The tongue mushroom is a member of the basidiomycete family and the only specimen in the genus Fistulina. Distributed in oak forests. The eucalypts of Australia are full of actively parasitic specimens. Belarus has listed the Liverwort in the Red Book. Mother-in-law's tongue is edible. Combines a number of useful properties.
It also has other names - mother-in-law's tongue, wolf's tongue, liver mushroom or simply common liverwort. Now industrial conditions will be suitable for cultivating this representative of a huge kingdom. Cultivation methods were created by Japanese fungotherapists and mycologists who cultivated this variety. Belongs to the edible fourth category. The recipes are quick and easy to prepare.
Description of the liver mushroom
The liverwort mushroom can also be found under the names mother-in-law's tongue, common liverwort, liver fungus and common liverwort. The photo of the common liverwort shows that the main part of the mushroom is its cap, or fruiting body; it can reach up to 30 cm in diameter. In young fruiting bodies it is shapeless, but over time it acquires a fan-shaped or tongue-like shape. The color of the liverwort is bright red, dark purple or red-brown, the surface is shiny and smooth, slimy in wet weather. The underside of the cap is cream or yellowish in color, with small short tubes, and quickly acquires a red tint when touched.
Externally, the liverwort is very similar to a real liver
Photos and descriptions of the liverwort mushroom indicate that it does not have a pronounced stalk; it is attached to the tree trunk on a short and rigid pseudopod. The pulp of the fruiting bodies is elastic and dense, with a sour taste.
How and where does mother-in-law's tongue mushroom grow?
You can find liverwort in Russia everywhere in temperate climates - it grows in the middle zone and in Siberia, in the Far East. For the growth of mother-in-law's tongue, it usually chooses deciduous and mixed forests and grows on tree trunks. It is usually seen on oak and chestnut trees. Liverwort often coexists with larches, spruces and pines.
The common liverwort mushroom belongs to the category of annuals; it usually appears on trunks in a single order, and is located at the bottom of the trunk, almost near the ground. It is collected from mid-July to October.
Liverwort grows on deciduous trunks at the very roots
Other names
The mushroom has quite a few synonymous names. In English-language literature, chestnut and oak tongue, mushroom steak, and ox tongue are found. And this is simply explained: a bright appearance evokes many associations, which are enshrined in popular names:
- bugloss;
- liverwort mushroom;
- Mother-in-law's tongue.
Mature liver mushroom stains your fingers deeply red, so wear gloves when picking it.
Is mother-in-law's tongue an edible mushroom?
Mature liverworts are not suitable for consumption as their flesh becomes too tough. But the young fruiting bodies are quite edible and highly valued in cooking. They have a delicate taste with a slight sourness.
Doubles and their differences
The photo and description of the liver mushroom are so atypical that it is difficult to confuse it with other mushrooms. But the liverwort also has twins, similar mushrooms with minor differences.
Bristle-haired polypore
The liverwort and bristle-haired polypore are similar in size, structure and color. However, mushrooms have fundamental differences. Thus, the bristle-haired polypore most often has a fruiting body, which consists of several fused caps. Its color is not as rich as the liverwort, but rather red-orange when young and very dark when mature. The flesh of the bristle-haired tinder fungus is brown, not pink, and the surface of the mushroom is covered with small hairs.
Attention! The bristle-haired tinder fungus is not suitable for consumption because it is a toxic mushroom. If confused with the edible liverwort, it can lead to poisoning.
Lumpy tinder fungus
Another lookalike of the liverwort is the lumpy polypore, which grows primarily on deciduous stumps and fallen trees. The similarity between the mushrooms lies in the fan-shaped structure of the cap, as well as in the tubular structure of the hymenophore.
Mushrooms can be distinguished from each other by color; the lumpy tinder fungus is usually light brown in color without a pronounced reddish tint. The lower layer of the fruiting body of the mushroom becomes dark gray or brown with age.
The lumpy tinder fungus can also be distinguished by the woody smell of its pulp, and it can be found on tree trunks not only in late summer and autumn, but throughout the year. The mushroom is not suitable for human consumption.
The nutritional value
The nutritional value of Fistulina Hepatica lies in the large range of vitamins and minerals that are included in its composition. But the exact values depend on the area in which it grows and what microelements the soil is saturated with.
In any case, it remains a biologically active product that has the ability to inhibit (suspend) the growth of tumor cells. Due to the combination of high antitumor activity and a set of natural compounds, it is a promising antitumor agent that deserves further laboratory study.
How to cook liverwort mushroom
Edible mother-in-law's tongue is actively used in cooking. There are many recipes for preparing woody liverwort; it can be consumed both with hot dishes and in cold appetizers.
How to clean liver mushroom
Before preparing mother-in-law's tongue, it is necessary to first process:
- Only the lower part of the liverwort, which has a dense structure, is suitable for consumption. The soft part is completely removed with a sharp blade when cleaning; it must be cut from the edge towards the leg.
- Since the liverwort is quite large, after cleaning it is cut into several parts, which makes it easier to boil and cook.
Before preparing the liver mushroom, it must be soaked for at least 8 hours. The liverwort is filled with cold water, the liquid is regularly drained and replaced with a new one. This should be done as the water turns red under the influence of the secreted juice.
How and how much to cook liver mushroom
After soaking, the liverwort needs to be boiled. The soaked pulp is poured with a fresh portion of water and put on fire for 20 minutes. The decoction from the mother-in-law's tongue must be drained, and the liverwort itself is used for further processing.
The liverwort needs to be soaked for a long time before cooking.
What can be prepared from liverwort
The liver mushroom belongs to the category of universal ones; many simple and healthy dishes can be prepared from it. Recipes for liverwort mushroom suggest using it:
- in soups and hot appetizers;
- in second courses;
- in combination with pasta, potatoes and any cereals;
- in salted and pickled form.
You can cook the liverwort immediately after collection, or you can preserve it and use it during the winter months. In both options, the liverwort retains valuable properties and excellent taste.
How to cook liverwort mushroom: recipes for everyday dishes
Basically, the liver mushroom is fried; this cooking method is the easiest. There are quite a lot of recipes for preparing liver mushroom, so you can eat mother-in-law’s tongue often and not be afraid of monotony.
How to fry liver mushroom with onions
A simple and budget-friendly recipe suggests frying mushroom pulp with onions. The algorithm looks like this:
- pre-boiled liverwort is cut into small pieces;
- grease a heated frying pan with oil and pour mushroom pulp and 300 g of onions, cut into half rings, onto it;
- The liverwort and onion are fried for 20 minutes;
- a couple of minutes before readiness, add 2 bay leaves, salt and pepper to your taste.
The finished dish goes well with pasta and potatoes.
The easiest way is to fry an ordinary liverwort with onions and herbs
How to fry liver mushrooms with sour cream
One of the most delicious recipes suggests frying the liverwort with sour cream. The recipe looks like this:
- fresh mushrooms are cleaned, soaked and boiled for 20 minutes;
- boiled mushrooms are washed in cold water and cut into thin strips;
- Fry the mushroom pulp in a frying pan for about 15 minutes;
- then add chopped onions and fry until the onions turn golden.
After this, 2 tablespoons of sour cream in equal quantities are diluted with water and poured over mushrooms and onions, salt and pepper to taste. The dish needs to simmer for about 5 minutes, after which a little finely chopped dill is added to the mushrooms and sour cream, stirred, covered with a lid and removed from the stove.
How to cook fried liverwort mushrooms with potatoes
It turns out very tasty if you cook liver mushroom in combination with crumbly potatoes:
- Boiled mushrooms in the amount of 1 kg are cut into thin slices.
- Cut 500 g of boiled potatoes and 2 onions into cubes.
- The mushroom pulp is fried in a frying pan until the moisture evaporates.
- Then add 2 large tablespoons of high-quality sunflower or olive oil, place onions and potatoes in a frying pan and fry the ingredients together until golden brown.
Salt and pepper the finished dish to taste; you can also add herbs and a little sour cream to the liverwort a couple of minutes before the liverwort is ready.
Liverwort goes well with potatoes and vegetables
Making liver mushroom cutlets
From mushroom pulp you can make nutritious cutlets that are in no way inferior to meat cutlets in taste. To do this you need:
- boil the liverwort and then pass it through a meat grinder along with 1 large onion;
- add a raw egg, a little flour and salt to taste to the minced meat;
- Make regular cutlets from a viscous thick mixture and roll them in flour or breading;
- fry in an oiled frying pan until golden brown.
Advice! To improve the taste, you can add a piece of hard cheese or butter to the middle of each cutlet. In the latter case, the cutlets will turn out more tender and juicy.
How to cook stewed liver mushrooms with carrots and cauliflower
Mother-in-law's tongue turns out to be very tasty if you stew it with vegetables. To do this you need:
- boil and fry fresh mushroom pulp in olive oil;
- in a separate frying pan, covered, simmer a couple of large spoons of fresh chopped carrots, no more than 200 g of cauliflower and the same amount of boiled beans, preferably white;
- mix mushrooms and vegetables, then season the hot dish with butter.
You can eat the prepared product together with potatoes or pasta, or you can eat it in its pure form.
You can make tasty and satisfying cutlets from the liver tinder fungus
Mother-in-law's tongue mushroom shashlik recipe
You can make delicious kebab from the nutritious mushroom pulp. The recipe looks like this:
- 500 g of boiled liverworts and 200 g of fresh lard, cut into large cubes;
- 2 large onions, cut into large thick rings;
- the ingredients are threaded onto skewers and fried over coals in the standard way.
Shortly before the kebab is ready, salt and pepper it, you can also add aromatic herbs, your favorite spices, teriyaki sauce or ketchup.
How to cook roast with mushrooms Mother-in-law's tongue
It’s very quick and easy to make a flavorful roast from liverwort. The recipe suggests:
- cut 500 g of boiled liverworts into large pieces and fry in a frying pan over high heat with butter for 10 minutes;
- coarsely chop 200 g of onions and medium carrots;
- add vegetables to the frying pan with the mushroom pulp, also add 4 chopped garlic cloves;
- fry the ingredients for several minutes;
- add a little water to the pan and cover it with a lid;
- simmer the liverwort with vegetables for another 10 minutes.
Then the dish is salted to taste, a little black pepper and coriander are added, and then simmered until the mixture in the frying pan acquires a thick consistency. The finished roast is laid out on plates and decorated with herbs.
Roast liverwort is not inferior in nutritional value to meat dishes
Where does the spittle grow?
Plutei usually live on the remains of dead wood, as well as on stumps, dead wood, and soil rich in rotted wood. Sometimes white rot is caused on living trees. They are found mainly in deciduous forests, rarely in gardens and parks.
— Advertising —
Representatives of this genus are distributed on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica. Among them there are both cosmopolitan species and rare ones.
Recipes from liver mushrooms for the winter
Liverwort can be used not only fresh. The mushroom is often prepared for the winter; there are many recipes for processing it.
How to pickle liver mushroom
The easiest way to preserve mother-in-law's tongue for the winter is by salting it. The algorithm looks like this:
- Boil the mushrooms, peeled and cut into thin strips, for 25 minutes and cool;
- add a layer of salt into a sterile large jar, add a little pepper and chopped garlic;
- lay a dense layer of mushrooms on top, and then cover them again with salt and spices.
You need to alternate layers until the jar is full, with the last layer consisting of salt and seasonings. If desired, you can add a little cloves, bay leaves and dill to the pickling. Add 1 large spoon of vegetable oil to the filled jar, then seal the container and put it in the refrigerator for 40 days until fully prepared.
Common liverwort can be salted for long-term storage
How to pickle mother-in-law's tongue mushroom in a cold way
To prepare a cold marinade you need:
- Boil the liverwort in salted water and cool;
- Place mushrooms and onions cut into half rings in the amount of 5 onions in a sterile jar in layers;
- in a separate container, dilute 30 g of salt in 500 ml of water, add 5 black peppercorns, a couple of bay leaves and 100 ml of vinegar;
- Pour the cold marinade over the mushrooms and tightly seal the jar with a lid.
The essence of the cold method is that the marinade does not need to be boiled, so the cooking process takes less time. Pickled liver mushrooms will be ready for use in a week.
How to pickle liver mushroom hot
In the hot method, the liverwort is marinated according to the same procedure, but the marinade is pre-boiled. In addition, the proportions and composition of the ingredients differ.
- 2 kg of liverwort are pre-boiled; this must be done three times for 20 minutes, each time washing the mushroom pulp;
- at the same time, prepare the marinade in a separate container - add a couple of large spoons of vinegar to 500 ml of water, a large spoon of sugar and salt, 8 allspice peas, 3 bay leaves, garlic and horseradish to taste;
- Boiled mushrooms are placed in clean prepared jars and boiling marinade is added, and a couple more large spoons of vegetable oil are added on top.
The jars are rolled up and cooled under a warm blanket, after which they are put in the refrigerator.
Liverwort is suitable for hot and cold pickling
How to dry mother-in-law's tongue mushrooms for the winter
A popular method of harvesting liverwort is drying. It is very simple to implement. Fresh liverwort is cleaned of adhering debris and blades of grass, then cut into small strips and dried in the open air for several hours.
When the juice has drained from the liverwort and the pieces have dried slightly, they will need to be strung on a thread and hung in a dry place with good ventilation. You can also dry the liverwort on a baking sheet in an open oven, preheated to just 50 degrees. Store dried mushrooms in a paper or fabric bag in a dark and dry cabinet, and you can add them to soups and main courses.
Important! Before drying, the liverwort does not need to be boiled, just clean it properly.
How to freeze liver mushrooms
For long-term storage, liverwort can also be frozen. Fresh mushroom bodies are boiled in salted water and washed, then put in a colander and wait until all the water has completely drained.
Then the liverwort is cut into small pieces, placed in plastic containers and sent to the freezer. Frozen mushrooms can be stored for 9 months while maintaining all their beneficial properties.
How to prepare caviar from mother-in-law's tongue mushrooms for the winter
An unusual way to prepare liverwort mushroom is delicious mushroom caviar. To prepare it you need:
- chop and fry a large onion in olive oil until golden brown;
- add finely chopped medium carrots and 500 g of boiled mushroom pulp;
- Fry the liverwort and vegetables for about 15 minutes, stirring regularly;
- salt and pepper the finished dish to taste;
- Cool slightly and mince the liverwort and vegetables.
Liverwort caviar is suitable for use with sandwiches
The crushed ingredients are sent back to the frying pan and fried for another 10 minutes, after which they are placed in a half-liter sterile jar and filled with 1 large spoon of vinegar. You can eat mushroom caviar with sandwiches or as a filling for pancakes and dumplings.
Beneficial properties of liver mushrooms
The liverwort is popular in cooking not only because of its pleasant taste, but also because of its numerous beneficial properties. The mushroom pulp contains vitamins PP and D, ascorbic acid, phosphorus and potassium, and a large number of protein compounds.
With regular use, liverwort can improve digestion and improve metabolic processes. Eating mushroom pulp is useful for increasing immune resistance and for protecting against colds, for cleansing and rejuvenating the body. It is believed that mother-in-law’s tongue serves as a good prevention of oncology, the mushroom is also useful for anemia, it quickly replenishes the lack of valuable substances.
Restrictions and contraindications
In some conditions, mother-in-law's tongue can be harmful to the body. It is not recommended to use it if:
- gout;
- individual intolerance;
- chronic liver and kidney diseases;
- gastritis with low acidity;
- tendency to constipation.
It is also better for pregnant women and nursing mothers to avoid liverwort. Children can eat mushroom dishes only after 10 years.
There are quite a few contraindications for the common liverwort
Is it possible to grow mother-in-law's tongue mushrooms at home?
The common liverwort is well suited for growing in a summer cottage. Breeding liverworts takes time, but very little effort is required:
- To grow liverwort, you will need to take a small oak log and soak it in cool water for a couple of days.
- After this, holes are drilled in the wood up to 7 cm in depth and up to 1 cm in diameter.
- A previously purchased mushroom stick is placed in the recesses, after which the log is placed in a shaded and humid place in the open air, in a basement or in a barn.
From time to time the log needs to be wetted; during cold weather it can be moved to a room with a temperature of about + 8 ° C. The first harvest of mother-in-law's tongue in warm conditions appears after about 3-7 months.
Distribution and collection time
Liverwort is usually harvested in mid-summer. But it can also be grown at home, so Fistulina Hepatica can grow in farms at other times of the year. Oak logs and nutrient substrate are used for cultivation.
Did you know? No one knows how many species of mushrooms actually exist in nature. Today there are more than 10,000 described species, but all mycologists agree that there are many more in the wild that have not yet been described.
Interesting facts about the liverwort
Several interesting facts are associated with the common liverwort:
- The name liverwort comes from the appearance of its flesh. When cut, the fruiting body of mother-in-law's tongue is pink with red veins and very much resembles a piece of liver.
- When cut, a fresh liver mushroom releases a reddish juice - this also enhances its resemblance to a piece of meat or liver.
- The beneficial edible mushroom is a wood parasite; it causes brown rot of the core of trees.
Liverwort pulp contains a large amount of vitamin C - the full daily value for an adult is only 100 g.
The beneficial liverwort is a parasite for the trees on which it grows.
Benefit
Liverwort is recommended for use by those who suffer from metabolic disorders. Due to the presence of special substances, mother-in-law's tongue activates the liver's production of enzymes necessary for normal metabolism. There is also a theory that this type of fungus is able to fight cancer cells, but there is no official evidence of this.
