The Criadillas de Tierra are a precious fungus also called ground potatoes, desert truffles or turmas. Despite being a delicacy in African countries, it is a native outbreak of Spain. In this article we show you its characteristics, ways to find it, the harvesting process and its use in gastronomy. Continue reading and learn more about this delicious fungus and do not miss its curious facts.
The Earth Criadilla
It is a species of fungus belonging to the kingdom Fungi or ascomycetes, it is also known by the names earth turmas, desert truffles or earth potatoes. These appear semi-buried in sandy soils. The most abundant of the criadillas is the Terfezia arenaria, which is associated with a plant with a yellow flower, although it does not occur in all cases. It serves as food for various animals such as rabbits, hares and sheep. This fungus has been consumed since ancient times by inhabitants of the Mediterranean shores. At present, the criadilla is becoming a crop that generates great economic profits.
Taxonomy
The desert truffle belongs to the fungi kingdom, ascomycota division, of the pezizomycotina subphylum of the pezizomycetes class of the pezizales order, terfeziaceae family, belonging to the Terfezia, Tirmania and Mattirolomyces genera.
Features
The earthworm is an underground fungus, which resembles a potato from 3 to 10 centimeters in diameter with an irregular shape. The peridium or outer layer is yellowish when young, when it becomes mature it turns reddish and finally turns brown. The gleba is light creamy pink, with a very mild fungal odor and a sweet taste. It develops a few centimeters from the subsoil, which makes it difficult to locate. These mushrooms, which have a tuber shape with a fleshy property, join plants such as jarilla, which is a perennial shrub, through their roots by which they are connected by filaments and in this way they receive water and mineral salts.
Macroscopic Characteristics
The criadilla has some characteristics that can be seen with the naked eye, its fruiting body is shown in the form of a truffle with irregular shapes that could reach 8 cm in diameter, which, having hypogeal growth, is normally the color of the earth. As for the peridium or protective layer, it is extremely fine to the point that it can be removed with a fingernail. In the case of not being handled correctly or hit they tend to turn black. The gleba or cultivated land is compact or intervened, which turns grayish in the non-fertile parts and blackish in the most fruitful parts. The meat of this fungus is compact and firm, its smell is not strong and it has a pleasant taste.
Location
This earth criadilla fungus can be found in desert, arid and semi-arid desert regions such as the Kalahari in South Africa, in the Mediterranean basin, countries such as Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Hungary and the Sahara desert in North Africa. . It can also be found on the European continent in the Balkan region and Spain, specifically in Andalusia, Murcia and Extremadura, where spontaneous cultivation occurs, and on the Asian continent, specifically in China.
How the Earth Criadillas are located
They are located mainly in sandy soils, in areas of herbaceous grass, better known as turmera grass, which occurs annually with small, elongated and subspatulate flowers. The search must be carried out after the rainy period, the main thing is to observe where the plant with white flowers is. Once located, it is necessary to carefully observe the soil to see if there are cracks or small mounds of earth thanks to the pressure exerted by the fungus when it reaches maturity. It is excavated on the sides so as not to damage it.
Collection forms
The ground criadillas grow during the spring time in peninsular areas, under the ground two or three centimeters deep, their good harvest will depend on the rainfall and humidity level that exists in the environment. Finding them is a bit complicated because they tend to blend into the ground, but when they are in the final phase of their growth they tend to exhibit a part of them, which generates a small crack or lump on the surface. To be able to collect them, it is necessary to have a punch that allows you to make a kind of lever to be able to extract it in good condition.
The months of greatest collection are between March and April and in less quantity in February and very little in May, all this will be determined by the rainy periods, that is, when the periods start early. Experienced collectors say that if it rains at Christmas it will be an excellent harvest, because they get bigger and fatter.
Gastronomic use
The ground criadillas or desert truffles are becoming more relevant every day in the gastronomic activity. It is among the category of food but not seasoning. It has a high concentration of antioxidants, high amounts of protein, fiber, high concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids such as Omega 3 and 6. All these properties make this food complete and highly nutritious. It is considered a gastronomic delight and in turn of great economic interest. Its consumption should be in moderate amounts since it can become indigestible even though it has very beneficial properties for health.
It is used to replace the potato in stews and as part of the decoration in different dishes. It is also used in tortillas or any other dish that contains eggs, they can be fried in oil and garlic, in gazpachos, croquettes, salads and salted bacon among many others. The criadilla is easy and quick to cook, its perfect cooking point is the same as that of the potato and its flavor is comparable to that of the mushroom.
Conservation of the Criadilla de Tierra
The mushroom must be peeled and washed until it is as white as possible by submerging it for 5 minutes in boiling water, then it is placed in a glass jar with water and sealed under vacuum if its consumption will be in a long period, but if it will be In the short term, it should only be peeled, washed and dried very well to be vacuum packed without water. In this sense, the locals believe that the ground criadilla should not be kept outside its habitat for more than 5 days, since it can be lethal to the fungus. They also do not approve of keeping them in the fridge since it significantly changes their flavor, for them the ideal is to consume them between 24 and 48 hours after extraction.
Fun facts
Did you know that the earthen criadilla have antibacterial properties and that is why they are used by the Bedouins to treat diseases such as trachoma, an eye condition that affects both eyes thanks to a bacterium called Chlamydia trachomatis that can cause blindness. The turma during the civil war was the food par excellence and helped mitigate the hunger of the inhabitants and since then it has become part of their daily diet. Currently, the collection of criadillas has become a way of doing microtourism in rural areas in search of this delicacy.
Interestingly, the largest harvests of this fungus take place during Holy Week and on Saint Joseph's Day. Did you know that the gourmet dish of the pharaohs in Egypt was the earth criadillas. In Cairo they were offered on the table of the Fatimid Caliph in 909 BC.
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