What composition is fraught with a valuable maitake mushroom, what useful properties it has, are there any contraindications to use, how to cook a ram mushroom.
Harm and contraindications to the use of maitake
Sheep mushroom is considered not only useful, but also safe. However, there are some minor restrictions on its use.
The list of contraindications for maitake is not numerous. It includes individual intolerance, which is expressed by the development of an allergic reaction. Also, certain restrictions exist for some categories of people.
These include:
- Pregnant and lactating women … It is worth refusing to eat oak tree polypyl during the period of gestation and during breastfeeding, because the effect of the product is not fully understood.
- Patients with diabetes mellitus … Caution should be exercised when dealing with maitake dishes in the presence of hypoglycemia, because they lower the sugar content. It is also dangerous to combine it with taking sugar-lowering drugs, because the effect is multiplied, and there is a high probability of irreversible consequences, up to death.
- Hypotonic … The described mushroom is famous for its ability to lower blood pressure, which is unacceptable in the presence of hypotension.
- Children under 12 years old … There is no substantiated data on the safety of using maitake by children.
It is highly undesirable to eat a sheep mushroom at least two weeks before the planned surgical intervention, because there is a danger of difficult control of blood sugar levels.
Also, do not abuse this medicinal mushroom, because in large quantities, it can lead to indigestion.
Avoid eating oak tree polypil collected near highways and large cities, because any mushroom has the ability to absorb harmful substances.
Maitake recipes
The ram mushroom is a welcome guest on the table, although it is quite rare. It is widely demanded by culinary experts from different countries for its peculiar aroma and pleasant taste. Fried, boiled and dried, it is added to soups, salads, sauces. It goes well with meat, fish and vegetables. Sometimes used as a condiment. It is noteworthy that dried mushrooms have the most pronounced taste characteristics.
With maitake, the recipes are very simple. We offer several options for cooking these miraculous mushrooms:
- Boiled maitake mushrooms … They are usually used as an ingredient in other dishes. Although they are occasionally used as a side dish. Only young mushrooms should be eaten. It is not difficult to distinguish them - the young fruit is light in color and small in size. After thorough cleaning of soil, leaves and other contaminants, curly fruits are cut into pieces of the desired size. Place in a saucepan and cover with double volume of water. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, and then reduce heat to a minimum. During the cooking process, add salt, bay leaves, black and allspice peas. The duration of cooking from the moment of boiling is 8 minutes. Then the water is completely drained. For dressing, you can use creamy soy sauce.
- Miso soup … This is a traditional Japanese dish. It prepares very quickly. First, the mushrooms are prepared. According to the recipe, it is allowed to use maitake in any form. Dried ones are pre-reduced in warm water, fried ones are cooked in a pan with a little oil, and boiled ones are cooked with the addition of soy sauce in a large amount of water. Water (2 L) is poured into a small saucepan and brought to a boil, miso paste (3-4 tablespoons) and soy sauce (2 tablespoons) are added. Prepared mushrooms (300-400 g), diagonally chopped leeks (1-2 pieces), green onions (8-10 stalks), diced tofu, and small pieces of nori are added to a saucepan and boiled for 2 minutes. Rice wine (2-3 tablespoons) can serve as an excellent addition.
- Fried chicken breasts with maitake and wine sauce … Chicken breasts (600-800 g) are rubbed with salt and pepper, then fried in a small amount of oil for 6-8 minutes on the side where the skin is. Transfer to a baking sheet. Dip the curly mushroom (500 g) in the remaining oil and spread next to the breasts. Bake for 25 minutes. This is enough time to fully cook the breasts and soften the mushrooms. Meanwhile, melt butter (1 tablespoon) in a frying pan, add flour (1 tablespoon), pour in chicken broth (120 ml), bring to a boil. Then add red dry wine (200-250 ml), sugar (3 g), salt (1 g). Cook until reduced in volume by half for 10 minutes, salt, pepper to taste. Before serving, a small amount of sauce is poured onto the dish, the breast and the ram mushroom are placed on top.
- Roast beef with maitake and creamy soy sauce … A piece of beef (200 g) cut into very thin slices, crush with salt and pepper. While the meat is marinated, the mushrooms are prepared (150 g) - they are washed, divided into curly elements. Vegetable oil (2 tablespoons) is added to a preheated pan, then the meat is fried on it for 3-4 minutes and removed on a separate plate. Separately, in a frying pan, heat the butter (10 g) and fry the mushrooms for about 10 minutes. Then add meat to them and fry together until cooked for 8-10 minutes. During this time, the beef absorbs the juice. Finally add soy sauce and black pepper.
Interesting facts about maitake
Maitake is called the dancing mushroom. The history describes several possible reasons why it was given such a name. According to some sources, there is a belief that before harvesting, the pickers performed a special ritual dance, which made it possible to preserve all of its healing properties. Other sources report that in the era of feudalism, poor people danced with joy upon finding this delicious valuable mushroom.
Maitake got the name "ram mushroom" due to its appearance. The pseudo-caps are very much like ram's horns.
Griffin curly is such a rare species of mushrooms in some territories of the planet that it was included in the Red Book of the Russian Federation. In this regard, the prices for this product, as well as medicines based on it, are quite high.
In China, there are special fruit tree plantations on which a ram mushroom is grown for subsequent use in cosmetology.
Most Japanese doctors are convinced that there is no more valuable and effective remedy in the treatment of many diseases in the world than a ram mushroom.
Watch the video about the maitake:
Maitake is unknown to a huge number of people. Its medicinal properties and nutritional value are unknown. Some even consider it dangerous and inedible. But the studies carried out have proven its safety and benefits for the human body, as well as its value in cooking. Therefore, when you meet him in a deciduous forest, know that this is a great success.