After returning from the forest, where you spent the whole day looking for mushrooms, you feel tired. However, when in the hands of a full basket of edible lunches, the heart is filled with joy and satisfaction. But this is just the beginning, because every real mushroom picker knows that there is still a lot of work ahead - the fruit bodies should be quickly processed.
Milk mushrooms are a special type of mushroom that requires some attention. In order for the prepared snack to be tasty and safe for consumption, the product must be properly peeled and soaked. Sometimes mushroom pickers ask why darkened milk mushrooms suddenly appeared in the basket, if such were not gathered in the forest, and why did they change color?
What should you do if the milk mushrooms are still dark in the basket? This sign of darkened mushrooms indicates that they remained in the air for a long time. Therefore, the color change should not scare you, this is a normal condition, and you should not throw away such copies.
After the fruit bodies have been cut, they need to be cleaned of forest debris. It is recommended to do such preliminary cleaning right in the forest, and after coming home - to continue the procedure. In this case, it is better to immediately pour the milk mushrooms with cold water, and then clean them, transferring them to another container filled with a clean portion of water.
Cleaning the lumps is quick and easy. So, the caps and legs are cleaned with a regular toothbrush. You can also use the hard side of a kitchen sponge. The peel is removed only from black milk mushrooms, which, after the cleansing process, become completely white. Do not forget that you need to remove all the mucus from the black milk mushrooms, and then clean it to whiteness.
But if the peeled milk mushrooms have darkened, is it possible to eat them or cook something from them? Very often, fruit bodies, darkened even before soaking, become lighter if they are boiled with the addition of citric acid. This ingredient can restore color to the mushrooms and whiten them.
Milk mushrooms can darken when soaked, when salted, during cooking, sometimes right in jars. There are cases that during all these processes, white milk mushrooms darken. All the options in which the milk mushrooms darken in different processing processes, as well as after cooking, are discussed in more detail below. In addition, the article explains how to solve the problem of darkened mushrooms.
What to do if milk mushrooms darken when soaked?
It often happens that when soaked, the milk mushrooms darkened, then what to do? This is the first question that arises for every housewife who has encountered this problem. It is worth saying that milk mushrooms, especially black ones, must be soaked before salting or pickling. This process takes 2 to 5 days. At the same time, the water in the mushrooms must be constantly changed: 3-4 times a day, and after each process the milk mushrooms should be washed. But what if the milk mushrooms soaked for salting darkened?
Many people face this problem, but it is quite solvable. Mushrooms, in contact with air, oxidize and darken. Perhaps not all fruiting bodies soaked in water were completely immersed in it. It is because of this that the milk mushrooms acquire a dark color, however, darkening does not affect the taste of the final product in any way.
If the milk mushrooms darken when soaked, do not worry too much and attach importance. Boiling mushrooms with vinegar or citric acid will restore their light tone. Therefore, if every culinary specialist knows how to properly soak the milk mushrooms, then there will be no darkening of the fruit bodies or their blackness.
What to do to prevent soaked milk mushrooms from darkening in water?
Advice: so that the milk mushrooms in the water do not darken, they are pressed down with a load. All the time, while the mushrooms are soaked, they must be completely submerged in water. The darkened milk mushrooms are checked for hardness, and if they are very soft and fall apart in the hands, it is better to discard such mushrooms.
Soaked milk mushrooms are cleaned right in the water, cutting off all areas damaged by worms, as well as removing overripe specimens. Large caps of fruit bodies are cut into several parts. The main purpose of soaking is not just to remove bitterness, but to give elasticity to the mushrooms. For example, white milk mushrooms are soaked for 2-3 days, while black ones for 3-5 days. Several times the water is drained and filled with new (cold) so that the mushrooms do not sour. And of course, the basic rule is to press down the milk mushrooms in the water with a load so that they do not come into contact with the air for a long time and do not darken. Each time you change the water, you need to evaluate the degree of elasticity of the fruit bodies: it may be time to salt them.
Why did the milk mushrooms darken in the jar during salting?
Everyone loves to eat milk mushrooms, especially those salted for the winter in a hot or cold way. However, everyone should know that it is best to use the hot option, which is more practical, since the mushrooms are also boiled after soaking. But sometimes it happens that after the processing process the salted milk mushrooms darkened, why did this happen? Many are shocked by this feature, suggesting a possible poisoning.
So, why did the milk mushrooms darken when salting and how can this be fixed? Experienced housewives give a recommendation never to roll up cans with blanks with metal lids. It is better to cover them with paper soaked in vodka or rubbing alcohol, which is twisted with a rope or thick thread. Often top up with calcined vegetable oil and store the snack in the refrigerator.
And the milk mushrooms in the jar darkened because they are not completely covered with brine. This is another reason for the darkening of fruit bodies that are already salted. To prevent this from happening, cold boiled water is added to the banks. This will help all the mushrooms to be well salted and stored for a long time.
Is it possible to eat darkened salted milk mushrooms and what to do if the mushrooms darkened when salted under pressure?
Some housewives ask: is it possible to eat darkened salted milk mushrooms? If the mushrooms did not remain without brine in the jars for a very short time, then they are completely poured and left for several days. You can eat such mushrooms, however, before using them, they are well washed in water several times, and only then they start tasting. I must say that you cannot poison yourself with such mushrooms, they are completely edible.
But if the milk mushrooms darkened during salting under the yoke, then it is better not to eat such mushrooms. You should not risk your health and the health of your loved ones - throw away the fruiting bodies. Perhaps an inedible species got there, or maybe the mushrooms were too old, with accumulated toxins.
Salting problems: why did the brine darken in the recently salted milk mushrooms?
Usually milk mushrooms are salted in glass jars, because oak or ceramic barrels are practically not found in stores. The mushrooms are stacked in layers and sprinkled with salt and other spices, while each layer must be tamped tightly with your hands or a stainless steel spoon.
There are times when the brine darkened when salting the mushrooms, and not the mushrooms themselves. Perhaps, in this case, salting was carried out incorrectly, all the rules and recommendations were not followed. Therefore, the fruiting bodies are removed from the jar, the brine is poured out, and the mushrooms are washed well and again filled with brine made from new ingredients.
Now, you know why the brine in the recently salted milk mushrooms darkened. You can remake it, pour mushrooms, press down in jars so that there are no air pockets, and after 30 days of salting - eat and treat your guests.
However, it happens that even with a modified salting of milk mushrooms, the brine darkens, why? In this version, all the proportions of the ingredients in the recipe may have been incorrectly observed. If there was little salt and the mushrooms were unable to receive their dose, then the brine becomes cloudy and becomes dark in color. Some replace the brine again, but many housewives boil mushrooms (if it was cold pickling) and pickle with vinegar, cloves and dill.
How to cook milk mushrooms so that the mushrooms do not darken?
Some housewives noticed that the milk mushrooms darkened during cooking, why did this happen? If the water rarely changed during the soaking of the mushrooms, then the remaining bitterness can come out during boiling - this gives a dark color to the mushrooms.
How should you boil milk mushrooms so that they do not darken? Usually, during cooking, all fruit bodies darken slightly. But some experienced mushroom pickers advise to cook the milk mushrooms whole in salted water, and only after boiling cut. You can also add garlic cloves, cut into several pieces, to the water with mushrooms, as well as dry mustard (1/2 tablespoon per 2 liters of water).
How else can you boil milk mushrooms so that they do not darken?
How can you still boil milk mushrooms so that they do not darken, and is there such an option? To reduce the oxidation process and reduce the risk of darkening of the mushrooms, citric acid, vinegar, or lemon wedges are added to boiling water. In addition, so that the mushrooms do not lose their color, they are boiled 3 times in salted and acidified water.
- The soaked milk mushrooms are laid out in an enamel pan, filled with cold water, salted.
- So much citric acid is added so that the water becomes sour.
- After 20-25 minutes, the water is drained, the mushrooms are washed and filled with new ones. The second and third time, the mushrooms can be boiled without salt and citric acid for 10 minutes.
- Such milk mushrooms can be fried, added to soups, fish soup, potatoes and all kinds of salads.
It is worth saying that salting and pickling milk mushrooms requires certain knowledge from culinary specialists regarding cooking technology and storage conditions, which will help to avoid darkening.
Why white milk mushrooms darkened and how to bleach mushrooms?
White lump is considered a mushroom of the first category with excellent taste, but even these fruiting bodies can be disappointing if they are darkened.
What to do if white milk mushrooms darken during boiling? A possible reason was old specimens that were cooked together with others. If such fruiting bodies are cooked separately, then believe me, younger white milk mushrooms will leave their color unchanged during cooking.
There is another reason why white milk mushrooms darken when boiled. During cooking, mushrooms must be completely immersed in water so that there is no contact with air. To do this, put a lid on the mushrooms, the diameter of which is less than the diameter of the pan. Then they will be in water, which eliminates the risk of discoloration.
However, if they still darken, how should the milk mushrooms be whitened, and is such a procedure possible? As already noted, before boiling, white milk mushrooms are always sorted: old specimens are selected and boiled separately from young ones. Large caps are cut into several parts, small ones are left like that. When salting or pickling, it is better to cut the legs of fruit bodies and leave no more than 1 cm, and put the cut off on other dishes. To bleach darkened white milk mushrooms, freshly squeezed lemon juice, or, as mentioned above, citric acid, is added to the water during boiling. It is this ingredient that can give the mushrooms a light shade.
The leg is thick and short. The pulp is slightly pungent. It grows mainly from early summer to late autumn. It can grow both in groups and singly. An incredibly valuable mushroom to eat. Has practically no smell.
Such mushrooms are a real trophy for mushroom pickers and berry pickers. However, finding it is not so easy. You should, of course, know what types of milk mushrooms are divided into, what it carries in terms of benefits and harms, and also what are its areas of application today.
We will tell you about this and much more in our article.
Kinds
White (Real)
This species grows mainly in forests that are completely birch or where there is a partial admixture of birch. Mushrooms appear in July and can be found until September.
The size of the cap reaches 20 cm, but no more. It is almost flat, depressed in the middle, the shaggy edges are bent down. Over time, the shape becomes funnel-shaped, covered with a small amount of mucus, the color is milky white or light yellow.
The leg can be up to 6 cm long, and its thickness does not exceed 5 cm. Smooth, white, occasionally may have yellow spots. The pulp is rather brittle, elastic with a pleasant aroma of the weight. The smell, though pungent, can hardly be disliked by mushroom lovers.
This mushroom is good because it mainly grows in families. So, you found it alone, and you will be able to collect an impressive amount. But finding them is not so easy, since often the mushroom hides under the foliage. It will take a lot of attention to get a bump of fallen leaves into your field of vision. It is on the tubercles of leaves or moss that you should pay attention to. This is the first sign of a successful search.
Such a mushroom can be eaten, but only in a salted form.
Yellow
A rare type of mushroom that is found in the northern parts of the forest. Growth starts in July and ends in September. Outwardly very similar to the Present. However, two mushrooms can be distinguished from each other due to their intense yellow color.
The product is edible, it is eaten only after salting.
Bluish
Also a rare mushroom growing mainly in Siberia and in the European part of the Russian Federation. Appears in August and occurs until October. The mushroom is in many ways similar to the Yellow, since it also has a yellow cap. However, the milky juice turns purple when exposed to air. The same shade is observed when studying the plates rarely located on mushrooms.
It is edible, eaten after pickling.
Aspen
You can find it quite rarely, it grows abundantly in poplar forests, and also likes to develop near an aspen. Appears in July, can be found until October.
The hat has a diameter of no more than 20 cm. It is flat and convex. Initially it has a depression in the middle, edges bent down. Then it takes on a funnel shape. The color is white, sometimes pink spots may appear. The plates are also white and pink.
The leg is dense, rather short, has a whitish or pinkish tint. The pulp is white, the milky juice is acrid.
This mushroom is edible and is eaten after pickling.
The black
Most often found in the northern parts of birch forests. It can also be found in coniferous forests between July and late October. The hat has a diameter of up to 20 cm, almost flat in shape. First, it is depressed in the middle, the edges are bent down. Then it becomes funnel-shaped. The middle can be sticky, olive-brown in color. The edges are lighter, the plates are brownish.
The legs of these mushrooms are short and thick. In young mushrooms, they are solid, but over time they become hollow, brownish-green in color. The pulp is white, darkens when broken.
The edible mushroom is eaten after salting. Perhaps the most resistant to salting. If you soak them well, the bitter taste will disappear, the structure will become dense and crispy.
When you throw it to cook, do not worry. Under the influence of temperature, the mushroom will begin to change in color. It turns purple at first. Then the color will turn to cherry, or maybe a bright red. Nice and tasty too.
Pepper
The plates are private, the cap is bare and not pubescent. When broken, the pulp acquires a green-blue tint. It looks like a violin. Mostly found in oak forests in the southern part. It grows from July and can be found until November. Most actively distributed in the Caucasus.
Where grows
It is interesting what we are talking about now about a purely Russian mushroom. Almost nothing is known about him in the West and in the East. But on the territory of modern Russia, milk mushrooms have been valued for many centuries.
You can meet them in Siberia, on the Volga region. Favorite forests - light, birch, mixed. In fact, the main condition is the presence of an admixture of birch in the forests. The yellow species loves coniferous forests, aspen - in poplar and aspen forests, pepper - in central Russia.
Nutritional value and calorie content
In fact, mushrooms are considered a great alternative to meat. Therefore, you should not neglect this product for those who are overweight and are trying to lose extra pounds by switching to a more proper diet.
One way or another, for 100 grams of this mushroom, we get:
Also, the mushroom contains 0.5 grams of ash and 88 grams of water.
Chemical composition
In terms of the chemical composition of the load, the presence of the following components can be noted:
- Proteins,
- Fats,
- Vitamins of group E, B, C, D, PP and A;
- Polysaccharides;
- Potassium, calcium, phosphorus;
- Fiber, etc.
Beneficial features
These mushrooms can not only be enjoyed because of their great taste. Along with this, you also get great benefits.
The positive capabilities of milk mushrooms are manifested in the following:
- Acts as a diuretic;
- Helps remove stones from the kidneys;
- The composition of the fungus includes components that destroy many pathogens;
- Able to overcome Koch's wand;
- Improves human immunity;
- Promote the activation of mental activity, memory;
- Stimulates digestion;
- Normalize the work of the nervous system;
- Control sugar levels;
- They clean the vessels;
- Help to cope with tuberculosis;
- Improve the general condition of the body weakened after illness or injury;
- Have a positive effect on weight loss, fight against obesity;
- Remove warts;
- Improves the condition of the skin, hair and so on.
As you can see, the benefits of this mushroom are enormous. So, if possible, find them in the forest or purchase them in stores. We will talk with you today about how to choose them correctly.
Harm and contraindications
As such, milk mushrooms have no contraindications. But some features need to be taken into account:
- This is a heavy food for the stomach, and therefore you need to be careful when eating the mushroom;
- Not recommended for those with gastrointestinal problems;
- Do not give to children under 7 years of age. Their stomachs are weak for a similar product;
- With serious liver diseases and pancreatitis, you should not eat them;
- Do not eat raw milk mushrooms, as this threatens with severe poisoning;
- Milk is not just edible, but conditionally edible. In this regard, it needs careful and correct processing. Only after that is it allowed to be eaten.
The juice
No, you can't get their mushroom juice. Milk juice is in the milk. It has a rather bitter taste. Because of it, the mushroom needs to be thoroughly soaked. For example, the white species is soaked in water for a day, and the black one is better left for a couple of days. In some cases, salt is added to the water to get rid of the bitterness of the juice.
Soaking not only eliminates the milky juice, but also allows the mushroom to be peeled off with ease. Look carefully under the mohrushki. It is not uncommon for slugs to crawl there.
Application
In cooking
Unlike many other edible mushrooms, milk mushrooms are predominantly salted. Drying them is not recommended.
Milk has been widely known for many centuries as the best mushroom in the cooking of the Slavic peoples. Soups are made from it, fried with potatoes, and a whole range of various dishes are prepared. In fact, any dish where the use of mushrooms is provided is suitable for a lump. You just need to correctly process it in advance.
The vinaigrette
Have you ever tried to make a vinaigrette, but add salted milk mushrooms to it? If not, then we strongly recommend preparing this salad.
The ingredients you need are the following:
- Beets - 200 g;
- Carrots - 100 g;
- Potatoes - 150 g;
- Pickled cucumbers - 100 g;
- Fresh cucumbers - 100 g;
- Salted milk mushrooms - 250 g;
- Leguminous peas - 40 g;
- Sunflower oil - 50 g.
Now let's start cooking. Boil vegetables until tender (potatoes, carrots, beets). Let them cool and then clean. Chop finely or as you like. All types of cucumbers are cut into small cubes, and the green beans must be chopped into strips. All components are combined, poured with oil and laid out on plates.
Salted mushrooms
Classic recipe
Soak the mushrooms in water, adding a little citric acid and salt. Let stand for two days, but every morning and every evening the water must be changed. Now place the mushrooms in a glass jar. There should be some salt on the bottom of the container (thin layer). The milk mushrooms are placed with their caps down. Sprinkle salt on top. Please note that about 45 grams of salt is used for 1 kg of product. When the jar is full, cover it with a cloth. Place a circle on top, and place a weight on it.
After a couple of days, the juice from the mushrooms will appear, they will be compacted. This will add more milk mushrooms to the jar. Do this until the mushrooms stop settling. Do not remove the load. Upon completion of the laying of the mushrooms, they should be in the brine. If it is not enough, add a little boiled water with a little salt added. The product is salted for 1-1.5 months in a cold place.
Fast salting
So let's say, in a hurry. To do this, the mushrooms are soaked for a day, then cleaned. Poured over with cold water, boiled for 20 minutes after the water boils.
Now add black pepper (peas), a little salt, bay leaves, and cloves. This will create a fragrant brine. Let cool, add vegetable oil and chopped onion. Best served with potatoes.
Pickled
Marinating milk mushrooms is quite simple. Please note that the following number of components is required for 1 kilogram of product:
- Carnation - 3 things;
- Allspice - 3 peas;
- Salt - 1.5 tablespoons;
- Water - 1.5 cups;
- Vinegar;
- Bay leaf - 2 pieces.
Wash the mushrooms, remove the adhering dirt. If the caps are small, leave them intact. Large ones should be cut. Cover with cold water and cook for about 20 minutes after the water boils. Be sure to remove foam during cooking. Remove mushrooms from stove, drain water.
For the marinade - Pour 1.5 cups of water into a saucepan, add salt and vinegar. The mixture should not be sour. Add the specified spices and the mushrooms themselves. Boil in the marinade for 15 minutes. Stir as the mushrooms can stick.
Place the mushrooms in jars, fill with the resulting marinade. Never use plastic covers. This will lead to mold growth on the mushrooms. Turn the jar upside down and hold until the brine has cooled. Then place in the refrigerator. Milk mushrooms will be ready to eat in 40 days.
Fried
For some reason, many believe that it is impossible to fry this type of mushroom. Although no one really gives an answer to the question "Why?" Do not be afraid, after frying it will definitely not become poisonous. Let's just say that it is best to fry white milk mushrooms. They have a pleasant appearance, excellent taste when fried.
We will share with you several recipes, each of which has been tested. Tasty, satisfying and healthy.
Mushroom preparation
Before frying milk mushrooms, they need to be prepared. To do this, clean them, remove the damaged areas with a knife. After that, send them to the pot for cooking. This will take about 15 minutes. Remove the water, cool. Now cut into small slices. That's it, you can start frying.
Simple fried milk mushrooms
After preparing the mushrooms, place them in a preheated pan. Reduce heat to medium immediately and start frying. Use a wooden spatula and stir the mushrooms constantly. Add salt according to your taste. The water released from the mushroom will gradually evaporate. You need to fry until a golden crust forms. Before the end of frying, literally for 3 minutes, add one spoonful of quality butter.
If you want to fry with onions, then cook it separately or add it at the end. Otherwise, the onion will simply burn out.
With potatoes
It is also very tasty to fry milk mushrooms with potatoes. Do everything according to the previous recipe. When the water has almost evaporated from the pan, add the peeled and chopped potatoes. Bring the dish to readiness. You can add your favorite seasonings, but not salt. Otherwise, the potatoes may fall apart. Add fresh herbs if desired.
With sour cream
Again, we act according to the first recipe until there is almost no water in the pan. After that add half a glass of sour cream, finely chopped onions and salt. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer until tender. Stir occasionally and add water as needed. As a result, you should get a sour cream mass that resembles custard in its consistency.
Of course, no one argues that the most delicious milk mushrooms are salted or pickled. However, even when fried, they play great with our taste buds.
In medicine
- A striking example of the successful use of milk mushrooms is the pepper mushroom. It is widely used in pharmacology and is part of many medicines.
- This mushroom is an important component of medicines that fight tuberculosis.
- In folk medicine, there are a number of recipes using this plant. They help with gallstone disease, lung problems, etc.
- The use of this product in food does not increase glucose levels, which means it is recommended for those with diabetes.
Growing
As you already perfectly understood, this is a very tasty mushroom. Therefore, following the champignons and oyster mushrooms, gardeners began to actively grow these mushrooms.
The easiest way is to plant the mycelium in the prepared soil. Within a year we get a harvest that brings mushrooms for the next five years. Easy and reliable.
There is another way, which involves the collection of spores and the development of mycelium. The effectiveness is not always high, since there is no guarantee of the correct development of mycelium. It is not surprising that until now no one has learned how to grow milk mushrooms on an industrial scale, as is the case with oyster mushrooms and champignons.
How to find
To find the lump, go to birch forests or wherever they are. The fact is that it is with this tree that the mushroom loves to form a symbiosis very much. That is, to associate your mycelium with birch roots.
The hats can be overlooked as they are often found under the fallen leaves. Equip yourself with a long stick to peel the foliage and avoid accidentally crushing the mushroom.
It is important to consider that when you find at least one mushroom, you should not leave this place. There are almost certainly his "relatives" nearby. This is due to the "family" way of mushroom growth. They are arranged in groups.
Outwardly, it is not difficult to identify this mushroom. His cap is milky white, sometimes with yellowish tints. The center is depressed, the edges are with fluffy fringes. If the mushroom is mature, the leg is hollow, no more than 6 cm long. Also, the peculiarity of the mushroom is that even in dry and sunny weather, they remain moist to the touch.
Watch the next video for some more practical advice on finding mushrooms.
Treatment
As soon as you have picked the mushrooms, do not rush to go to the sofa to relax and enjoy the harvest. First you need to process them.
To do this, we wash the mushrooms well, clean them. The legs with parts of the mycelium must be cut with a knife. Take an enamel bucket, put the mushrooms there and cover with a handful of salt. Add water to the bucket first.
If you plan to pickle mushrooms, then you will have to soak them for at least 3 days. At the same time, the water in the bucket is changed three times a day.
Such processing will completely get rid of all toxic substances. This means that the mushrooms will be completely safe.
It should be noted that mushrooms are great for the salting process. There are usually two types of mushrooms that differ in the place of collection - spruce and upland. Spruce has a funnel-shaped cap with light circles, and pine trees have a rounded cap with rounded edges at the leg.
For lovers of "quiet hunting" to stock up on saffron milk caps is a great success. However, the question often arises of how to preserve the product for a long time? Salting will help to cope with this, which allows you to quickly "preserve" nutrients, as well as get a ready-made snack as soon as possible. I must say that mushrooms are considered the only fruiting bodies that can be eaten within one and a half to two weeks after the start of salting. A wonderful appetizer made from these mushrooms will complement a range of dishes on the festive and everyday table.
Many housewives engaged in salting mushrooms have noticed that there are situations when the mushrooms turn blue during the cooking process. Is it possible to correct the situation and return the original color of the mushrooms?
If the mushroom turns blue while preparing a snack, do not worry. Perhaps some of the spices that were used in salting, interacting with mushrooms, led to similar changes. It should be noted that home canning of mushrooms has uniform algorithms, but does not imply a specific set of rules that should be followed. It is on your taste preferences that the list of those spices and spices that are laid in a container with mushrooms will depend. No one can even say with accuracy how many days the fruit bodies will be salted. Is it possible then to eat mushrooms that have turned blue for one reason or another?
It's okay that the mushrooms have changed color, no. As mentioned above, this could be influenced by spices and herbs, for example, dill or its seeds. Therefore, if the mushrooms turn blue, you can eat them. But you will not be able to correct the situation and bring the color back to its original state.
Is it possible to salt mushrooms if the mushrooms turn blue raw?
It often happens that the mushrooms turned blue in their raw form, can they be salted in this case? Interestingly, spruce mushrooms have a pulp that secretes sweet juice when cut, which, when exposed to air, acquires a bluish tint. Boron species of saffron milk caps also secrete juice when cut, however, upon contact with air, their body acquires a greenish tint. This does not affect the quality of future blanks at all. Therefore, discolored mushrooms are also suitable for pickling, like other types. If the spruce mushroom turns blue during salting, this is a frequent occurrence, and it does not in any way affect the taste and aroma of the mushrooms. But if the fruit bodies turned black during salting, then the question is about their spoilage. In the case when the workpiece has an unpleasant smell and black mold, then in no case should it be eaten so as not to be poisoned.
What to do if the collected mushrooms turn blue and should be salted? First of all, the mushrooms are carefully sorted out, cleared of forest debris, washed in a large amount of water and proceeded to salting. To do this, take salt at the rate of 40-50 g per 1 kg of the main product. As for spices, here the question is purely individual: someone prefers to use only a preservative when salting mushrooms, and someone - allspice and black pepper (peas), cloves, bay leaves, dill and others. So that the mushrooms do not turn blue when salting, they must be salted in enameled containers, wooden barrels or glass jars. Other utensils can cause discoloration in the fruiting bodies.
Why did spruce and pine mushrooms turn blue when salted?
Spruce and pine mushrooms can turn blue during the salting process due to the fact that too many spices are added to them. This is what can provoke a significant color change. Other types of fruit bodies can be salted with a lot of spices, but not mushrooms. It is always best to salt these mushrooms with a minimum amount of spices, using one preservative - salt.
If salted mushrooms turn blue, is it okay to eat them or is it better not to? As already mentioned, the blue discoloration of the fruit bodies does not indicate corruption, which means that you can use them without any fear.
Other reasons why mushrooms turned blue after salting
Another reason why salted mushrooms turned blue may be their improper storage. Store dishes with salted fruit bodies in a well-ventilated and cool place. The most suitable temperature for storing canned mushrooms is + 8 + 10 ° C. If the temperature is below this norm, the mushrooms may freeze. Because of this, they will begin to crumble and lose their taste. At elevated temperatures, mushrooms will sour, turn black and deteriorate. In addition, each housewife must ensure that the mushrooms are completely in the brine. If there is not enough liquid, the fruit bodies are topped up with cold boiled water. All these methods help prevent saffron milk caps from turning blue.
Also, the reason why the mushrooms turned blue after salting may be the long storage of an open jar of mushrooms, even if it was in the refrigerator. The very first discovery of canned saffron milk caps can disrupt their environment, and the oxidation process begins to take place much more intensively. Do not leave mushrooms in jars for a long time, especially if they are not completely covered with brine.
Why did the pickle turn blue in salted mushrooms and what to do in this case?
So that fresh mushrooms do not turn blue, usually experienced housewives immediately after the initial processing scald them with boiling water or dipped them in boiling water with the addition of citric acid for 2-3 minutes. But it happens that the brine turns blue in salted mushrooms, why does this happen? Perhaps, for some time, preservation with mushrooms was exposed to light and interacted with air. This happens with poor-quality cans seaming or poor processing before salting. In this case, the mushrooms are washed and filled with new brine.
Blue milk mushrooms are otherwise called dog. As for the growth and number of specimens, these representatives of the family are quite difficult to meet. They prefer to live in clay soil, love dampness, as well as forest belts with spruce or birch. Growth begins with the rest of the species.
Description
- The copy got its name due to the peculiarity of turning blue when the plates are pressed. They love to grow in colonies or in quiet solitude. This type of fruit bodies is very good at salting, the bitter taste can be easily removed by preliminary soaking.
- The top is convex in shape, the edges are bent inward. In older specimens, the surface becomes like a funnel. That is, it is spread out with some depression in the center. In diameter, the upper part grows up to 12 cm on average, but there are also overgrowths. The surface with scales, pigmented with yellow, may have whitish blotches. When it's damp outside, a slimy film forms.
- If you press on the hat, it will change color to purple. The plates are located close to each other, they are narrow and fall down to the base. They are colored light yellow, but turn blue when pressed. The base is rounded, thin at the beginning, grows up to 8 cm in height with a thickness of 3 cm.
- The surface of the leg is covered with small brown depressions. When warmth and dryness give way to coolness and humidity, the leg becomes covered with gummy mucus. The soft part is compacted, does not crumble, it tastes bitter, the smell of mushrooms. A caustic milky yellow juice is released from it, after weathering it becomes bluish.
- This variety can be eaten if it is carefully pre-processed. Mushrooms must be soaked in saline or ordinary cold water, then boiled and proceeded with further manipulations (frying, stewing, pickling, etc.).
Edibility
- In countries with a rare amount of these mushrooms, specimens are not consumed at all. People try to bypass them, because they are practically unaware of the rules of preparation and edibility in particular. And those who know how to cook don't want to bother with preparation.
- In terms of its taste characteristics, this representative of the family is inferior to its brothers. It is conditionally edible, which means that some of the flavor is lost during steeping and cooking. However, dog milk mushrooms are richer than similar species of the family when it comes to pickling or pickling. In the latter case, not everyone will like the color of pickled mushrooms.
- As mentioned earlier, this species is allowed to be eaten by soaking and digestion. Bitterness will disappear from such actions. To prepare a delicious dish, culinary experts advise frying the fruit bodies. Also, exceptionally young specimens are suitable for consumption.
Sprouting
- The discussed fruiting bodies prefer to build mycorrhiza with birch, willow, and spruce. They settle in mixed or coniferous forests. They try to choose moist soil and damp places in particular.
- Growth is carried out in splendid isolation or in small groups. Fruiting begins in August, this continues until the end of autumn.
- Considering the distribution area, it makes sense to highlight specific areas. It will be possible to find blue mushrooms in North America, Greenland, Eurasia, in Taimyr.
- Oak lump. The species under discussion is similar to the oak mushroom, which is also attributed to conditionally edible specimens. It is consumed salted. The hat grows up to 10-12 cm in diameter, is painted with a brick or orange tone. The shape is round at first, then becomes like a funnel. The soft part is whitish or yellow-beige. Turns pink when broken. The leg extends up to 7 cm with a maximum thickness of 3 cm. Fruiting begins in mid-summer and ends in early autumn.
- Black lump. Another variety related to conditionally edible mushrooms. It is more often consumed as food after salting. Otherwise, the fruiting bodies are called gypsies, blackies, black hollows. The large tip grows up to 20 cm in diameter. The hat is flattened, there is a depression in the center. When damp, the surface becomes covered with mucus. The soft part is compacted and light; it turns gray when broken. The base is elongated to 7 cm with a thickness of 2 cm.
This material is dedicated to a representative of the family, which belongs to conditionally edible mushrooms. It is allowed to consume the product for food only after preliminary soaking and digestion.
We have mushrooms that were considered to be the best in Russia. They have been salted in barrels since ancient times. I will say right away that this is not a porcini mushroom or overseas truffles ... Guess it? Right! It's milk mushrooms!
In Europe, in contrast to Russian adoration, they were wary of milk mushrooms, in some European countries they are not eaten at all.
In Russia, mushrooms were collected for pickling, and it is simply impossible to imagine a Russian pre-revolutionary table without mushrooms, especially on fast days.
The name mushrooms comes from the Church Slavonic word "mushrooms" - a heap, because these mushrooms always grow in groups, that is, in heaps. It is worth finding one mushroom in a clearing and taking a good look around, as a whole family of milk mushrooms is discovered. It can be so large that you can fill a whole basket in one place.
But milk mushrooms, like boletus, know how to hide. Therefore, you need to be able to look for them, carefully examining the almost imperceptible bumps under the fallen leaves, examining them with a long stick.
It is interesting that the true adherents of the "quiet hunt" go for milk mushrooms a little light. My father and grandmother got up at 5 o'clock in the morning.
There are several types of mushrooms, about 20 grows in our country, all of them belong to the russula family and, from a scientific point of view, are considered conditionally edible mushrooms.
Milk mushrooms are not eaten raw, not only because of the risk of harm to their health, but also because they have a hot pepper flavor, which disappears only after processing - prolonged soaking, salting or cooking.
The most delicious of the milk mushrooms is considered the real milk mushroom - Lactarius resimus... People call it white, wet, raw.
It grows in large families near birches, most often on the edges, in low grass, thickets of young birches, in the shade of trees, near stumps, or in mixed pine-birch forests. You can find them in oak and aspen forests.
Most of the real mushrooms are in the Volga region, the Urals, Western Siberia and Belarus. They do not grow in the southern regions of our country.
Collect the real milk from July to September.
An adult present has a funnel-shaped cap up to 20 cm in diameter, with pubescent edges tucked inward. The surface of the cap is white, or light with a yellowish tinge, slimy. There may be pieces of leaves adhering to it. Old mushrooms have rust colored spots on the cap. And the plates at the bottom of the cap are white-cream color. To see them, you need to turn the mushroom over.
The leg of the present load, as a rule, is 6-7 cm, has the shape of a cylinder, hollow inside. The flesh of the mushroom has a dense structure and smells like fruit.
On the cut, a white acrid sap is released, which turns sulfur-yellow right before our eyes.
The real nutritive value belongs to category I mushrooms.
Before eating, it is washed and soaked for two days, changing the water every 3 hours. After a month and a half, it can be eaten, while other milk mushrooms are soaked for more than two months. After salting, the real milk takes on a bluish tint.
There are also milk mushrooms - yellow, black, blue, aspen, oak, squeaks or violins and others.
Black lump, nigella, gypsy - Lactarius necator.
The mushroom was named black for the greenish-black color of the cap. In all other respects, both the shape of the cap and the hollow dark olive leg, it looks like a real milk mushroom. But, despite its delicious taste after salting and its ability to be stored in a salted form for more than three years, it belongs to the third category in terms of nutritional value.
After salting, this lump takes on a beautiful cherry color.
Black lump grows on forest edges, clearings, in birch forests, alder groves, along country roads.
Aspen breast - Lactarius controversus - grows in aspen and is considered a rare mushroom.
and his legs are like all milk mushrooms.
The color of the cap is off-white, the plates are pinkish or orange-pink, the stem is white, strong. It grows under aspens and poplars, sometimes under alder and willow.
Aspen mushrooms are salted.
Blue or a dog's breast - Lactarius repraesentaneus, justifying its name, turns blue at the slightest touch, the milky juice on the cut of the mushroom quickly becomes purple.
His records are also purple.
It is found in Siberia and most mushroom pickers do not like this mushroom.
Yellow lump - Lactarius scrobiculatus also does not inspire confidence among mushroom pickers, although it does not differ from a real milk mushroom in anything other than color.
There are small specks on the yellow cap of the yellow mushroom. It grows next to birches, on the edges of conifers and, like next to birches, with spruces, in clearings.
Oak milk mushroom, oak mushroom - Lactarius insulsus - has a yellow-orange cap with concentric rings. His plates are yellowish-cream, on the cut his bitter milky juice turns brown.
It grows in oak and deciduous forests.
It also goes for salting.
Violinist - Lactarius vellereus has a creamy white funnel-shaped cap, but no hairiness tucked along the edge. The leg is slightly larger than that of a real milk mushroom, and the juice that stands out on the cut turns reddish-brown.
The mushroom got its name for the creak that it emits if you hold a damp knife along the edge of its cap.
There are other types of milk mushrooms, for example, camphor, pepper ... But they are almost never wormy, that is, the worms do not want to eat them. Accordingly, mushroom pickers almost never put them in their baskets. But on the other hand, the pepper mushroom is used in official medicine for the manufacture of drugs for tuberculosis.
According to scientists, in terms of their nutritional value and usefulness, they are not inferior to porcini mushrooms, meat and milk. And they surpass meat in protein content.
The milk mushrooms contain: vitamins - A, B2, B1, B12, D, E, PP, C, amino acids, beneficial bacteria, natural antibiotics, proteins, carbohydrates, sugars, a large amount of mineral salts of iron, copper, zinc, magnesium, calcium, potassium, phosphorus ...
In the cold season, the milk mushrooms used for food increase immunity, remove toxins and excess fluid, prevent colds and help in its treatment, strengthen the mucous membranes of the bronchi, prevent Koch's sticks from multiplying.
The use of milk mushrooms in food improves blood formation, strengthens the nervous and cardiovascular system.
In our time of stress and speed, milk mushrooms help to maintain balance, avoid neuroses and depression. And if these diseases already exist, then they facilitate their course and help to recover.
Salted milk mushrooms have anti-inflammatory properties, they improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, cleanse blood vessels, and prevent sclerosis.
Alcohol tincture from milk mushrooms externally remove acne.
Salted milk mushrooms are applied at night to warts for their information.
Milk mushrooms should not be used for eating disorders, exacerbation of gastritis and children under 7 years of age.
Traditionally, milk mushrooms are consumed only after salting. Although some cook soup from fresh real milk mushrooms.
It is best to salt the milk mushrooms in a cold way.
From such mushrooms, then throughout the year, you can cook a wide variety of dishes.
Salted milk mushrooms
You will need:
1 kg of mushrooms;
- 2-4 cloves of garlic;
- 1-2 leaves of horseradish;
- several leaves of black currant and cherry;
- 1-2 sprigs of dill;
- 100 g of coarse salt.
Cooking method:
Sort out the milk mushrooms, peel off everything that has adhered, rinse, put in a large saucepan and pour cold water, put a plate on top and oppression, for example, in the form of a glass jar with water or a clean heavy stone.
Change water 2-3 times a day
After three days, rinse the mushrooms, dry, rub with salt, put in layers in a large saucepan - milk mushrooms, garlic, chopped horseradish leaves.
Cover with gauze, put currant leaves, cherries, dill branches, a plate, oppression. Place in a cool place for 1 month, for example, in the basement or on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.
It is better to start eating in a month and a half.
Soup with salted milk mushrooms
You will need:
150 g of mushrooms;
- 1 carrot;
- 1-2 potatoes;
- 1 onion;
- 1-2 carrots;
- 15g parsley;
- 1/4 cup rice;
- vegetable oil;
- meat broth or water;
- salt, pepper to taste.
Cooking method:
Chop the onion, fry in oil in a pan until light golden brown, add carrots grated on a coarse grater, cover and simmer over low heat.
Rinse the rice, put it in the broth, after 5 minutes add the diced potatoes.
When the potatoes are boiled until half cooked, add milk mushrooms and vegetables from the pan, chopped with large noodles. If necessary, salt and pepper. Cook until tender.
When serving, put chopped parsley in the plates. You can add sour cream.
Milk salad
2-3 large weights;
- 1 pickled cucumber;
- 1 carrot;
- 2-3 potatoes;
- 1 onion;
- 15 g of dill greens;
- 15 g of parsley;
- 20 g green onions;
- vegetable oil.
Cooking method:
Boil the potatoes and carrots, chop finely, chop the onions into small cubes, chop the pickled cucumber, chop the milk mushrooms into small pieces, chop the dill and parsley. Mix everything, fill with vegetable oil. Sprinkle with chopped green onions on top.
