Crazy! People who don’t have cats are starting to pick up Hericium erinaceus!

People who want to pet cats but can’t get them are collectively experiencing hallucinations on Xiaohongshu!

Driven by the desire to pet a cat, and under the magic of cat-sucking, the Hericium erinaceus in the eyes of this netizen has transformed into a kitten . He reached out his hand and gently and lovingly stroked the "hair" of the "hericium erinaceus", fearing that he would disturb the "hericium erinaceus"'s sweet dream.

Touching the depths of his emotions, the netizen picked up a comb and carefully combed the "hair" of this actually large fungus, and gave everyone an exciting suggestion: Friends who don't have cats can pet the Hericium erinaceus! It's really cool!

Video source: Xiaohongshu user @李妙喵

The comments are full of rational concerns:

“Sometimes I worry about the mental state of some netizens.”

“Have you become so humble?”

"It was understandable at first, until the comb was taken out."

It cannot be denied that there is a huge difference between petting Hericium erinaceus and petting a cat .

We have a friend in the editorial department who has experience petting cats and soaked Hericium erinaceus. She said that the soaked Hericium erinaceus feels a bit sticky, which is very different from the feel of cat hair.

But at the same time, we cannot ignore the cat-petting needs of people who don’t have cats .

On Xiaohongshu, the desire to pet cats makes people close their eyes and make up their minds, thinking that tea tree mushrooms and foxtail grass are cats and petting them (dog: Isn’t it called foxtail grass?). They are indeed all weird people, but they are all completely understandable weird people.

In short, we are willing to do our part to help everyone get a Hericium erinaceus that looks as much like a cat as possible and is as pleasing to your taste as possible.

I like the ones that are foamy, not the fresh ones.

First of all, you should buy dried Hericium erinaceus and pick it after soaking it, instead of picking fresh Hericium erinaceus directly.

The furry part on the outside of Hericium erinaceus is called the thorn. The thorn of fresh Hericium erinaceus is soft and contains more water. It will break if you pinch it with a little force . It feels very different from cat hair.

The spines of fresh Hericium erinaceus are too thick and plump丨youtube@FreshCap Mushrooms

After the dried Hericium erinaceus is soaked, the water content is lower than that of the fresh Hericium erinaceus, and the spines will be more flexible and stronger, barely closer to cat hair .

The appearance of the soaked Hericium erinaceus after squeezing out the water, the "hair" is thinner and tougher丨youtube@1228 cooking

Pet the long-haired ones, not the coral-headed ones

There are two main types of Hericium erinaceus available on the market. One is the furry one in the video, which looks a bit like a cat.

There is also a coral-shaped Hericium erinaceus , which has many branched thorns and looks more like cauliflower. It is not smooth and difficult to rub.

Coral-shaped Hericium erinaceus, who wants to play with it? | Wikimedia commons@Christian Ferrer

Cultivated ones are better than wild ones

The biggest feature of Hericium erinaceus is that its hairy appearance can absorb the flavor of dishes very well (but it is a bit of a test for your teeth).

Hericium erinaceus braised pork, very tasty at first glance | Tuchong Creative

Because of this, when people cultivate Hericium erinaceus, they tend to cultivate its "hair" longer and denser , so that it can better absorb the soup and sauce in dishes. Compared with the wild Hericium erinaceus that grows randomly, the artificially cultivated Hericium erinaceus is more like a cat.

Artificially cultivated Hericium erinaceus grows with the big head facing downwards丨《Field Demonstration Show》

The terrifying growth of Hericium erinaceus丨wikimedia commons@Lebrac

If you are addicted to petting hairless cats, it is recommended to pet mushrooms.

The feel of these two may be more similar丨TuChong Creative

Do you prefer petting white cats or black cats?

In the video, the netizen is stroking an orange Hericium erinaceus. In fact, the color of the "mushroom cat" can also be selected as needed.

Freshly picked Hericium erinaceus is very light in color, close to white .

From birth to thriving growth of Hericium erinaceus丨youtube@StoneAgeMan

Many dried Hericium erinaceus are a little yellow because the fresh Hericium erinaceus undergoes oxidation and discoloration during the drying process. As the storage process continues, the color will continue to oxidize and darken, making it look like the color of an orange cat.

Hericium erinaceus as dried food丨youtube@1228 cooking

If you buy white or light-colored dried Hericium erinaceus, you can leave it for a while to let its color gradually deepen and turn into a less fresh orange or brown. If you like black cats, wait a few more days for it to turn black, but the texture will also become worse, so you can judge the scale yourself (just rub it at this time, don't eat it).

This blogger soaked the Hericium erinaceus for too long, and the area pointed by the red arrow has begun to turn black丨youtube@Veggie KitchenVeggie Kitchen

Assuming there are extreme people who like smelly cats (such as Phoebe in "Friends"), you can soak the Hericium erinaceus in water for a few more days. The temperature during this period is also suitable for cultivating spoiled and smelly "Hericium erinaceus cats".

Most importantly, Hericium erinaceus is food! Don’t just eat it all, avoid wasting food, we have to eat it!

Finally, a benefit.

There are many people like me who are more interested in dogs than cats. When you go out in winter, remember to touch the hard buds of the magnolia .

The feeling is like stroking the forehead of a short-haired dog, so cool.

Remember it must be winter丨TuChong Creative

The joy of first discovery丨Mobile screenshot

Author: Ke Binrong, Li Xiaokui

Editor: luna, Li Xiaokui

This article is reproduced with permission from Guokr (ID: Guokr42)

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