Horse mushroomAgaricus arvensis

Yes, without restrictions. Very tasty and fragrant. Young mushrooms are best. Old specimens with wormy flesh are better left behind. The most important caveat — don't confuse it with the yellow stainer or the destroying angel (see the next questions).

By the smell and where it yellows. The yellow stainer (A. xanthodermus) smells of ink, phenol, medicinal ointment — UNPLEASANT. The horse mushroom smells distinctly of anise and almond — PLEASANT. Yellowing: the yellow stainer shows a bright chrome-yellow color at the base of the stem when damaged, within seconds. The horse mushroom shows slow, slight yellowing in the cap, not at the base of the stem. If the smell is off, or the stem yellows quickly and brightly — don't take it.

Three signs. (1) Gills: in the amanita they're WHITE at every stage. In the Agaricus they're pink when young, dark brown when mature. (2) Volva: the amanita has, at the base of the stem, a sac-like volva, like an eggshell; the Agaricus — has none. Dig up the stem, don't cut it. (3) Habitat: amanitas grow in the forest near trees. The horse mushroom grows in meadows and pastures, away from the forest. Serious confusion is unlikely, but theoretically possible at forest edges.

It's natural phenylethanol and related aromatic compounds the mushroom produces as it matures. Young, fresh fruiting bodies contain especially large amounts. It fully comes out when dried — dried horse mushroom powder is one of the most fragrant of all mushroom spices. Store it in a tightly sealed jar.

In meadows, pastures, neglected vegetable gardens, forest edges, floodplain meadows, along dirt roads. Especially abundant near livestock farms and cattle-grazing areas — the mycelium feeds on nitrogen-enriched soil. It often grows in fairy rings 3-15 m across.

All over the country: the Carpathians (polonyna mountain meadows), Prykarpattia, Polissia (floodplain meadows), the forest-steppe, the steppe. In the steppe zone it's especially abundant in the pastures of the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Odesa regions. One of the most common meadow mushrooms.

June — November, peaking in August-September. It loves warm, humid weather after summer rains. Fruiting stops after the first light frosts.

With the field mushroom (A. campestris) — also a meadow species, also edible, only smaller and without the anise smell. With the yellow stainer (A. xanthodermus) — poisonous, smells of medicine. The most dangerous mistake — with young white amanitas at forest edges; but amanitas grow near trees, not in open meadows.

Fry it Polish-style with onions and sour cream — a classic dish in which the anise aroma fully opens up. Pickle it with bay leaves and black pepper. Stew it with potatoes and meat. Dry the young caps — you get the most fragrant mushroom seasoning, a spoonful of which turns an ordinary broth into a restaurant dish. Freeze it — always boil it first.