How delicious and safe to pickle aspen milk mushrooms

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Aspen milk mushrooms are conditionally edible mushrooms, and not everyone is at risk of eating them. But if you learn how to s alt them correctly, the result can really surprise you, especially since aspen mushrooms are easy to cook both hot and cold.

How to distinguish aspen mushrooms?

In aspen and poplar forests, sometimes under willows you can find groups of mushrooms with white, slightly pinkish hats. In the center of each of them there is a recess, which most often distinguishes aspen mushrooms from other mushrooms. Their feature is a thick fluff along the edge of a fleshy cap, reaching a diameter of 30 centimeters or more. The aspen mushroom, the photo of which is presented below, has a short leg and grows mainly in groups.

Mushrooms grow under trees or next to them in whole clearings. On one such site, you can collect up to 150 pieces at a time. Experienced mushroom pickers, in favorable weather, collect aspen mushrooms in whole buckets. By the way, they advise not to cut the mushrooms at the root, but to unscrew them clockwise. This is explained by the fact that in the breast the rest of the leg begins to rot intensively, untilcomplete disappearance.

Aspen mushrooms love sunny areas. In such places they grow denser than in the shade and reach large sizes. In the southern regions, it is unlikely that such mushrooms will be found. They prefer a humid climate with frequent light rains. In Russia, a lot of aspen mushrooms grow in the Volga region. The optimal time for mushroom harvesting is from August to October.

Features of cooking milk mushrooms

Aspen mushrooms are not recommended to be fried, boiled or baked. They not only do not have a pleasant taste, but can also be dangerous to humans. But this does not mean that aspen mushrooms cannot be eaten. In Russia, this mushroom has long been used for s alting.

There are two ways to s alt milk mushrooms: cold and hot. In the first case, the mushrooms need to be soaked for several days, regularly changing the water. According to this recipe, milk mushrooms are elastic and slightly crispy. By the way, only mushroom caps are soaked, and chopped fried legs can be used as an ingredient in sauces.

If you use the hot method, then the mushrooms must first be boiled. For aspen mushrooms, this cooking option is the most suitable. They are tender and tasty.

To find out which recipe is the best, you need to try both.

Aspen mushroom: how to s alt in a cold way

This is the method of pickling milk mushrooms that has always been used in Russia. It has survived to this day. Oak barrels were used for s altingthe same as in the preparation of sauerkraut and pickled cucumber tomatoes. At home, you can use deep dishes made of glass or clay.

To cook aspen milk mushrooms in a cold way, you need the following ingredients:

• peeled milk mushrooms (hats) - 1 kg;
• s alt - 2 tablespoons;
• garlic - 2 cloves;
• cherry, currant, horseradish leaves.

First you need to prepare the mushrooms. Since they usually grow under last year's foliage, it is quite difficult to clean off sticking on the hat. To do this, aspen mushrooms are lowered into water and cleaned with a knife and a sponge. Some mushroom pickers use a different method. Milk mushrooms are soaked in cold water for 2-3 days with its systematic replacement, and only after that the hats can be easily washed with a soft sponge.

In the peeled mushrooms, the leg is removed, and the caps are lowered into the dishes up with plates and filled with water for a day. During this time, it must be replaced at least three times. After the specified time, the mushrooms should be removed from the water. Then, green foliage and spices, a layer of milk mushrooms, again greens and again mushrooms are laid out at the bottom of the dishes prepared for pickling. Next, you need to cover with a plate and put under pressure until the juice appears. In this brine, they will stand in a dark, cool place for 40 days, and only after that the milk mushrooms can be transferred to jars.

Cooking hot milk mushrooms

The hot way to s alt milk mushrooms is much faster. They do not need to be soaked, but rather simplyboil for 20 minutes. It is important to pay attention to how the aspen breast, the photo of which is presented below, changes color when cooked. If it darkens, it is an edible mushroom, and if, on the contrary, it turns pink, it is inedible.

After the mushrooms are cooked, they must cool. And only after that they are placed in a dish for s alting. Further, the cooking recipe repeats the previous one. Aspen breast, which was s alted in a hot way, can be eaten after 15 days.