Meadow honey mushrooms belong to the family of Negniyuchnikovs. They are also called meadow negatives - this is a literal translation of the Latin name Marasmius oreades. Another name is clove mushroom due to the pleasant spicy smell of fresh pulp, reminiscent of cloves.
They are negligible because they do not rot, but dry on the vine, and after getting wet, a completely dried honey agaric begins to sow spores. Other synonyms: marasmius, meadow, meadow talker.
Description, features of the mushroom
The diameter of the cap is up to 7 cm. It has a spherical shape with a tubercle in the center. As it ages, it becomes flat and even cupped, but the tubercle remains. The color of the hat is light brown with a reddish or yellow tinge, the edges are uneven, with scars, they shine through in wet weather, and the skin becomes sticky. Such mushrooms are called hygrophanic.
The leg is thin up to 10 cm high, of one tone with a hat or slightly lighter. It is very tough, so it is not eaten. A ring characteristic of honey agarics is absent, since all the others are representatives of the Strofariyev family, and meadow ones are the Negniuchnikovs.
The records are rare and wide. They change color depending on the weather: ocher shades appear in the damp in it, and in the arid - shades of white or cream. In young mushrooms, the plates are firmly attached to the stem, and in adults they move away from it.
The flesh is slightly yellowish, not changing color after cutting. The smell is sweet and spicy, almond and clove tones are distinguishable in it. Grassland has an unusual property to glow in the dark.
Where and how meadow mushrooms grow?
They can be found in Europe, Asia, both Americas, Australia, North Africa in the meadows, in the garden, on pastures, in vegetable gardens, on forest edges and clearings, among grass and along roads. They grow in rows, arcs or large "witch circles", from May to October.
Unlike summer, autumn and winter mushrooms, meadow grass stumps do not occur; these are field mushrooms to grow; they need the remnants of last year's grass.
Mr. Summer resident warns: a dangerous double
It’s hard to confuse a meadow with something, seeing at least once. In some cases, such errors do not promise anything particularly bad, in others you can get to the hospital.
Most often, meadow meadows are confused with the forest-loving colibia, belonging to the same family of the Negniuchnikovs. They look like a colibia is also called open-air spring or forest. The mistake is not dangerous: this mushroom is conditionally edible and suitable for food after boiling. Its value is small: the hat is small, but there is no taste or smell.
Another double of the meadow is oil colibia. Her hat is a little bigger, but also with taste and smell - they are practically nonexistent. And yet it is consumed more often than forest-loving.
It is easy to distinguish a meadow from collibia. As can be seen from the picture, the last tubercles in the center of the cap are completely absent or weakly expressed. The plates in collibi are frequent, in old ones with red-rusty spots, and in honey agarics rare and even in color, regardless of age.
It is easy to distinguish them by smell: if it does not exist or gives off mold, then this is a collibia, and if you feel spicy notes, then this is a meadow.
Another "twin" - white talker (or whitish otherwise) can cause great trouble when used instead of meadow. Symptoms of poisoning appear after 30-40 minutes in the form of confusion, dizziness and severe abdominal pain. 
Meadow mushrooms
Only completely inexperienced mushroom pickers can be mistaken, since the talkers, often growing next to real honey mushrooms, have a white hat. In addition, the edge of the hat is flat and tucked inward.
Among the talkers there are edible and conditionally edible, but there are also deadly poisonous ones. There are a total of 250 species, which can only be distinguished by an experienced mushroom picker. In addition, even the most edible of them can lead to severe poisoning if consumed simultaneously with alcohol. They contain substances that act like thiuram. Along with alcohol, weakness, sweating, palpitations, and redness of the face occur, in severe cases, can lead to fainting and even death.
It happens that meadows are confused with fibrils, although they differ greatly, primarily in the color of the plates: they are gray, and then become brown. There are about 100 species of fiberglass. All of them are poisonous, affect the nervous system, poisoning manifests itself quickly.
How to distinguish false from edible?
Simple rules will help you determine if this is an edible mushroom or a false one. False:
- taller leg;
- the smell is not mushroom, they smell like earth, mold or chemistry;
- hats have a poisonous color;
- plates gray, brown or greenish.
Beneficial features
Meadow honey mushrooms, unlike autumn mushrooms, contain many vitamins B1 and C. 100 grams completely cover the daily need for them. There are many vitamins B2 and PP, there is folic acid, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, iron and manganese. The calorie content of 100g is very low - only 22 kcal, protein - 2.1 g, fat - 1.1 g, and carbohydrates - 0.6 g.
Due to the low calorie content, it is recommended to include mushrooms in diets for weight loss, as they quickly saturate.
Grassland contains marasmic acid and scorodonin - strong antibiotics that effectively suppress Staphylococcus aureus. In traditional medicine, this property has long been noticed. Meadows were used for bronchitis, pneumonia and tuberculosis.
They contain a substance that inhibits the reproduction of cancer cells.
Meadows are beneficial for thyroid disorders. In Chinese medicine, they are used for seizures, thrombophlebitis, arthritis and radiculitis.
Primary processing
After collecting mushrooms, returning home, you must immediately begin to their initial processing. Mushrooms sort out, throwing spoiled, worms and eaten by insects.
Then they are thoroughly washed, but only if they are not supposed to be dried. In this case, they are limited to dry cleaning, removing dirt with a knife and cutting out rotten places. It is convenient to use a toothbrush.
In preparation for pickling, mushrooms should be poured with warm water and left for 20 minutes. Then, the damaged areas are cut with a knife.
Cooking methods and recipes
You can cook many different dishes from meadow mushrooms. After the initial treatment, they should be quickly boiled. For 2 liters of water you need to add 1 tbsp. l salt. After 20 minutes, put onion, salt and spices, and cook for another 40 minutes, then lay in a colander. Now mushrooms are suitable for further cooking. They can be fried, cooked caviar, salted, pickled or frozen for the winter.
If the mushrooms are frozen, then after 20 minutes, the water should be drained, add boiling water and cook for another 40 minutes.
To prepare for pickling, you need to boil in the same way as for freezing, the difference is that spices are added to fresh boiling water, and they should be cooked a little longer - 60-80 minutes. Frozen and dried mushrooms are boiled in salted water for 25 minutes.
It is believed that there is no need to cook honey mushrooms for an hour, but less time is enough. Then the taste and smell will be more saturated. You can fry them before boiling.
Soup
Meadow soup is tastier than other mushrooms, including porcini, and its recipe is simple. Boil, as usual, then add potatoes, carrots, onions, spices to the broth and cook until tender. Sprinkle soup with fresh herbs.
Drying
Mushrooms are dried in a not too hot oven or control cabinet in the same way as any others. Dry honey mushrooms are very fragile and crumble into powder. If during drying knead them with your fingers, then they will tumble and will not crumble.
Meadow honey mushrooms are exceptionally healthy and tasty, although they were assigned to the 4th group according to their nutritional properties.
