People in the West rush to ‘hunt’ strange mushrooms that are 10 times more expensive than pork

The termite mushroom, which is not new in the West, has now become rare when the price of this mushroom suddenly skyrocketed to 10 times the price of pork, causing families and people to rush to hunt.
People in the West rush to “hunt” strange mushrooms that are 10 times more expensive than pork

1 kilogram of termite mushrooms is equal to ten kilograms of pork In An Hoa hamlet, Dong Hoa Hiep commune (Cai Be district, Tien Giang province), Mr. Ba Chan (Tran Van Chan, 60 years old) is considered a person who is quite knowledgeable in the profession of “hunting termites”. Many people said, in the mushroom season, while people rushed to rummage through the shore but could not find any mushrooms, Mr. Ba Chan leisurely walked behind, smoking while walking and still spitting out kilograms. mushroom batch. Mr. Ba Chan said: “For a long time, gourmets only love termite mushrooms that grow naturally in the gardens of the Southwest region. Mushrooms in the Southeast and artificially grown mushrooms sell for only 250,000 VND – 300,000 VND/kg, but they criticize them because they think they are not chewy and not as sweet as natural mushrooms. In the past few days, traders have shot news, anyone who can pull out termite mushrooms, they buy it for 1.4 million – 1.5 million VND/kg. Hearing this price, everyone went up to their intestines, took the effort to find it, but there were no mushrooms. Termites mushrooms are actively hunted by people “If the current average price of pork is only 140,000 VND/kg, the price of fresh, grade 1 giant freshwater prawn is less than 200,000 VND/kg, the termite mushroom price is from 1.4 million VND to 1.5 million VND/kg. too terrible,” said Mr. Ba Chan. Mr. Nguyen Van Hiep (An Hiep commune, Chau Thanh district) – a termite mushroom hunter said: The termite mushroom is increasingly scarce. Years ago, the quiet old coconut gardens in Chau Thanh, Giong Trom and Mo Cay districts grew many termites. Mushrooms often grow in coconut gardens with many rotten coconut leaves and high mounds. Where termite fungus grows, there is always a termite nest underneath. But the renovation of old coconut gardens, mixed gardens, plus the use of chemical drugs by gardeners in farming, so many termite nests were destroyed, termite fungi also reduced production, from which the price was sky-high. According to Mr. Hiep, termite mushrooms are popular with many people because they can be processed into many dishes, from popular to high-class in specialty restaurants. When termite mushrooms were still popular, on the occasion of the Doan Ngo New Year on May 5th, gardeners picked up termite mushrooms and brought them home, washed the soil, soaked in salt water to disinfect, then lightly fried with pork fat to make pancakes. considered a “delicious cat” dish. In the coconut land of Ben Tre, many people also bring um termite mushrooms with leaves, coconut milk, which is considered by connoisseurs to be many times more delicious than um eel. More sophisticated, specialty restaurants in the West also have seasoned termite mushrooms wrapped in leaves, grilled fish fat on a charcoal stove, a plate of less than 20 mushrooms priced at 100,000 VND-150,000. More simply, many people use termite mushrooms instead of meat and fish to cook soup with garden vegetables such as centella asiatica, spinach, spinach, etc., all of which are very tasty. Many vegetarians also think of a way, buy termite mushrooms to clean and then dry, to eat gradually all year to reduce cravings for specialty mushrooms. Strange stories about termite mushrooms According to Mr. Ba Chan, from the past, the gardens of Tien Giang, Ben Tre and Vinh Long have been considered as “mushroom mines”. But termite mushrooms are very strange plants. The termite fungus appears only once a year. Pay close attention, from the end of the 4th lunar month, if there are “old rotten rains” in a row for 2-3 days, then the sun has just warmed up again, in the early morning, you can hear the cold wind blowing under the trees. in the garden, that’s when the termite fungus emerges. In addition to deliciousness, termite mushrooms are also enjoyed by people because of strange stories about this natural product. But the most popular termite fungus is on the occasion of the Lunar New Year, May 5, AL, then lasts until the end of June, the season ends. Last year the termite fungus appeared anywhere, at any time, the following year it also appeared according to the same location cycle, date and time, not wrong at all. That’s why professional termite mushroom hunters often remember the place where last year’s mushrooms were plucked so that they can get there early next year, break tree branches or cut coconut leaves upside down on the predicted land where mushrooms will grow to make a mark. . This is an unwritten rule of termite mushroom hunters: If you see a place where there are tree branches, coconut ships, or other people’s bamboo scrubs to make a mark, do not jump in and pull mushrooms. But now this strange law is only valid for people in the same hamlet, and no one is obeying the termite hunters from other places, so every year there is a fight because of a dispute. win termites. Referring to the story that people often call each other that termite mushrooms are “ghost mushrooms”, not everyone can find and pluck them, Mr. Ba Chan laughs, explaining: The growth cycle of termites is very short. From the middle of the night, the termite fungus in the deep ground slowly crept up to the surface. Around 5 – 6 am, the mushrooms begin to grow, by 9 – 10 am, they will bloom, about 11-12 hours will be destroyed. Therefore, people who go to pick mushrooms have to go from the time it is still foggy, some people have to use flashlights, coconut leaf torches to pull mushrooms, for fear of being late, others will pull them all. Because the top of the mushroom cap is dark gray like the color of the soil in the garden, it is difficult to detect, especially in the twilight at dawn. Mr. Ba Chan added: “When termites were still growing a lot, every season the story of the predecessors did not see it, but the people behind saw it and pulled out a few kilograms of it, which often happened. There are even many people who pass 2-3 times past the growing mushrooms, kicking broken mushrooms without detecting, but other people see them. Or there is someone who is most admired, respected as “a master hunter of termite mushrooms” because he can smell the “smell of termites” from a distance of 20m – 30m. Many people also embroider termite mushrooms which are very “sacred” if they use their hands to pull out the mushrooms, the next year the mushrooms will continue to grow. But using a knife, a hoe, a shovel to dig up the root of the mushroom, it will never grow again. The truth is that from time immemorial no one has been able to explain why termites are incompatible with steel tools. According to people with long experience in hunting termite mushrooms, when pulling the new shoots out of the ground (with the highest selling price), they often use thin bamboo sticks to dig up the base of the mushrooms, never using a knife. iron and Steel. Termitomyces albuminosus, scientifically known as Termitomyces albuminosus, is a symbiotic fungus with termites, where there are termites, there are termite fungi. From the termite nest located deep in the ground, when the weather is favorable, it will secrete meow to develop into a fungus. Depending on the size of the termite nest, the fungus will grow more or less. Termite fungus is divided into subspecies: black termite fungus, white termite mushroom and yellow termite mushroom, in which black termite fungus (most common in the Southwest region) is the best termite fungus. In addition to being food due to its many nutritional values ​​such as rich in calcium, phosphorus, iron, protein and other nutrients, termite mushrooms are also used as medicinal herbs. Documents show that termite mushrooms are beneficial for sick and elderly people, improving immunity against cancer cells, and lowering blood sugar if eaten regularly. In addition, termite mushrooms are also beneficial for menstruation and women’s skin, so they are often used as cosmetics.