The Cauliflower mushroom (Sparassis crispa) is a good edible!
Where to find it and how to prepare it? We tell you everything in the following!
Is The Caulifower Mushroom Edible?
Cauliflower mushrooms are one of the most delicious wild mushrooms you can find!
They’re a quite easy to identify but not that easy to find!
What Is The Cauliflower Mushroom Good For?
Cauliflower mushroom is anti-microbial and anti-tumour. It improves your skin health and immune system. Indeed, this mushroom contain a nutrient (sparassol) which is known to have many medical properties.
Where Are Cauliflower Fungus Found?
Soil
The ideal soil for Cauliflower fungus is a slightly acidic one.
We offer Mushroom Maps on your website to help you locate the best mushroom spots in your state, including Morels, Porcini mushrooms, Chanterelles, Black trumpets, and more. Have fun!
Trees
Sparassis grow exclusively under conifers! No need to imagine finding them elsewhere. Moreover, we have noticed that they grow particularly well under pines!
If you want to increase your chances of finding it, we therefore recommend that you look for it exclusively under pines.
Cauliflower Mushroom Season
Cauliflower are harvested in Autumn.
We record a large number of harvests on our Facebook group between September 20 and October 20, every year.
It seems that this period is particularly suitable for harvesting sparassis!
How To Clean It?
The structure of the Sparassis (The cauliflower mushroom) makes it particularly difficult to clean!
That said, there are fairly simple techniques to clean your Sparassis and remove as much dirt and insects as possible…
Here are the steps for cleaning your Sparassis:
- Remove the base of the Sparassis.
- After having detached the different parts of the base of the Sparassis, immerse them in cold water with 2 tablespoons of white vinegar.
- Gently stir your Sparassis branches so that the movements of the water help you remove dirt.
- When your Sparassis is cleaner, cut each branch into 2 or 3 and run them under cold water.
- Your Sparassis is now cleaned! You can now, for a culinary preparation, blanch it in boiling (salted) water for 6 minutes and then cook it as you wish!
How To Preserve It?
To preserve it, there are 2 main options that work very well:
- Freezing: Before freezing, please follow the steps just above. When it is blanched, you can freeze it without any problem! You can even go even further and cook it and then freeze your preparation.
- Drying: for drying, it’s really simple. All you have to do is break it up into small pieces and dry it with an oven or dehydrator.
What Kind Of Fungus Looks Like Cauliflower?
- Hen of the woods
- Black-staining polypore
- Eastern Cauliflower Mushroom
Find Mushrooms With Our Maps!
We offer Mushroom Maps on your website to help you locate the best mushroom spots in your state, including Morels, Porcini mushrooms, Chanterelles, Black trumpets, and more. Have fun!
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