Today we are going to talk about a very striking type of mushroom that makes a large number of mushroom fans go to the Andalusian and Extremaduran pastures. It is about the earth criadillas. Hobbyists travel to collect these very special types of mushrooms that appear during the spring season, mainly during the months of April and May. This type of mushroom is special since it has the peculiarity that it grows underground. It is also known by the common name of turmas or ground potatoes. It is a mushroom that belongs to the family of ternezas.
In this article we are going to tell you all the characteristics, curiosities and properties of the earth criadillas.
Key features
The scientific name of the earth criadilla is Terfezia arenaria. It is not that widespread since it is a fairly popular mushroom. It has an irregular shape and a size between 2 and 8 centimeters in diameter. The most normal thing is that we find these mushrooms with some bites of some field animals such as hares, rabbits and even sheep.
The most normal thing is that they grow on land with a more acidic pH with a sandy texture. Above all, it is usually found in greater abundance in grasslands and those associated with a herbaceous species known as turmera grass. This is where its common name comes from and it is a mycorrhizal species of the Terfezia arenaria.
For ground potatoes to grow abundantly, a lot of rainfall is needed. Its flowering and growth depends a lot on the amount of moisture in the soil. The sun is necessary to be able to contribute to the development and correct growth of the soil criadillas, but without overdoing it. Namely, a great insolation in the ground causes a loss of the humidity of the same. We must remember that mushrooms, as a general rule, mushrooms need a lot of humidity to be able to develop in good conditions. Therefore, it is necessary that these mushrooms have part of semi shade.
Harvesting the soil criadillas
These mushrooms are very special since they grow during the spring time in many parts of the peninsular areas. These fungi are of the hypogeal type and have the peculiarity that they grow underground. Usually, we can find these mushrooms between 2 and 3 centimeters underground. This makes your search somewhat more complicated, but also more satisfying to collect.
One of the main advantages of soil trays is that they do not have any possible confusion with other toxic fungi. Therefore, in this case, we should not have a section of possible confusion. This means that the most novice and amateurs of mushroom gathering can go and collect this type of specimen without any risk.
To collect these mushrooms we must be very attentive in the spring time. This is the time where this mushroom is mostly spread. It depends entirely on the rainfall and the amount of humidity in the environment. It is a rather complicated mushroom to locate and only a small part appears when I will be in the final phase of its growth. The only sign or indicator that can let us know that there is an earth criadilla is a small one in a crack or a bump. It is difficult to find.
If we want to collect this type of mushroom we will need a kind of awl to be able to stick it in the ground and pry. This is how we manage to extract the earth criadillas in good condition.
Uses of earth criadillas
These mushrooms are used in cooking and are quite popular. It has a great diversity of culinary uses, which is why it is considered a very versatile mushroom. It is capable of replacing the potato in various stews and garnishes. It can also be used for any preparation of dishes that contain eggs. It is perfect to use in tortillas, scrambled eggs, etc. There is no need to be too complicated to enjoy this delicacy. Just by cooking them for a few seconds in the microwave and adding a little oil at the end and salt, you have a pretty delicious dish.
The use of these mushrooms in the culinary field spread as a result of the civil war. This is because in the spring during the civil war it helped alleviate the hunger of the inhabitants of the rural areas. We have already mentioned in other articles that spring mushrooms they are the first to start to grow in the year. They are also highly demanded species and full of curiosities with respect to those that grow in autumn.
The earth criadillas have become a good reason to make and promote Mycotourism in rural areas. This is because all mushroom fans can enjoy this unique species of mushroom.
How to find them
As we have mentioned before, one of the main advantages that this type of mushroom has is that it does not have any type of confusion with another. This makes many fans of mycology go to the pastures to collect mushrooms of this type. To collect them you have to be very attentive in early spring and if, especially, the weather has allowed their proliferation.
Formerly it was the shepherds who best knew how to collect this type of mushroom since it is quite difficult to visualize them. Being buried is more difficult to find. However, at the end of their growth they end up emerging. Just a bump in the ground or a crack are the clues that are taken as visual reference to check that the subsoil can have a soil criadilla. We must bear in mind that various animals also love to eat this mushroom so we have non-human competitors.
Another indicator is to look for those acid soils and sandy texture where animals tend to graze. These places are better since the flocks are a good substrate for the criadillas.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about the earth criadillas.