Apple juice (lat. Aagrocybe aegerita) is an edible mushroom from the family Cyclocybe. It is considered one of the higher quality mushrooms. It has a sweet taste and smells like flour.
Apple mushroom, from the Latin agrocybe aegerita, agros – field, cybe – head, is an edible mushroom from the stubble family, for which the following names are also used: agaricus cylindraceus, pholiota cylindracea, togaria cylindracea and pholiota leochroma. It is popularly known as poplar. It got its name because it often grows next to apple trees.
This mushroom is called poplar mushroom in English, in German Südliche Ackerling and Südlicher Schüppling, in Italian piopparello and pioppino, in Spanish seta de chopo, in Slovenian topolovka and poplar nivnica. It has been known since ancient times, and the ancient Romans appreciated its taste.
The apple tree has a hat 5 to 20 cm in size, initially it is yellowish brown, its edge is highly bulging and bright, and later it takes on a brown color, becomes flattened, pitted, sinuous, cracked, fleshy. It has thick, rather thin, wide leaves, which are white (possibly yellowish-gray) at the beginning, and later turn brown and become attached to the stem. It has a white, thin stem. It is rarely chunky. It is full, usually curved, 4 to 15 cm high and 1 to 2 cm thick. The flesh of the cap is white, soft, thick, juicy. The meat of the pod is fluffy and fibrous and very tasty. The spores are smooth and elliptical, and the spores are brown.
The apple tree grows from May to October. It most often grows on moist surfaces such as the base of trees or dead deciduous trees or rotten stumps (mostly apple trees, but also willow and poplar, to a lesser extent elm, ash, linden, elder, horse chestnut, apple).
It should also be noted that apple mushroom is quite easy to distinguish from other types of mushrooms. However, there is a species that is similar to it, which is the destructive weevil (pholiota destruens or pholiota populnea). It grows on dead poplars (on which apple trees can also grow), but in smaller groups than apple trees. Destructive čehavka has whitish scales and a pith, but mostly it does not have a ring, and this is what distinguishes it most from apple wine. It is not poisonous, but it is not edible either.
Information
Latin: Aagrocybe aegerita
English: Poplar mushroom
Family: Cyclocybe
Habitat: on moist surfaces (tree bases, dead deciduous trees, rotten stumps)
Growing time: from May to October
Cultivation: substrate (straw)
Use: for medicinal purposes and in cooking
Edible mushrooms
Planting
The apple tree is cultivated in the same way as the oyster tree. When planting apple cider, the most important thing is that the space receives enough light, that the humidity is high and that there is a good flow of fresh air.
It is preferable to use straw as a substrate when growing apple trees (we can choose wheat, rye or barley straw, but also corn, poplar or willow sawdust, and beech sawdust should be avoided because it has not proven to be good for growing).
We put the straw in a potato sack and heat it for an hour in a cauldron full of water. It is important that the straw is under water all the time during cooking. After an hour, remove the straw from the bag, drain and let it cool.
Then we mix the straw with mushroom mycelium and put it in plastic bags. We pack it all well so that the mycelium can later break through the straw. During the incubation period, the ideal temperature is 24 degrees Celsius, and it does not matter if the bag is in a closed or open space.
For several days, i.e. until the mycelium grows, we keep the mixture in a warm place. After the mycelium has grown, we drill holes 2 to 3 cm wide on all sides of the bags.
As for the space where we will leave the bags, it is important that the conditions regarding light, humidity and air flow are met, and the bags can be placed on shelves or we can hang them somewhere.
Harvest
After about a week, the mushrooms grow to a size suitable for harvesting. They grow in waves, about every month. Of course, the first wave gives the most yield, and each subsequent one is poorer (until the mycelium is completely exhausted).
If it grows in nature, the advantage is that it can grow more than once in the same place (3 to 4 times a year in one place). Rather, the mycelium appears until the wood on which it grows is completely exhausted. If it grows on a tree, the growth area of apple cider is from 15 to 30% of the tree area. It grows in groups, that is, clumps.
Medicinal properties
Many believe that regular consumption can help treat headaches, dizziness, nausea and fever, and they call it the “medicinal mushroom of China”.
Apple cider is very rich in amino acids, it contains as many as eight of them. There are 81.33 mg of amino acids in 100 grams of cider. It is especially important to point out that it contains an α-amino acid called methionine. It is very important for the normal functioning of the body, and above all it helps the proper exchange of substances in the human body and the regulation of blood pressure. It helps in the treatment of high blood pressure, i.e. hypertension.
It is also a source of natural antibiotics, the most famous of which is the peptide agrocybin, which helps in the treatment of a large number of parasitic fungi and bacteria.
Apple cider also contains lectin, a compound that helps lower blood glucose and acts as an immunomodulator in cancer.
Apple cider vinegar in cooking
Apple mushroom is considered one of the highest quality mushrooms, and it can be prepared in several ways.
It is especially popular in French cuisine (mostly in the south of France). It is considered one of the better quality mushrooms and is particularly suitable for Mediterranean dishes. A hat is used to prepare food. It goes well with pork, pasta, rice, sausages, polenta. It is also good as an ingredient in soups, sauces and marinades. It is especially recommended to grill, fry or stew. It has the smell of rancid flour, and the taste is similar to the taste of hazelnuts (sweet).
It is preserved either in oil or in the freezer. It can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week (because it becomes crunchy). Also, due to its tendency to rot, it cannot be dried and thus consumed.
Interesting things
The apple tree is widely distributed in the subtropical zone, and thrives both on plains and in mountainous areas. In Croatia, it is most often found in Istria, Kvarner and Dalmatia, and less often in continental areas. It is mostly consumed in the south of Europe and France, but it is also known to be consumed in America, China, Korea, Japan and Australia.
Author: SV, Photo: Jose Luis Cernadas Iglesias / Wikimedia