Can salted milk mushrooms turn blue? Is it possible to get poisoned by eating milk mushrooms?

Residents of the village of Podz, Koygorodsky district, complain that when soaked, milk mushrooms turn pink. At the same time, the smell and taste of mushrooms remains unchanged.

Koygorodsky district is famous for its abundance of milk mushrooms. Every summer, not only residents of nearby settlements, but also from the Sysolsky district and the capital of Komi come to the town of Tybyu for a delicious mushroom. This summer, nature has not deprived lovers of quiet hunting of the forest wealth, and dozens of mushroom pickers’ cars park along the Vizinga-Koygorodok highway every day. In an hour and a half, according to mushroom pickers, you can pick a large basket of milk mushrooms. However, compared to last year’s harvest, there are still fewer milk mushrooms this year.

Since milk mushrooms contain bitterness, which is why they are classified as conditionally edible mushrooms, they are soaked for five to seven days under oppression. At the same time, the water is changed once a day.

Freshly picked milk mushrooms

According to residents of the village of Podz, something strange is happening to milk mushrooms these days: on the third day after soaking, they begin to acquire a pink tint, and on the seventh day they turn pink, as if manganese had been poured into the water with milk mushrooms. At the same time, according to mushroom pickers, the smell and taste of milk mushrooms remains unchanged. This trend can be seen in every house of a mushroom picker who soaks mushrooms with water from a well.

Third day after soaking

In an interview with Komiinform, Nina Shergina, Candidate of Biological Sciences, Associate Professor at the Institute of Natural Sciences of SSU named after Pitirim Sorokin, noted that due to the milky juice contained in the mushroom, the milk mushroom can change color. Moreover, its “color” is usually green, yellow or blue. But for the shade to be pink is nonsense.

“We collect real milk mushrooms, but there can be aspen or poplar milk mushrooms, as well as dry ones. All milk mushrooms from this genus are edible with a certain soaking. Other types of milk mushrooms are less valuable because they have denser flesh. But real milk mushrooms, or, as to another they call it, raw milk mushrooms, they are considered the best among their “relatives” because of their consistency, pleasant smell and the rest,” said the scientist. “Some milk mushrooms actually change color. When cut, they may turn a little yellow. This is due to the contact of the contained "in the mushroom there is milky juice with oxygen or water. Milk mushrooms can also turn blue or green when soaked, but to turn pink is the first time I've heard of it. I even became interested. We need to somehow take milk mushrooms from the Koygorod region and do a chemical analysis."

Meanwhile, the associate professor suggested thatThe breast milk can give a pink color when the milky juice comes into contact with the sulfate anion (SO42-), which is found in water.

“Water is not pure, it contains various impurities. And if there is a sulfate anion in the water, then when it comes into contact with the milky milk juice, a chemical reaction occurs, which results in such a pink color. Since the pink tint does not develop immediately, but only after "The third day, this indicates that there is a small concentration of sulfate anion in the water. Of course, it is necessary to do an analysis, otherwise we can assume anything," the biologist noted.

The Great Encyclopedia of Oil and Gas says that withability of soils to retain sulfate anion is related to the amount of aluminum and iron hydroxides. It is different for old and young soils.In summer about 55- 70% of dissolved sulfur dioxide turns into sulfate anion due to oxidative reactions. These processes are observed, however, as a rule, in winter, the total loss of sulfates with precipitation is only 30- 35% compared to their loss in summer.

The leg of the milk mushroom is thick and short. The pulp is slightly acrid. It grows mainly from early summer to late autumn. Can grow in groups or singly. An incredibly valuable mushroom that can be eaten. It 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 milk mushrooms are divided into, what they carry in terms of benefits and harms, and also what their scope of application is today.

We will tell you about this and much more in our article.

Kinds

White (Real)

This species grows mainly in forests entirely of 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 curved down. Over time, the shape becomes funnel-shaped, covered with a small amount of mucus, and 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. It is smooth, white, and occasionally may have yellow spots. The pulp is quite brittle, elastic with a pleasant aroma of milk mushrooms. Although the smell is pungent, it is unlikely that mushroom lovers will not like it.

This mushroom is good because it mainly grows in families. This means that you found one, and you will be able to collect an impressive amount. But finding them is not so easy, since the mushroom is often hidden under the foliage. Here you will need very high attention so that the mound of fallen leaves comes into your field of vision. It is the tubercles of leaves or moss that you should pay attention to. This is the first sign of a successful search.

This mushroom can be eaten, but only in salted form.

Yellow

A rare species of milk mushroom that is found in the northern parts of the forest. Growth begins in July and ends in September. Outwardly very similar to the real one. However, the two mushrooms can be distinguished from each other due to their intense yellow color.

The product is edible and is eaten only after salting.

Turning blue

Also a rare mushroom, growing mainly in Siberia and the European part of the Russian Federation. Appears in August and occurs until October. The mushroom is in many ways similar to the Yellow one, since it also has a yellow cap. However, the milky sap turns purple when exposed to air. The same shade is observed when studying plates that are rarely located on mushrooms.

It is edible and is eaten after salting.

Aspen

It can be found quite rarely; it grows abundantly in poplar forests, and also likes to grow near aspen trees. Appears in July and 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 and curved edges. 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, quite short, and has a whitish or pinkish tint. The pulp is white, the milky juice is acrid.

This mushroom is edible and is eaten after pickling.

Black

Most often found in the northern parts of birch forests. It can also be found in coniferous forests from July to late October. The hat has a diameter of up to 20 cm, almost flat in shape. At first it is pressed in the middle, the edges are bent down. Then it becomes funnel-shaped. The middle may be sticky and olive-brown in color. The edges are lighter, the plates are brown.

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 flesh is white and darkens when broken.

The mushroom is edible, eaten after pickling. Perhaps the most resistant to pickling. If you soak them properly, the bitter taste will disappear, the structure will become dense and crispy.

When you start cooking it, don’t worry. When exposed to temperature, the mushroom will begin to change color. First it will turn purple. Then the color will turn into cherry, or maybe bright red. Beautiful, and tasty too.

Peppery

The plates are private, the cap is bare and pubescent. When broken, the flesh acquires a green-blue tint. Looks like a violin. Mostly found in oak forests in the southern part. It grows from July and can be found until November. They are most actively distributed in the Caucasus.

Where does it grow

It’s interesting that we are now talking 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, in the Volga region. Favorite forests are 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 species - in poplar and aspen forests, and pepper species - in central Russia.

Nutritional value and calorie content

In fact, mushrooms are considered an excellent alternative to meat. Therefore, those who are overweight and are trying to lose extra pounds by switching to a healthier diet should not neglect this product.

One way or another, for 100 grams of this mushroom we get:

The mushroom also contains 0.5 grams of ash and 88 grams of water

Chemical composition

In terms of the chemical composition of milk mushrooms, the presence of the following components can be noted:

• Squirrels,
• Fats,
• Vitamins E, B, C, D, PP and A;
• Polysaccharides;
• Potassium, calcium, phosphorus;
• Fiber, etc.

Beneficial features

These mushrooms can not only be enjoyed for their great taste. Along with this, you also get huge benefits.

The positive capabilities of milk mushrooms are manifested in the following:

• Acts as a diuretic;
• Helps remove kidney stones;
• The fungus contains components that destroy many pathogens;
• Able to overcome Koch's wand;
• Improves human immunity;
• Contribute to the activation of mental activity and memory;
• Stimulates digestion;
• Normalize the functioning of the nervous system;
• Control sugar levels;
• Clean the vessels;
• Helps cope with tuberculosis;
• Improve the general condition of an organism weakened after illness or injury;
• Have a positive effect on weight loss, fight against obesity;
• Remove warts;
• Improves the condition of 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 buy them in stores. Today we will talk to you about how to choose them correctly.

Harm and contraindications

Milk mushrooms have no contraindications as such. But some features need to be taken into account:

• This is heavy food for the stomach, and therefore you need to eat mushrooms carefully;
• Not recommended for those who have gastrointestinal problems;
• Do not give to children under 7 years of age. Their stomachs are weak for such a product;
• If you have serious liver diseases and pancreatitis, you should not eat them;
• Do not eat raw milk mushrooms, as this can cause severe poisoning;
• The breast is not just edible, but conditionally edible. In this regard, it needs careful and correct processing. Only after this is it allowed to be eaten.

Juice

No, you won’t be able to get their mushroom juice to drink. Milk mushrooms contain milky juice. It has a rather bitter taste. Because of this, the mushroom needs to be thoroughly soaked. For example, the white variety is soaked in water for a day, while the black variety is better left for a couple of days. In some cases, salt is added to the water to remove the bitterness of the juice.

Soaking not only removes the milky juice, but also makes it easier to clean the mushroom. Look carefully under the moss. It's not uncommon for slugs to crawl in there.

Application

In cooking

Unlike many other edible mushrooms, milk mushrooms are predominantly pickled. Drying them is not recommended.

Milk mushroom has been widely known for many centuries as the best mushroom in the cooking of Slavic peoples. It is used to make soups, fry it with potatoes, and prepare a whole range of all kinds of dishes. In fact, any dish that calls for the use of mushrooms is suitable for milk mushrooms. You just need to properly process it first.

The vinaigrette

Have you ever tried to make a vinaigrette, but also add salted milk mushrooms to it? If not, then we highly recommend preparing this salad.

The following ingredients will be required:

• Beetroot – 200 g;
• Carrot – 100 g;
• Potatoes – 150 g;
• Pickled cucumbers – 100 g;
• Fresh cucumbers – 100 g;
• Salted milk mushrooms – 250 g;
• Green peas – 40 g;
• Sunflower oil – 50 g.

Now let's start cooking. Boil vegetables until tender (potatoes, carrots, beets). Let them cool and then peel them. Chop finely or whatever you like. All types of cucumbers are cut into small cubes, and green beans must be cut 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 it sit for two days, but change the water every morning and every evening. Now place the mushrooms in a glass jar. There should be a little salt at the bottom of the container (a thin layer). Milk mushrooms are placed with their caps down. Sprinkle salt on top. Please note that 1 kg of product contains about 45 grams of salt. 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 and they will compact. This will allow you to add more milk mushrooms to the jar. Do this until the mushrooms stop settling. Do not remove the load. Upon completion of the mushrooms, they should be in brine. If it is not enough, add some boiled water with a small amount of salt. The product is salted for 1-1.5 months in a cold place.

Quick salting

Let's just say it in a hurry. To do this, the mushrooms are soaked for a day and then peeled. Fill with cold water and cook for 20 minutes after the water boils.

Now add black pepper (peas), a little salt, bay leaves, maybe cloves. This will result in a flavorful brine. Let cool, add vegetable oil and chopped onion. Best served with potatoes.

Pickled

Pickling milk mushrooms is quite simple. Please note that for 1 kilogram of product the following quantities of components will be required:

• Cloves - 3 pieces;
• Allspice - 3 peas;
• Salt - 1.5 tablespoons;
• Water - 1.5 cups;
• Vinegar;
• Bay leaf - 2 pieces.

Wash the mushrooms and remove any adhering dirt. If the caps are small, leave them whole. Large ones should be chopped. Pour in cold water and cook for about 20 minutes after the water boils. Be sure to remove foam during cooking. Remove the mushrooms from the stove and drain the water.

For the marinade- Pour 1.5 cups of water into a saucepan, add salt and vinegar. The mixture should not turn out sour. Add the indicated spices and the mushrooms themselves. Cook the mushrooms in the marinade for 15 minutes. Stir as mushrooms may stick.

Place the mushrooms in jars and fill with the resulting marinade. Never use plastic lids. This will cause mold to form on the mushrooms. Turn the jar upside down and keep it that way until the brine has cooled. After this, place it in the refrigerator. Milk mushrooms will be ready for consumption in 40 days.

Fried

For some reason, many people believe that this type of mushroom cannot be fried. Although no one really gives an answer to the question “Why?”. Don't be afraid, after frying it will definitely not become poisonous. Let's just say that white milk mushrooms are best fried. They have a pleasant appearance and excellent taste when fried.

We will share with you several recipes, each of which has been tested. Tasty, satisfying and healthy.

Preparing mushrooms

Before frying milk mushrooms, they need to be prepared. To do this, clean them, remove damaged areas with a knife. After that, send them to the pan for cooking. This will take about 15 minutes. Remove the water and 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 heated frying pan. Immediately reduce the heat to medium and begin 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 finishing frying, literally 3 minutes before, add one spoon of high-quality butter.

If you want to fry with onions, it is better to cook it separately or add it at the end. Otherwise, the onion will simply burn.

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, 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 proceed according to the first recipe until there is almost no water left in the pan. After this, add half a glass of sour cream, finely chopped onion and salt. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer until done. Stir occasionally and add water if necessary. 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 wonderfully with our taste buds.

In medicine

• A striking example of the successful use of milk mushrooms is pepper milk mushrooms. It is widely used in pharmacology and is included in many medications.
• This mushroom is an important component of drugs that are aimed at combating tuberculosis.
• In folk medicine there are a number of recipes using this plant. They help against cholelithiasis, lung problems, etc.
• Eating this product does not increase glucose levels, which means it is recommended for those who suffer from diabetes.

Growing

As you already understand, this is a very tasty mushroom. Therefore, following champignons and oyster mushrooms, gardeners began to actively grow these mushrooms.

The easiest way is to plant the mycelium in prepared soil. Within a year we get a harvest that produces mushrooms for the next five years. Easy and reliable.

There is another method, which involves collecting spores and developing mycelium. Efficiency is not always high, since there are no guarantees for the correct development of mycelium. It is not surprising that so far no one has learned to grow milk mushrooms on an industrial scale, as is the case with hanger mushrooms and champignons.

How to find

To find milk mushrooms, go to birch forests or wherever they are. The fact is that it is with this tree that milk mushrooms really like to form a symbiosis. That is, to connect your mycelium with birch roots.

The caps can be overlooked because they are often located under fallen leaves. Arm yourself with a long stick to clear the foliage and avoid accidentally crushing the mushroom.

It is important to take into account that if 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 located in groups.

Externally, it is not difficult to identify this mushroom. Its cap is milky white, sometimes with yellowish tints. The center is pressed in, the edges are with fluffy fringe. If the mushroom is mature, the stem is hollow, no more than 6 cm long. Also, the peculiarity of the mushroom is that even in dry and sunny weather, they remain wet to the touch.

Watch the following video, which gives some more practical recommendations for finding milk mushrooms.

Treatment

As soon as you have picked mushrooms, do not rush to go to the couch to relax and enjoy the harvest. They will need to be processed first.

To do this, wash the mushrooms well and clean them. The stems with parts of the mycelium need to be trimmed with a knife. Take an enamel bucket, put the mushrooms in there and add a handful of salt. First add water to the bucket.

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.

This treatment will completely remove all toxic substances. This means that the mushrooms will be completely safe.

Written by Nikolay Budnik and Elena Mekk.

Blue or dog breast is quite rare. It looks like the yellow breast, loves damp places, clay soils, birch and spruce forest. The mushroom grows at about the same time as other milk mushrooms. It is named so because the plates and milky juice turn purple when touched in the air. Mushrooms are usually found singly or in small groups.

Blue breast is good for pickling. The bitterness is removed by soaking.

M. Sergeeva in her book “Mushrooms” writes: “The blue milk mushroom is a northerner, a resident of the taiga and forest-tundra. It can also grow in the tundra among dwarf birches. In the Arkhangelsk and Vologda regions, these milk mushrooms are not uncommon; they grow, unlike the White milk mushroom , in rather damp taiga-type forests. In the northern country of Finland, the Blue Milk Mushroom is held in high esteem. Mauri Korhonen in his book “100 Mushrooms” writes: “The Blue Yellow Mushroom, due to its almost mild taste, is suitable for consumption without prior boiling. It is also used for pickling. Many believe that this fleshy and large mushroom has high taste."

1. Blue breast is rare on Uloma Zheleznaya.

2. This mushroom is also called golden yellow milk mushroom.

3. And in fact, the shade of its yellowness is different from the yellow milk mushroom.

4. It's actually golden.

5. In places where the plates are damaged and on the cut, this breast actually turns blue.

6. And even the cap of this mushroom turned blue.

7. The mushroom loves damp old forest.

8. It is especially often found under Christmas trees.

9. We found blue milk mushrooms already at the end of July.

10. And this mushroom is already caught by the first frosts.

11. Usually blue mushrooms are found either singly or in a group of two or three mushrooms.

12. It is smaller in size than its brothers - white, yellow and black milk mushrooms.

13. His hat is painted golden yellow.

14. The cap looks like a funnel, but not as deep as that of other milk mushrooms.

15. A small tubercle is often visible in the middle of the cap.

16. The cap is usually hairy, with a small fringe along the edge.

17. Concentric zones appear on the cap.

18. Sometimes blue spots are visible on it.

19. The plates are frequent and even, dirty yellow in color.

20. When touched they turn purple.

21. Mushrooms secrete a slightly bitter milky juice.

22. It is white, but quickly turns blue in the air.

23. And this is how the plates are attached to the leg.

24. The leg of the blue milk mushroom is straight and strong.

25. But it is still longer and thinner than that of the white and yellow milk mushrooms.

26. The leg is covered with characteristic “milk” spots.

27. This is clearly visible here.

28. This is how the stem is attached to the cap.

29. And like this - to the ground.

30. On the section, the leg is hollow.

31. This is especially noticeable in old mushrooms.

32. The flesh of the mushroom is yellowish-white, dense.

33. The flesh turns purple when cut.

34. This is the blue milk mushroom - a rare guest of our forests.

As already mentioned, from a scientific point of view, milk mushrooms belong to the genus Lactrius, or milky. If you break off or cut off a piece of a mushroom, droplets of liquid, sometimes white and similar to milk, will immediately be released from the pulp. So they called it milky juice, and the mushrooms were called milkmen. This genus includes not only milk mushrooms, but also mushrooms such as volushki, nigella, bitters, rubellas, serushki, smoothies and many others. And even royal mushrooms -! Milkies are a fairly numerous mushroom people. There are about five dozen species of them in our country. There are no poisonous milkweeds, but almost all species have pungent and bitter juice. That’s why many milkweeds in many other countries are considered poisonous!

Not all milkweeds have white juice; it can be yellow, orange, and even blue (if we talk about America). In some milkweeds, when exposed to air, the juice instantly changes color: it turns green, purple, or red, while in others it remains unchanged.

The most prized among milk mushrooms is the raw or real milk mushroom, called Lactarius resimus; somewhat inferior to it is the black milk mushroom, Lactarius necator. Some mushrooms from the russula genus look similar to milk mushrooms, for example, milk mushrooms (Russula delica), which is sometimes called dry (that is, not secreting milky juice) milk mushrooms - they are so similar. But the very first cut makes it easy to distinguish milk mushrooms from milk mushrooms by the absence of milky juice.

And we will begin our acquaintance with representatives of the glorious milk mushroom tribe with white mushrooms. These mushrooms are most often found in huge thickets during the mushroom season, and it takes a lot of effort to distinguish them from each other. Because some of them are edible and tasty, while others are bitter and salty, and taste most like sawdust.

Real breast milk, white, raw (Lactarius resimus)

First-class, truly Russian milk mushroom, considered one of the best mushrooms in Russia. In the Volga region and the Urals, real milk mushrooms are called raw milk mushrooms due to the slightly mucous surface of the cap. In Siberia, this mushroom is called pravsky, that is, real.

The cap of a young mushroom is white, the cap of a middle-aged mushroom is creamy, and the old one is yellowish, with barely noticeable watery zones around the circumference. Even in dry weather, the surface of the cap is cool and moist.

The caps of young milk mushrooms are flat, slightly depressed in the center, while old mushrooms turn into huge funnels with a shaggy edge of yellowish-ocher fibers. All kinds of forest debris constantly stick to the wet surface of the cap: leaves, twigs, lumps of soil, dry blades of grass. You won't find pure milk mushrooms.

The white, acrid-tasting milky juice of milk mushrooms turns yellow when exposed to air. The smell of milk mushrooms is very characteristic, “milk mushrooms”, and to some it resembles the smell of fruit. The plates of young mushrooms are frequent, pure white, but with age they become wide, sparse, and yellowish. On the short, thick white leg, yellowish depressions and notches are noticeable along its entire length. The leg is hollow inside.

You can find white milk mushrooms in birch forests or mixed with birch, with which the milk mushrooms form mycorrhiza. In general, most milk mushrooms, like native Russian mushrooms, form mycorrhiza with the native Russian birch. That is why in Rus' villages were placed mainly next to birch forests: you will always have not only firewood, but also mushrooms.

You just need to know the loading areas; you can walk by and not notice the mushroom until it, already huge and aged, crawls out from under a layer of old leaves and dry grass. It happens that you are walking through the forest and a milk mushroom suddenly becomes fragile under your foot and shows its whitish side. And the aroma in milk mushrooms is special, only milk mushrooms smell like that! Milk mushrooms do not grow alone; they prefer to group and sit tightly under the foliage. The real milk mushroom does not like damp, swampy places.

The real milk mushroom has edible but tasteless twin brothers: the violin milk mushroom and the pepper milk mushroom. Actually, they can be called doubles with a big stretch, since their main difference is very striking: the absence of fringe along the edge of the cap and the characteristic surface of the cap - felt-woolly. And on the caps of these mushrooms there are no concentric zones - rings.

Violin (Lactarius vellereus)

A large, white, very stocky mushroom, which is characterized by a dry, pure white, later slightly ocher cap with a velvet surface, sparse plates and a short thick stalk, somewhat narrowed at the base. The pulp is rough, white, slightly yellow at the break. The milky juice is extremely hot and does not change color in the air.

The mushroom got its name from the sound similar to the squeak it makes when you run something over the cap.

Violins grow everywhere in large numbers throughout the summer and fall. Mycorrhizae usually form with birch trees. They attract mushroom pickers with their massiveness, strength and worm-free nature. When salted, the bitterness in the mushrooms disappears, but the violin tastes more like wood, no matter how much you soak, boil, or season with spices. Of course, there are those who claim that when pickled, the mushroom becomes strong and acquires a mushroom smell. But do we really need a piece of wood with the smell of mushroom?

Pepper milkweed (Lactarius piperatus)

A close relative of the violinist, very similar to her. The pepper milk mushroom lives in broad-leaved (especially oak) and mixed forests. The violin is somewhat less common.

It differs from the skipapa in the smooth, non-velvety surface of the cap, on which brownish spots appear in old mushrooms. In addition, the milky juice of this milk mushroom becomes greenish, gray-green or bluish when exposed to air. You can also distinguish them by their plates: in the violin they are much rarer, but this is visible only in adult mushrooms. Young milk mushrooms cannot be distinguished, although who needs this? Pepper milk mushrooms aren't as woody as violin mushrooms, but no matter what you do with them, you can't eat them. Although, it is possible - but only if there is nothing else at all.

Blue breast (Lactarius glaucescens)

The bluish milk mushroom is very similar to the violin milk and the pepper milk milk, sometimes even described as a form of the pepper milk milk Lactarius piperatus var. glaucescens. It is distinguished by its white milky juice, which gradually coagulates in air and becomes grayish-greenish when dried.

The cap of the mushroom is white, velvety, dry, and with age creamy spots and cracks appear. The plates of the mushroom are very frequent, matching the cap or creamy. Some authors describe the smell of the mushroom as follows: “if you want to recognize this mushroom by smell, it may remind you of the smell of fresh sawdust, rye bread or a faint honey aroma.”

In terms of edibility, the bluish milk mushroom is similar to its twin brothers: the violin milk mushroom and the pepper milk mushroom. Moreover, after cooking, the mushroom takes on an unappetizing bluish appearance.

Aspen, poplar, white milkweed (Lactarius controversus)

This mushroom is large, like a real milk mushroom, sometimes with a light fluff along the edge of a white, slightly pinkish cap, with watery areas on it. The cap of the milk mushroom is very large and fleshy, reaching up to 30 cm in diameter (larger specimens are also found).

The milk mushroom's plates are very dense and creamy-pinkish. The pulp is dense, white. The milky juice is abundant and white in color and does not change in air. The leg is short. It is found quite often and very abundantly from August to the end of October in aspen or birch-aspen forests, also in poplar plantings, less often in willow forests. It grows in large piles and bushes containing several mushrooms. It can be collected not only with baskets, but also with carts (currently with trunks :)).

The mushroom forms underground and only its cap peeks out to the surface, abundantly covered with lumps of dirt, leaves and grass. And before you start washing these large mushrooms, you must clear them of forest debris. It doesn’t soak well in water and you have to scrub the mushroom cap with a hard sponge. Although this is on the first day, if you let the mushrooms sit for two days in water, changing the water first, then all the dirt on the cap can be easily washed with a sponge and there will be no need to scrape the top layer of the mushroom.

Unlike its twin brothers: skyripitsa and pepper milk mushrooms, pickled aspen milk mushrooms are slightly inferior to raw milk mushrooms, and some (including us) like them better than black milk mushrooms.

And now a little educational program on the topic "how to distinguish them."

It is difficult to confuse a real milk mushroom - the shaggy edge gives it away completely.

To distinguish the others, first of all we pay attention to the tone of the records. In the aspen milk mushroom they are pinkish, and the cap is often covered with pinkish concentric circles. We also look at the collection site - aspen mushroom grows under aspens and poplars, preferring plantings along roads. The milky juice of the aspen milk mushroom is white, abundant and pungent, and does not change color.

If there is no pinkishness, then we check for rusty spots and whether the flesh turns yellow when scrapped. If so, then it's a violin. They say that the cap is covered with white fluff, but it is not always possible to see it.

If the milky juice turns green when scraped, then it is a parchment milk mushroom (or bluish). If neither the pulp nor the milky juice changes color, but the juice is not liquid, but thick and viscous, then we have a pepper milk mushroom.

So we dealt with the white milk mushrooms. The next ones we will meet are milk mushrooms of other colors.

Black breast, nigella (Lactarius necator)

Nigella is a large mushroom that, perhaps, cannot be confused with any other. The black milk mushroom is squat, its color is camouflage, and in a dark forest among last year’s foliage it is not so easy to find. Greenish-olive caps with dark, almost black centers, on which concentric brown zones are faintly visible, are almost always sticky, lumps of soil and dry leaves stick to them. At a young age, the surface of the cap is lighter, yellowish. The velvety, curled edges of the cap are also yellowish. Although the mushroom is called black, a small shade of marsh color in the cap is visible through the brownish, almost black color.

Chernushki grow in old birch and mixed pine- or spruce-birch forests. The main wave of mushrooms occurs in August-early September, and they sometimes appear in such huge quantities that you get tired of picking. And sometimes mushroom pickers make special “chernushka forays” into the forest.

When pickled, black milk mushrooms acquire an appetizing burgundy color, like a ripe cherry. The mushrooms begin to turn red on the second day of pickling. They remain strong and crisp for two to three years.

All milk mushrooms have their own sharpness in taste, sourness - their own individual milk mushroom taste. But somehow things didn’t work out for the black milk mushrooms. Although its milky juice is caustic, the causticity disappears both when salted and when fried, and nigella remains just a crunchy salted mushroom. Black milk mushrooms do not have their own zest in taste, so when pickled they are preferred to be flavored with various spices, seasonings, currant and oak leaves, to add aroma and aftertaste. This mushroom is not for everybody, although it can be either salted or fried.

Yellow breast (Lactarius scroboculatus)

It is found both in mixed and in spruce and spruce-fir forests. We encountered yellow milk mushrooms in small quantities in the deciduous forest, along oak and maple trees. The surface of the cap of the yellow milk mushroom, like that of the true milk mushroom, is felt-woolly, slimy in wet weather, golden or straw-yellow, yellow-ocher, often with darker, barely noticeable concentric zones, slightly darkens when pressed, brownish indentations on the short stalk . When broken or cut, it releases abundant thick milky juice, which quickly turns yellow in air.

Salted yellow milk mushrooms are in no way inferior to real milk mushrooms, so they can be salted together. But when pickled, the yellow milk mushroom is strong.

Purple breast, blue breast (Lactarius repraesentaneus)

This mushroom is a colored double of the yellow milk mushroom; it is popularly called “dog milk mushroom.” The lilac milkweed is a northerner, a resident of the taiga and forest-tundra. It can also grow in the tundra among dwarf birch trees. But most often it is found in rather damp taiga-type forests.

The cap of the milk mushroom is yellow with protruding villi and a shaggy edge; when pressed, it acquires a characteristic purple color. The milky juice is white, quickly turns purple in air, with a mild taste, slightly bitter.

Due to its mild taste, purple milk mushroom is considered a delicacy, and it is not only salted, but also fried. The taste is a little spicy.

Pink volnushka, volnyanka, volzhanka (Lactarius tirminosus)

Pink Volnushka is a very beautiful mushroom. The cap of the wave is pink-red with a shaggy edge and dark concentric circles. Pink moths grow in deciduous and mixed forests, forming mycorrhiza with birch trees, mainly young ones. They often appear at the edge of the grass in very crowded groups, literally overlapping each other. And if in one flock of milk mushrooms you can see mushrooms of all ages, then the little mushrooms pour out almost simultaneously, as if especially for a mushroom picker - the same size, as if selected.

The name of the mushroom volnushka, volzhanka, volnyanka comes from the ancient Slavic word "vlna" ("wave"), which means wool, sheep's wool. The furry edges of the caps are very reminiscent of real fur!

Western mycologists classify this shaggy pink mushroom as a poisonous mushroom. Yes, in their raw form, volnushki are very bitter. Maybe something will happen to your stomachs if you happen to eat raw trumpets. But it’s unlikely that a bitter mushroom will whet anyone’s appetite. Although one or two mushrooms can be added to the overall mushroom stir-fry, they will enhance the taste of the dish with a slight bitterness, like a seasoning. Traditionally, volushki are salted, and usually in a hot way - with boiling. However, with proper salting - cold - the mushrooms will be just like milk mushrooms, except perhaps less fragrant. But unlike milk mushrooms, salted milk mushrooms do not like long-term storage; they become very sour. So it’s better to eat salted trumpets in the first six months.

White trumpet (Lactarius pubescens)

The white volnushka is more inconspicuous than the pink one, more squat with a very short leg. The cap of the mushroom is whitish, only pinkish-fawn in the center; in older mushrooms it becomes yellow. The concentric rings on the cap are almost invisible. There is a thin fluff along the edge of the cap.

It prefers to grow in young birch forests and wetlands, but is found in deciduous and mixed forests, forming mycorrhiza with birch. Waves appear throughout the summer and autumn, but the August wave is especially productive. In open places among young birch trees there are so many ripples that sometimes there is nowhere to step, and if you do step, it will definitely be on a family of mushrooms hidden in the grass.

For salting, choose small or medium-sized frills with edges curved inward. Unlike old mushrooms with funnel-shaped caps, whose flesh is loose and too watery, young mushrooms are strong and beautiful. Some fans boil mushrooms in boiling water for about 10 minutes to remove bitterness. This is where another name for the mushroom appeared among the people - decoction, although almost all low-quality mushrooms are called this way in different places.

After cooking, the mushrooms become gray in color. But when salted in a cold way, they almost do not change their color and remain slightly yellowish. And with this salting, they have a richer taste.

Camelina (Lactarius deliciosus)

The most delicious mushroom among mushrooms. Saffron milk caps grow in coniferous forests and plantings. Their orange outfit cannot be confused with any other mushroom. There are several types of saffron milk caps: spruce, pine, real and red. More details about saffron milk caps can be found in the article "".

Rizhik is a mushroom that can be eaten raw, but it is also tasty when fried. Its bright orange milky juice is not at all bitter, sweetish-spicy with the most pleasant smell of fir trees.

Oak milkweed (Lactarius insulsus)

A bright red cap with noticeable concentric circles and wavy, uneven edges. If you look at the mushroom from above it looks like a saffron milk cap, from the side it looks like a milk mushroom. Due to its external resemblance to saffron milk cap, the oak milk mushroom is sometimes called “mushroom” or “oak saffron milk cap”. The plates of the mushroom are light cream in color. Very bitter, white milky juice does not change color in air. This fungus forms mycorrhiza with oak, beech and hazel.

Some mushroom pickers compare oak milk mushrooms in taste to bitters. But after soaking and proper hot salting, the mushroom becomes quite edible. True, its smell is not the same as that of raw milk mushrooms. Not that it's less pleasant, just different.

Serushka (Lactarius flexuosus)

A dense mushroom with a dry pink-gray, grayish cap with a slight purple tint. On the surface of the cap, weakly defined concentric circles are visible, sometimes there are small depressions and holes. The edges of the cap are almost always uneven and wavy. Serushka's plates are thick, sparse, uneven, yellowish. Serushka is a warm- and light-loving mushroom, most often found in birch and mixed with birch forests, in open grassy places: clearings, forest edges, and the sides of forest roads.

The milky juice resembles milk heavily diluted with water, not very abundant, and bitter. When pickled, the sorushka does not have a special taste or aroma, and it is better to salt it in a mixture with other mushrooms (nigella, volnushki, white mushrooms).

Gladysh, hollow (Lactarius trivialis)

Other names: alder, common milkweed.

The cap of the mushroom is always wet and smooth, which is why it is called smooth in some areas. In wet weather, the surface of the cap is sticky, slimy, and the concentric circles on it are often intermittent. The color of the cap varies from gray-violet to brownish-yellow. Young mushrooms are darker, dense, and fleshy. The old ones fade greatly and change color to pale yellow with a pinkish tint, their flesh becomes loose and brittle. The plates are thin, frequent, whitish-cream. The stem of even a young mushroom is hollow, with rather thin walls, “hollow”. Therefore, the most common name for this mushroom is nest, or yellow hollow.

This mushroom is found in mixed forests under coniferous trees, especially near pine trees. However, it can settle in thickets of raspberries, buckthorn, forest honeysuckle, and among young birch trees in a pine forest. Loves to grow in moss.

When pickled, the mushroom turns bright yellow. Bright raspberry salted nigella with bright yellow hollows look very beautiful on a plate. In the northern part of Russia, duplyanka is considered an excellent mushroom; in the European part it is less common and hence less known.

Euphorbia, milkweed (Lactarius volemus)

Other names: common wood, smoothy.

A large mushroom with a yellowish-orange or brick-colored fleshy cap and pale yellow frequent plates. The cap grows up to 10 centimeters in diameter. The stem of the mushroom is powerful and dense, the same color as the cap or slightly lighter. Thick white milky juice appears very abundantly on the damaged areas; in the air it immediately turns brown and becomes viscous like soft rubber. The milky juice does not taste pungent, like most milk mushrooms, but is soft and sweetish. The pulp is white with a specific odor.

Euphorbia is not found often; it grows in groups of several mushrooms or singly. Its habitat is deciduous, often broad-leaved forests. He loves hazel bushes, which is why he got the name hazel. Not only this species is called Gladysh, but also several other milkweeds, which are described in this article.

In Western countries, milkweed is considered a “good edible mushroom” and is compared to camelina, a mushroom that can be eaten raw. Mushroom pickers have different opinions about the taste of milkweed: it is considered simply pleasant, sweetish, and is compared to herring or lobster. Old mushrooms acquire an unpleasant odor, which is compared to the smell of rotten herring. So the mushroom is very much for everyone.

We have been collecting red milk mushrooms for quite a long time, but unfortunately, we have never found a Latin name. Externally, the mushroom is similar to some species: spurge, rubella, non-caustic milkweed, but still this mushroom differs from them. So we’ll call it the red mushroom. Or maybe you recognize this mushroom? Then we will be happy to read your version.

Red mushrooms grow individually or in small groups of several mushrooms in deciduous forests, forming mycorrhiza with oak.

The cap of the mushroom is smooth, in young mushrooms it is flat-convex, and with age it becomes funnel-shaped, without obvious concentric zones. The color of the cap is red-brown, burgundy, sometimes with a yellowish tint, diameter is 4-12 centimeters. The leg is the same color as the cap, up to 10 centimeters high and up to 3 centimeters in diameter. The plates are the same color but lighter; with age they acquire the color of the cap. The milky juice is white, non-caustic, sweetish, with a slight bitterness, and does not change color. The flesh when cut is slightly lighter than the cap in young mushrooms and dark in old ones, does not change color when broken, the smell is pungent, characteristic mushroom. Found from July to October in light deciduous forests under oak trees, sometimes in large numbers.

A tasty mushroom, good raw, lightly salted. Place the clean caps of young mushrooms with the slices facing up, sprinkle with salt, wait for the salt to be absorbed - and the appetizer is ready. Red milk mushrooms are also delicious in... Like all milk mushrooms, they are very tasty if eaten. When pickled, red milk mushrooms have their own incomparable taste and a pleasant milk mushroom aroma.

Other

Here we come to those milkweeds that are rarely collected for various reasons. Firstly, the sizes are small. Secondly, more interesting mushrooms grow at this time. Thirdly, in appearance they are very similar to each other, and until you start to specifically understand, you will not find out how many completely different small milky creatures of a creamy-orange-red-brown color are actually found. In fact, much more than you might imagine. We will meet some of the representatives.

Bitterweed (Lactarius rufus)

Bittersweet can be found in swamps, damp pine forests, and among mosses. It exists both in the tundra and high in the mountains. Bitterweed grows throughout the summer and forms mycorrhiza with pines, spruces, and fir trees. The mushroom is small, and many people mistake it for a toadstool and do not collect it. The cap grows from 3 to 10 centimeters in diameter. This mushroom is easy to recognize by the clearly visible tubercle in the center of the cap. The cap is dry, velvety, red-brown in color, without zones. The flesh of the mushroom is gray-white in color and becomes brown with age, with a faint, unclear odor, which some consider unpleasant. The white milky juice is very bitter and burns the lips; it does not change color when exposed to air.

The mushroom is productive and rarely wormy, but a bitter mushroom is a bitter mushroom. Its bitterness does not completely disappear even after several months of pickling. Therefore, bitters are salted in a mixture with other mushrooms.

Rubella (Lactarius subdulcis)

Rubella is very similar in appearance to bittersweet; it also prefers to grow in damp places among moss in coniferous and deciduous forests. The cap is thin and fragile, red-brown, burgundy in color with a darker middle and a small tubercle; the yellowish plates become brownish-red with age. Adult mushrooms have a cap up to 8 centimeters in diameter. It differs from the bitter mushroom in its red-yellow pulp and non-caustic watery-white milky juice, which in adults begins to taste bitter.

Young redfish are used for pickling.

Lactarius camphoratus (Camphor milkweed)

This mushroom is smaller than bitter, its flesh is thin, brittle, reddish-brown, the plates and stem are the same color. White, non-caustic milky juice appears abundantly, as soon as you touch the plates, and is clearly visible against their dark background. The cap of this milkweed also has a tubercle, but not as prominent as that of the bitterweed. The edges of the old mushroom are very thin and wavy.

Camphor milkweed grows in coniferous and mixed forests in large groups from July to September.

Since the mushroom has non-palatable pulp, it makes sense to collect it - it’s not suitable for pickling, but for roasting.

Lactarius spinosulus (Lactarius spinosulus)

Outwardly it looks like an unsightly, emaciated wave: on a pink cap, dark pink waves-circles. But both the cap and the stem are thinner and more fragile; there is no hairy fringe along the edge of the cap. The pink leg is often curved. The pulp turns green, gray and even black when cut. These mushrooms grow in damp birch or forests mixed with birch in August-September.

Despite the non-acidic pulp, it is considered inedible, although it can be salted with other milk mushrooms; when pickled, it is no worse than other “small milk mushrooms”.

This mushroom is found in deciduous forests with an admixture of oak, with which it forms mycorrhiza. The cap of the mushroom is brown-cream, dirty brown, with a darker center and fuzzy dark concentric circles. The leg is up to 6 centimeters long and 0.5-1 centimeter thick. The plates are frequent, cream-colored and become covered with brownish-rusty spots with age. The flesh is light cream when broken and exudes a watery white non-caustic milky juice.

Although the mushroom is common, it is not particularly popular; some people do not like its very peculiar smell. And the edible mushroom is salted after preliminary procedures.

Lactarius uvidus (Wet or lilac milky)

This milkweed grows in deciduous forests. The mushroom cap is moist, smooth and sticky in wet weather, grayish-brownish, with faint concentric zones. The flesh of the mushroom is medium fleshy, dense, whitish or yellowish, and turns purple when cut. The plates turn purple when pressed. The milky juice is not caustic, bitterish, white.

Lactarius helvus (Grey-pink milky plant)

Although the mushroom is called gray-pink, it rarely has caps of this color. The usual color is reddish, sometimes more yellowish, sometimes more red. The cap is large, 6-15 centimeters in diameter, with a small tubercle. The surface of the cap is dry and velvety, there are no concentric zones on it. Leg up to 8 centimeters tall. The milky juice of the mushroom is completely colorless, transparent, like water, you won’t notice it right away.

This mushroom prefers marshy places among moss and cranberries. In pine forests it chooses the lowest, dampest places with wild rosemary and blueberries and always grows in large groups.

This mushroom cannot be confused with other mushrooms due to its pungent smell - cloying, bittersweet. The mushroom is considered inedible. But there are mushroom pickers who are not bothered by the smell. Although the unpleasant smell remains after boiling, it also transfers to other mushrooms when pickled.

Lactarius vietus (Lactarius vietus)

It grows in damp birch and forests mixed with birch, often found in August-September. Outwardly it looks like a hollow mushroom, but the mushroom is very flimsy, thin-fleshy, and brittle. A small cap 3-7 centimeters, with a thin wavy edge, sometimes with a small tubercle, lilac-gray, grayish-flesh color with barely noticeable zones. Its juice is acrid and white and turns gray in the air.

Of course, you can collect these mushrooms; when pickled, they taste similar to yellow milk mushrooms, but... there is a high probability that you will bring home a bunch of grayed pieces from the forest.

Lactarius pyrogalus (Holly milkweed)

A small mushroom with a grayish-flesh cap, similar to Lactarius vietus (milky faded), but it does not grow in typical places for milk mushrooms - under birch and spruce trees, but in bushes, among forest roads, and is found in gardens. Mycorrhiza forms with hazel. Milky juice is caustic. The smell of this mushroom is characteristic of milk mushrooms - slightly fruity. But even though they appear en masse, picking these mushrooms will tire your back, and the result will be meager.

Although the name of the mushroom is scary, the mushroom is edible, and its pungency disappears when pickled.

Of course, the list of mushrooms of the genus Lactarius is incomplete, but either these species are not found in Russia, or they are so small and thin that they are not worth mentioning.

Salting milk mushrooms

As already mentioned, the fruiting body of the milk mushroom is formed underground, and when the mushroom appears on the surface of the soil, there is always a lot of forest debris on its cap: lumps of soil, leaves, blades of grass, twigs. And although some mushrooms are lucky with the places where they grow, such as saffron milk mushrooms, which grow in moss and pine litter and remain clean, most milk mushrooms are dirty.

So it’s not enough to collect milk mushrooms - they also need to be cleaned. And when to clean them, if during the mushroom season the harvest is counted by cartloads? While the women washed one batch of milk mushrooms and placed them in wooden tubs and sprinkled them with salt, the rest of the milk mushrooms were filled with water, so as not to spoil and soak off the dirt, changing it every day for fresh ones. Milk mushrooms can be stored “soaked” for several days, so you have time to process and pickle the entire harvest of milk mushrooms.

But this folk method of preparing milk mushrooms for pickling was forgotten, and now in many cookbooks about mushrooms you can find a description that “the milk mushrooms need to be soaked before salting, and for at least three days!” And it would be fine in spring water - but not in the chlorinated water of a city apartment! In fact, there is no need to soak milk mushrooms; mushrooms without excess water will be richer and tastier.

By the way, pickling mushrooms is not just soaking mushrooms in salt! In fact, this is a complex biotechnological process - just like sauerkraut, for example. In a brine of the correct concentration, of all the microflora, only the “necessary” lactic acid bacteria are able to multiply, which convert - ferment - the mushroom glycogen into lactic acid, which gives the mushrooms a sour taste and protects them from mold and other harmful microorganisms. During the fermentation process, carbon dioxide is also released, so the container with salted mushrooms should not be sealed.

Hot way

With the hot method, the washed mushrooms are first boiled for about 10 minutes, and the broth is drained. Then the mushrooms are salted. Salts are added 5-6% of the weight of mushrooms. As a seasoning for mushrooms, you can add garlic, peppercorns, horseradish leaves, currants, oak, and dill umbrellas. Although this method is simpler and boiled mushrooms become edible faster - after just a few days, they have a less pronounced taste and are inferior in aroma to cold-pickled mushrooms. If it still somehow suits violin mushrooms and pepper milk mushrooms, then boiling all the other milk mushrooms will only spoil it, and the bitterness and acrid taste disappear during the pickling process (even without soaking!). Just wash them and you can salt them. In this way (it’s called cold) you can salt all milk mushrooms and milk mushrooms, as well as white mushrooms - with the exception of saffron milk caps.

Cold way

The milk mushrooms are washed, cleaned, the stems are cut off from the caps and the caps are placed in layers on top of the plates in a container. If there is no wooden tub, then glass jars or large plastic buckets will completely replace it. You can salt the milk mushrooms without any additives, just put horseradish leaves on top to prevent the mushrooms from molding. And only then, when the mushroom’s own taste is understood, you can gradually begin to add spices. Salt is added 4% by weight of mushrooms. If there are a lot of milk mushrooms, they are salted in a barrel, then the total amount of salt is divided into 3-5 parts, if there is little, for example a jar, then all the salt can be poured on top. Small baby food jars filled with water are great for pressing into a 3-liter jar, and a lid from a mayonnaise bucket cut to the diameter can be used as a circle.

With the cold method, the mushrooms will be ready in a month and a half. If they turn out to be too salty, they can be soaked in milk for 20 minutes, after which the excess saltiness will disappear.

Dry method

They say that only saffron milk mushrooms are salted dry, but we also salt red milk mushrooms and all the others that we managed to collect clean. With this method, the mushrooms are not washed so as not to become saturated with water, but only cleaned of adhering needles and blades of grass; in the worst case, you can lightly wipe them with a damp sponge. Salt is added to 3% of the weight of mushrooms for saffron milk mushrooms, and 4% for red milk mushrooms. And - no spices! The mushrooms themselves are so rich in flavor that they don’t need any spices.

Ryzhiki can be consumed after just 2-3 days, lightly salted, red milk mushrooms - after a week.

For our taste...

Almost every year we conduct a tasting of different types of salted milk mushrooms, and each type (those collected) was given its place in the list of delicacies:

First place We divided the real milk mushrooms, saffron milk mushrooms and red milk mushrooms. Each one is delicious in its own way. The breast is real - sour, fleshy, strong mushroom, very tasty when salted. Saffron milk caps are saffron milk caps, these bright mushrooms can be eaten raw and lightly salted. When salted, they are tasty for the first week, then they become over-salted and become less crispy. Red milk mushrooms are aromatic, their taste cannot be compared with any milk mushrooms, they have their own taste.

Second place- aspen milk mushroom, yellow milk mushroom. Aspen milk is comparable to white milk, but less aromatic when pickled. We came across yellow milk mushrooms in very small quantities, so we were not able to really taste their taste. When salted, yellow milk mushrooms darken, acquiring a greenish tint.

Third place- waves. Freshly salted volushki are more sour, but juicy and crispy, but it is better to eat them in salted form in the first six months, after which they become overly sour.

Fourth place- black milk mushroom, gray milk mushroom, pale milkweed. Apart from its beautiful burgundy outfit, the black milk mushroom has no advantages, nor its taste. Yes, it’s crunchy and salty, but the taste doesn’t stand out at all. Serushka is a light mushroom flavor, very diluted. The faded milkweed tastes like trumpet, but... all the mushrooms collected in half an hour were placed at the bottom of a 100-gram jar

Skripitsa, pepper mushrooms - don’t flavor them with any seasonings; when salted, they are inedible: tasteless in taste and unpleasant in consistency.

Is it possible to get poisoned by milk mushrooms?

In the sources of Russian mycological literature from the first half of the 19th century, the true milk mushroom was defined as the species that is now called pepper milk mushroom. In ancient times, it was considered the only mushroom suitable for pickling. Therefore, it was called the “royal mushroom.”

Few people know that there are countries, in particular European ones, where milk mushrooms, so revered among us, are not considered edible. There are many disputes between nutritionists about its value and safety.

Edible and healthy

Milk mushrooms are an excellent natural antibiotic

Surprisingly, mycologists classify these mushrooms as inedible not because they contain any toxic substances, as is the case with fly agaric mushrooms. This was solely due to the bitter taste.

Benefit

These representatives of forest fauna contain a lot of protein, much more than pork, beef or chicken. It is perfectly digestible.

This non-animal product is the only one among many that contains vitamin D.

It is rich in thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin C.

It is difficult to overestimate the benefits of milk mushrooms in the field of medicine. They are recommended for tuberculosis patients because they can destroy the pathogenic bacillus. Regular consumption of milk mushrooms helps stop the development of blenorrhea, kidney failure, and urolithiasis.

Having the ability to regulate sugar levels in the bloodstream, their consumption is beneficial for diabetic patients. They are excellent at fighting emphysema.

In other words, it is an excellent natural antibiotic.

Small flaws

Having a high calorie content, they are difficult to digest. Therefore, you should not get carried away with them in large quantities.

Conditionally edible

All representatives of this type of mushroom are raw and harmful, and are somewhat poisonous. But during the cooking process, they lose their bitter taste and become absolutely harmless.

In general, the pungency of the mushroom is due to the high content of juice in it. But the aroma is very refreshing and pronounced.

Possibility of intoxication

Cooking milk mushrooms has been considered a tradition since ancient times. Therefore, the question is interesting: is it possible to get poisoned by milk mushrooms?

Risk of toxemia

These mushrooms, like any other, can be poisoned. The causes of toxemia may be the inability to recognize real milk mushrooms and violation of cooking technology.

A true representative of this species has a funnel-shaped cap on a short stem. Its pulp has a pleasant sweetish aroma.

Before you start cooking, you need to soak it for 3 days, changing the water every four hours.

And only after these procedures can you pickle or boil them.

Mushroom intoxication

There is more than one way to prepare milk mushrooms. Consequently, the symptoms of poisoning will manifest themselves differently. It depends on the causative agent of the toxic infection. The difference will also be influenced by the duration of the latent period:

• short is characterized by a period of half an hour to 2 hours from the time of food intake until the development of symptoms;
• long-term - from 2 hours to 2-3 days.

Prepared products

These mushrooms, pickled raw, can be eaten only after 2 months. And salting boiled ones allows them to be consumed after 2 weeks. This is also true when eating pickled ones. If you happen to be poisoned by salted milk mushrooms, symptoms of enteritis or enterocolitis will appear:

Signs of botulinum toxin poisoning

• chills;
• spasmodic pain in the stomach;
• tremor of the limbs;
• paleness of the skin, possibly acquiring a yellow color;
• difficulty breathing;
• arrhythmia;
• frequent diarrhea;
• vomit;
• hallucinations;
• loss of orientation in the surrounding space;
• delirium.

The symptoms are caused by the presence of botulinum toxin in the preservation.

The lethal dose is 5-50 g/kg body weight.

A stick of this bacterium gets into the mushroom with the soil. It actively reproduces in oxygen-free conditions. The optimal temperature for its life is +35 degrees. Home heat treatment during sterilization does not kill pathogen spores.

Boiled and fried

Due to the fact that only those prepared foods that have been stored for a long time under a tightly closed lid, without access to oxygen, are dangerous to human health, only salted, pickled, in other words, canned mushrooms can cause poisoning.

In fried or boiled foods, the presence of infection is only possible in a situation where they were first preserved and then opened and cooked or fried.

Therefore, symptoms of intoxication with mushrooms prepared in similar ways are caused by collection in environmentally polluted places and insufficient soaking before cooking.

Characteristic symptoms appear in:

• loose stools;
• vomiting;
• hyperthermia;
• dizziness, pain in the temporal region;
• general weakness;
• increasing dehydration.

Urgent measures

If a person develops symptoms indicating possible intoxication, they should immediately call a paramedic. Before his arrival, the necessary measures should be taken to alleviate the patient’s condition.

Pre-medical tactics

In such a situation, you should firmly know what not to do.

It is strictly forbidden to give the patient alcoholic beverages and medications, in particular those with antipyretic and analgesic effects. Heat can be placed on the stomach if the confidence in toxemia is 100%.

• Gastric lavage. To prepare the washing solution, you need to take 1 liter of water and dissolve a tablespoon of salt in it. This solution, in the amount of 5 glasses, should be drunk and then vomited.
• Taking laxatives. They can be Vaseline or linseed oil.
• Providing warmth.
• Drink plenty of saline solutions or boiled water.

Medical institution

In addition to gastrointestinal lavages in the clinic, after a medical history, a number of procedures will be prescribed:

• taking enterosorbing drugs;
• forced diuresis using Furosemide;
• dropwise Ringer's solution or isotonic sodium chloride solution;
• maintaining optimal blood pressure.

Edible or false

One of the causes of toxemia is the inability to distinguish between mushrooms. Scientists botanists describe the types of milk mushrooms.

True

Has exquisite taste. Its cap is located on a short stem and has a funnel shape. The pulp has a sweetish aroma.

The greenish-black milk mushrooms, which are called black, are not inferior to it in taste. Despite their unattractive appearance, they are known as delicacies.

False

Among the doubles, there are several varieties:

• Peppery, having the aroma of hot pepper. It has a creamy white color. When cut, it releases a thick milky juice that changes color to olive or greenish. It is not classified as edible due to its unacceptable taste. Moreover, its flesh remains tough even after salting. Many mushroom pickers dry it.
• A violin that produces a characteristic sound when a wet knife touches the head. The cap is yellowish or reddish-brown in color. The white flesh may later change to greenish-yellow. The milky, white juice changes to red when it dries.
• Camphor is distinguished by the aroma of camphor, changing to coconut. This species is the most dangerous of the others because it contains muscarine. A toxic substance that does not disappear even after treatment. It has a brown cap with creamy plates. The section reveals a red core in the stalk, darkening over time. When you press on the cap, a dark brown spot appears.

Remember that any canned mushrooms cannot be stored for more than three months.