleasant disappointment;
  • have a fragrant smell (but not old ones);
  • there are no poisonous imitators;
  • easy to prepare.

Due to their specific appearance, you are unlikely to confuse them with other plants.

Cooking use

Before cooking, you need to properly prepare them. Rinse the mushrooms thoroughly under cold running water. Since they have a sinuous structure, the dirt gets into the most difficult places. Then we boil them for 30 minutes. The water in which they were boiled is poured out. It is absolutely impossible to use it. Rinse again under the flow and set to cook for 10 minutes. Then we rinse with cold water. Now you can start preparing various dishes.

A simple recipe for a delicious mushroom soup. To begin with, we chop all the vegetables, namely, the onion and (you can add half). Fill everything with cold water and cook until half cooked. Then add the mushrooms and 15 gr. ... In winter, you can add a few cloves to the soup. As soon as the soup boils, add pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to a minimum and cook for another 15 minutes. The peculiarity of this soup is that it can be eaten not only hot, but also cold. When serving, sprinkle and add a spoon.

For the second, you can simply fry them in addition to the main dish, for example, mashed potatoes or buckwheat porridge. To begin with, fry the onion in vegetable oil, pre-chopping it finely. Add chopped mushrooms. It is better to cut them larger. And fry until golden brown, just remember that you need to stir them constantly. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To make the dishes tasty, we will reveal to you a few little secrets. Firstly, they should be eaten no later than 4 days after harvest. Second, do not pickle or canned them. Otherwise, they will become bitter and rubbery. Thirdly, do not season the mushrooms with a lot of seasonings, otherwise you will kill their unique taste.

Precautionary measures

There are many plants that look like deer legs. Many of them are quite poisonous. Therefore, if you are new to this business, then ask an experienced mushroom picker to tell and show how to correctly collect and distinguish deer legs from other plants.

Remember that after harvesting, before cooking, you must rinse and process them well, because if not cooked correctly, they can have a serious negative effect on your body.

Do not harvest near the pistes, as the plants quickly absorb toxic substances.

These strange mushrooms in the Primorsky Territory are no less popular than "ordinary" mushrooms. There are practically no poisonous mushrooms among the Deer Horns, although a number of not tasty and not entirely edible mushrooms are represented quite widely. It is quite simple to find bright beautiful mushrooms in the forest - Deer antlers or as they are also called Coral mushrooms. Like most tree mushrooms, antlers prefer the rotten wood of fallen trees. By the names it is easy to guess on the wood of which tree this or that mushroom grows.

Although the taste qualities of reindeer horns are close to the most delicious mushrooms, they are not cultivated, growing under artificial conditions mushrooms that are less demanding and more productive.
In the forest, on fallen trees, you can easily pick up bags of mushrooms in a matter of minutes. Reindeer horns form whole clusters on the trunks, and the convenience of collection makes harvesting these mushrooms a pleasure. ...

There is a widespread belief that these mushrooms are not suitable for classical cooking and the recipes for preparing these mushrooms are complex and not varied. This is fundamentally wrong. The author considers antlers the most convenient mushroom for preparing and preparing dishes.
You can easily get acquainted with my recipes by clicking on the link right under the description of the mushroom.

Deer antlers have been bearing fruit since the middle of summer, but it has been noticed that it is in the fall that these mushrooms acquire a truly magnificent taste. I personally like the grown antlers. on old fallen oak trunks, these mushrooms have a pleasant sweetish taste and do not deteriorate for a long time during transportation. Mushrooms grown on linden or poplar are more juicy and fleshy, and antlers growing on rotting wood of pines and cedars are much less tasty, they are not considered medicinal mushrooms and are used in traditional folk medicine as a remedy for worms, hypochondria, and even for rheumatic diseases of the joints.

Although it is difficult to make a mistake in collecting antler mushrooms, always be careful! Most cases of mushroom poisoning are due to illiteracy and negligence, when an inexperienced mushroom picker mistakes a poisonous mushroom for an edible one. Sometimes poisoning occurs with ready-made salted, pickled or canned edible mushrooms due to improper preparation or storage. It should be remembered that some edible mushrooms eaten raw (or undersalted or undercooked) can also cause mild poisoning. We should not forget that some people have an individual intolerance to mushrooms.

Mushrooms have become a fairly popular food product with a high gastronomic value for a very long time. In addition to the traditional, familiar representatives of the mushroom kingdom, there are also quite exotic ones that have an unusual appearance, for example, deer horns, looking at which, it is not immediately possible to understand that these are mushrooms.

Biological description

Deer horns (golden ramaria, yellow ramaria), belonging to the gomf family, have a rather specific and beautiful tree-like shape, really reminiscent of branched deer antlers or fancy sea coral. Apparently for this, among the people they are also called horns or coral mushrooms. Their body consists of dense, thickened matte twigs with forked tips and small, brittle thorns. On the substrate, they are attached with a dense and short white leg, narrowed towards the bottom. Its height ranges from 2 to 10 cm, and its diameter is from 5 to 10 cm.


The outer surface of young specimens can have a beige, milky or yellow color of various shades, while in old ones it changes to bright orange. Initially, mushrooms grow, as a rule, vertically, and over time they begin to bush, their branches disintegrate and drop somewhat. Their the size can reach twenty centimeters in diameter and the same height, and weighs three kilograms.

But at the same time it is recommended to collect small, young mushrooms with a pleasant taste and sweet aroma, as well as tender, dense, fragile white pulp, which becomes brown in color when cut or broken. Old and large specimens become bitter, harsh and completely unsuitable for human consumption. The bitterness does not go away from them either during the steeping process, or during cooking and further processing.


Location

On the territory of our country, deer horns are most often found in the Far East, in Western and Eastern Siberia, the foothills of the Caucasus, as well as in Karelia. They can be found in both deciduous and coniferous forests, especially pine. They grow on rotten stumps, trees, less often on soil covered with various types of moss. But it is believed that the most delicious are specimens found in humid, shaded places in oak, aspen and birch groves.

Although deer horns are considered rare mushrooms, and even listed in the Red Book, sometimes you can find places where they grow in large groups in a row or in a ring. They are usually collected from mid-summer to early winter, depending on the region of growth. In places with very warm climates, they are found even in winter. Interestingly, this type of fungus is not damaged by worms.

Reindeer horns: collection (video)

Cooking methods

Despite the fact that antlers are classified as mushrooms of the fourth category due to the characteristic bitterness during the growth process, they are quite tasty when young and can be prepared in the same way as most other edible mushrooms.

Immediately after collection, they are divided into small parts, washed, boiled and a wide variety of dishes are prepared: fried, stewed, added to soups and salads. They also make sauces, fillings for pies, dumplings and various preparations for the winter (salting, pickling, freezing). The cooked antlers are reminiscent of the taste of chicken or shrimp. For example, for a start, you can prepare those completely simple dishes, the recipes for which are given below.

Mushroom salad

Ingredients:

  • deer horns (boiled) - 200 grams;
  • carrots - 200 grams;
  • medium-sized onion;
  • - 2 teeth;
  • apple cider vinegar - 2 tablespoons;
  • vegetable oil - 1 tablespoon;
  • salt, black pepper, herbs.


Cooking method:

  1. Combine chopped mushrooms with carrots, chopped into thin strips, chopped garlic, add salt, pepper, half of the vinegar, vegetable oil to them and let stand for about half an hour.
  2. Cut the onion into half rings and pickle in the remaining vinegar.
  3. Mix mushrooms with onions and chopped herbs.

Reindeer Horn Soup

Ingredients:

  • deer horns - 500 grams;
  • water - 3 liters;
  • carrots - 200 grams;
  • potatoes - 500 grams;
  • onions - 100 grams;
  • green peas (canned) - 200 grams;
  • garlic - 3 teeth;
  • butter - 100 grams;
  • cheese - 100 grams;
  • salt, black pepper, herbs.


Cooking method:

  1. Boil the mushrooms for half an hour, cool and divide into small strips.
  2. Cut potatoes, carrots and onions into small cubes, put them in boiling water and cook until tender.
  3. Add mushrooms, green peas, salt and pepper to boiled vegetables and leave the soup to simmer over low heat for another fifteen minutes.
  4. Put cheese, grated on a fine grater, butter and herbs in the finished dish. Before serving, you can add sour cream or cream to the soup.

Precautionary measures

You should be aware that there are a fairly large number of mushrooms that resemble deer horns in appearance. Many of them are inedible or even poisonous. Therefore, beginners need to start collecting them under the guidance of experienced mushroom pickers.

Also they should be well washed and processed, especially those that are harvested for future use, because even edible mushrooms, if improperly prepared and stored, can pose a serious danger. In addition, you should not collect them along the roads and in other polluted places where they accumulate a large amount of toxic substances.

How to cook reindeer horns (video)

As you can see, deer horns are not only an exotic decoration of the forest, but also an excellent product that will allow you to prepare many interesting and tasty dishes, both for the everyday menu and for the festive table. And for those for whom "mushroom hunting" is a hobby or active recreation, their search and collection will bring real pleasure.