Bitter (Lactarius rufus), rusk, bitter milk mushroom

Mushrooms

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The bitter mushroom brings rich harvests every year. It grows abundantly throughout Russia from the first days of summer to late autumn, withstands light frosts on the soil, down to -5 ° C.

Features of the bitter mushroom

Bitter appearance

Hat. Typically, the size of the cap varies from 12 to 19 centimeters in diameter. The shape of a young cap is convex-flat, and in an older mushroom it becomes like a funnel. In juveniles, the color of the cap is brown-red, in adults it is dark red. The skin is rather thin, has small grooves on it.
Pulp. Horny goat weed have a very dense flesh, the aroma of which is reminiscent of resin. The juice is very pungent, pungent, white. The plates of the fungus are narrow, but very frequent. A young mushroom has red plates with a yellow tint, and an older one has red ones with a brown tint. The pulp tastes very bitter.
Leg. The diameter of the leg is on average 2 centimeters, but the height is 10-12 centimeters. The young leg of the bitter is colored off-white, even and solid, and in the adult mushroom it is pink or red with a rusty coating, looks like a hollow one.

Bitters recipes

Bitter is a versatile mushroom, thanks to which you can significantly diversify your meal. You can make an amazing dinner with this ingredient. There are a lot of recipes, but remember that before you start preparing this or that recipe, be sure to prepare the bitter properly. This means that you have to rinse it well, soak it, and then peel and boil it.

What can be made from bitter?

Fried mushrooms

Cut the onion into half rings.
Vegetable oil is poured into a frying pan and sent to the fire. Once the oil is hot, dip the onion into it.
Fry it until golden brown.
The mushrooms are cut into slices and sent to the onion. Everything is fried together for a while.
Season the dish with salt and pepper.
Add a pinch of flour and stir well with the contents in a skillet.
Done, now such a delicious topping can be used as a filling for pies or an addition to meat or a side dish.

Mushrooms stewed with vegetables

To do this, you need to cut all the ingredients into cubes.
You will need potatoes, carrots, eggplant, mushrooms, onions. If necessary, cut the meat into cubes and send it to the vegetables too.
Put everything neatly on a baking sheet, salt and pepper.
Pour a small amount of water on the bottom, and close the baking sheet itself with a thick layer of foil.
Set the oven temperature to 200 degrees and leave the dish to bake for an hour and a half.

The result is a very tasty and aromatic dish that will not leave you indifferent.

Mushroom soup

Bitter goes well with vegetables in broth.

You need chicken wings and a leg.
Put them in cold water in a saucepan and put them on fire.
Skim off the foam. The broth is cooked for 40 minutes.
Then, after skimming off the foam, remove the chicken from the broth.
Chop potatoes finely.
Grate the carrots. Fry the onion, then add the mushrooms to it. Fry everything together well and send to a saucepan with soup.
Season the contents with salt and pepper.
Optionally add to the noodles.
Cook until all ingredients are cooked, then turn off the soup.
Decorate it with herbs.

It is recommended to serve such a dish with sour cream, as it sets off the taste of mushrooms, making the soup tasty and tender.

Mushroom sauce

The preparation of mushroom sauce is very simple, but at the same time, it is the mushroom sauce that allows you to decorate any most common dish. You can grill a regular piece of meat in an airfryer and then make it interesting with sauces.

In order to achieve such an effect, it is necessary to consistently approach this issue.

First, you need to cut the mushrooms. Remember that they must be properly prepared beforehand.
And then, in the next step, you already need to cut half of the onion into small cubes.
Place in a blender bowl.
Add parsley, dill, a small amount of cilantro there.
Season with salt and pepper.
Add a small amount of cream, add two tablespoons of sour cream.
Start a blender and whisk the whole mixture.

Finally, try the resulting dish. If necessary, you can season it with salt and pepper if you think the sauce is not strong enough.

Now, you can season the dish with this sauce, but it is stored in the refrigerator for a long time.

We hope you enjoyed the detailed recipe and will help you vary your meals.

Only after you are convinced that the mushroom is absolutely safe, you can proceed to the embodiment of one of the recipes indicated here.

How to pickle mushrooms

Salting bitters is a very common recipe. He is loved by real gourmets.

The previously prepared mushroom must be rinsed well and boiled.
Then, it is cut into small pieces.
The mushroom is well rolled in salt, poured over with a little vinegar.
After that, it is rubbed well with pepper, mixed with pieces of garlic and allspice peas.
The mushroom is carefully placed in jars, not forgetting to put peppercorns next to it.
You can also add garlic to the jar.

The bitter is rolled into jars And left in the cool for several months. After a few days, you can observe that the mushroom is no longer dry, but floats in a large amount of liquid. This means that the bitter juice secretes and the salting process is going on properly.

How to pickle

In order to properly marinate a bitter, it is necessary to properly prepare the marinade.

To do this, mix several tablespoons of vinegar essence into 1 liter of water. Salt, bay leaf, a little pepper, as well as all kinds of spices, for example, cloves, a pinch of nutmeg, star anise, and so on, are added there in the required amount.
After adding all your favorite spices, cook the mixture for 30 minutes.
Cool it well.
Mushrooms, previously prepared, are neatly laid out in banks.
Together with them, you can put pieces of garlic, as well as bay leaves and peppercorns.
Then, fill everything with the resulting marinade.
After that, roll up the cans and put them in a cool and, importantly, also dark place.
Wait until a few days have passed and check the result.

You should have a very tasty dish. You can try it after a couple of weeks, when the mushrooms are well marinated in the resulting composition.

It is believed that if you correctly carried out the preliminary preparation of the bitters, then it will not be bitter, but even very pleasant. Therefore, we hope that you did everything correctly, and you and your family will be able to enjoy the result.

How to soak properly

There are several rules that allow you to correctly and accurately soak mushrooms. This is a necessary preparation stage before use.

It is necessary to soak the mushrooms only without the skin. In the forest, the mushroom is susceptible to various influences.It rains on the hat, cars rush by, insects fly and sit, and there are wild animals nearby. Of course, during its active growth, the mushroom with its skin managed to contact with many external factors, which means bacteria and microorganisms. In order to protect yourself in the future, it is necessary to remove the skin from the cap with a sharp knife before soaking.
Soaking takes place only in cold water using a small amount of salt. This is necessary in order to allow the mushroom to get rid of not only harmful substances and toxins, but also from the bitter taste. Salty cold water draws out bitterness, and as a result, you already throw a mushroom absolutely suitable for cooking into boiling water.

After the soaking procedure, the mushrooms must be dried well. They are caught with a slotted spoon and placed on a towel. Gently blot the mushrooms with gauze to absorb excess moisture. Once the mushrooms are dry, you can proceed to the final stage of heat treatment. And after that, start cooking your favorite dishes.

Where, when and how it grows

Bitter prefers to grow in mixed and coniferous forest belts. Especially favorite place is lichens, mossy ground and just good bedding. Very often, mustards enter into a symbiotic relationship with birch.

Mushrooms prefer to grow both in families and singly. The first crop appears in June, and the last one can be harvested until the end of October. Bitter is very resistant to frost, therefore it pleases mushroom pickers for a very long time. Experienced mushroom pickers say that bitter is very rarely wormy.

It should be remembered that mushrooms very quickly accumulate various harmful substances in themselves, so you should not harvest near any industrial enterprises, no matter how tempting it is.

Spread

Bitter of all milk mushrooms (milkmen) is the most common. They usually grow in forest belts formed by conifers and mixed species. Mycorrhiza formation occurs with pines and birches. They grow well in humid places with acidified soils (mosses and lichens like these conditions, so bitters often grow in moss).

Bitters are harvested from early summer to mid-autumn.

Benefit

The bitter mushroom contains unique and very beneficial antibiotic substances that negatively affect some of the harmful bacteria in our intestines.

Also, the bitter milk inhibits the development of bacteria that cause paratyphoid and typhoid. In official medicine, an extract is prepared from it precisely because of this property.

Useful properties of bitter

This is not to say that the benefits of eating bitter are pronounced. Because of the tart taste, mushrooms are soaked in 2 waters, boiled, the composition of nutrients is depleted by about a quarter.

But still, the following positive qualities should be noted:

Antiseptic action. It is so pronounced that even old fungi are rarely colonized by parasitic worms.
Antibacterial activity. The composition contains a substance that destroys a very dangerous microorganism for the child's body - Staphylococcus aureus. The same component stops the vital activity of Escherichia coli, Proteus.
Increases the general immunity of the body, replenishing the reserve of ascorbic acid.
It stabilizes blood pressure and improves blood formation due to the content of beneficial nutrients.
Prevents the development of dermatological diseases, improves the quality of the skin when applied externally with fresh milk juice.
Improves impulse conductivity due to the high content of magnesium, normalizes protein-carbohydrate metabolism.
Selenium provides an antioxidant effect.
Reduces blood sugar levels.
Its high nutritional value promotes satiety and avoids weight gain.The calorie content is low, so when you introduce mushroom dishes from bitters into the diet, you will not have to feel hungry.

In the years of famine, bitter food provided healthy vital functions for the body, and prevented the development of dystrophy. The introduction of this mushroom into the diet allows you to work normally, maintain the growth and physiological development of children at the desired level, prevents rickets and lagging behind in height and weight.

Application

In cooking

Mustard mushrooms, which are classified as conditionally edible, therefore, it is rarely used in cooking. If you nevertheless decide to try the bitter, then before use it should be thoroughly soaked to get rid of the unpleasant bitter taste, and then boiled in salted water. After that, the mushrooms can be pickled or dried. Do not forget to salt the water, this is a prerequisite.

Bitters should be soaked for 3 days, while changing the water twice a day. Boil mushrooms over medium heat for at least 40-50 minutes, removing scale. Only then can you marinate or dry the bitter. By the way, in the west, bitter is not eaten at all, because of the danger of radioactive substances that the mushroom absorbs.

In medicine

The main and most valuable property of bitter is antibiotic, but there are several additional properties of this valuable mushroom.

Mushrooms have a unique antiseptic property that can heal absolutely any cuts and wounds.
Bitter mushroom contains nutrients that can restore blood pressure.
Ascorbic acid in the composition allows the body to strengthen the immune system, thereby increasing tone and strength.
The juice of the bitter mushroom perfectly copes with skin diseases, and the selenium in the composition of the mushroom prevents aging.
The low-calorie content of the mushroom allows it to be included in the diet of those who are struggling with extra pounds.

Edibility

Bitters, according to most sources, are conditionally edible. These mushrooms must be soaked to wash out the bitter milky juice. Instead of soaking, you can boil the bitters. After that, they are salted or pickled.

If it is supposed to use the hot method of salting, then the bitters are soaked for 3 days. During the soaking period, you need to change the water at least 3 times, the more often the better. If salting is done in a cold way, then you need to wet the mushrooms for at least 6 days, also changing the water as often as possible.

Harm and contraindications

Like many other plants, bitter has its own contraindications.

You should not give the mushroom to children under 3-5 years old.
If you have a digestive tract ulcer, pancreatitis or gastritis, then you should refrain from using.
Under the strictest prohibition, the use of bitters for pregnant and lactating women.
Various diseases of the cardiovascular system and kidneys also exclude the use of mushrooms.

Is the mushroom edible or not

In foreign science, bitter mushrooms are most often considered inedible mushrooms. In the domestic special literature, it is customary to describe them as conditionally edible, having the IV category of nutritional value. This means they can be eaten after they have been pre-cooked.

Is it possible to get poisoned with bitters

Like all conditionally edible mushrooms of the genus Mlechnik, milk mushrooms can provoke an attack of acute gastroenteritis - inflammation of the stomach and small intestine. This is due to the high content of resinous substances in the composition of their juice.

Poisoning caused by improper preparation or violation of the rules for pretreatment of bitters is mild.

How to distinguish edible from inedible

In the huge mushroom kingdom, there are real doubles of bitters, so you should be especially careful when harvesting. Among them are camphor milkweed, marsh milkweed and hepatic milkweed.

Unlike these types of mushrooms, bitter has a very burning juice, which does not change color upon contact with air, but the juice of the hepatic lactic acid begins to turn yellow. Swamp mushroom grows in swampy forests and does not have a tubercle in the center of the cap. Camphor lactarius smells like dry roots, and bitter smells like wood.

Similarity with other species

Inexperienced and novice connoisseurs of "quiet hunting" quite often confuse the red bitter with the fruiting bodies of the edible camphor mushroom or Lactarius camphoratus. However, the pulp of the latter has a relatively pronounced aroma of dry roots. Camphor mushrooms are edible mushrooms, but due to their specific taste and the presence of a large amount of milky juice, they do not belong to the category of popular mushrooms among domestic mushroom pickers.

Also, the bitter is similar to such a common milkman on the territory of our country as the orange milk mushroom or Lactarius badiosanguineus, the fruiting bodies of which have a strong red-chestnut colored cap with a dark central part and a reddish leg. painted leg. Lactarius rufus is quite similar to marsh milk or Lactarius sphagneti. It has a similar coloration and grows on damp and swampy soils in spruce or pine forest areas.

Procurement and storage

Fresh bitters can be stored at home, but you need to do it right. Each mushroom must be wrapped in a damp paper towel and then placed in a paper bag. Thus, bitters can be stored for no more than 48 hours.

Bitters can be stored frozen for up to 1 year, but the air temperature should not exceed minus 18 degrees Celsius.

Salting bitters at home

It is believed that bitter mushrooms are most delicious when salted. There are two basic options for salting these mushrooms, the so-called "cold" and "hot" methods.

Advice! For salting, it is best to choose young small bitters, which do not need to be cut into pieces.

It is believed that it is preferable to salt these mushrooms hot by boiling them in a brine with seasonings. In this case, they turn out to be elastic and break less.

To prepare such salting, you should take:

Bitter milk mushrooms	1 kg
Table salt	2 tbsp. l.
Water	1 L
Condiments (dill umbrellas, cloves of garlic, currant leaves, horseradish, cherry)	Taste

Place the peeled and soaked milk mushrooms in a saucepan, add water and boil for 10 minutes.
Place the mushrooms in a colander and rinse immediately with clean cold water (this will make them crispy).
Prepare brine from water and salt. Boil it, put the mushrooms in there and boil for about 15 minutes.
Place some of the seasonings on the bottom of the prepared container (enamel pot or bucket). It is advisable to pre-pour greens for pickling with boiling water. Layer the mushrooms, alternating with dill and garlic.
Pour with cooled brine, cover with a flat plate on top and press down with pressure.
Put in a cold place for a couple of weeks. Having sustained this time, the mushrooms can be served to the table.

Cold salting of mushrooms of bitters implies a longer period during which the mushrooms must be kept.

For this dish you will need:

Bitter milk mushrooms	1 kg
Coarse salt (pour mushrooms)	50 g
Table salt (for brine)	60 g
Water (for brine)	1 L
Seasonings (dill, garlic)	Taste

Prepare and soak the mushrooms, then rinse thoroughly with clean water and squeeze lightly.
Put the bitters into prepared containers (jars), caps down, sprinkling each layer with salt and shifting with seasonings.
After filling the jar, put the herbs and garlic on the very top. If there is not enough liquid from the mushrooms, additionally prepare the brine and add to the container.
Install a wooden circle on top and put oppression.Place jars in a cellar or refrigerator.
You can try ready-made salting in two months.

Salted mushroom recipe

Growing in fairly large families, bitters are outwardly mushrooms with a dark brown color. Collecting them is just a pleasure, because a whole bucket can be carried away from one clearing.

True, preference should be given to small or very small specimens - these have a denser structure and look great in the workpiece.

This recipe is also suitable for the salting of wines. If necessary, they can be combined in one container.

Mushrooms 1 kg
Cooking salt 35 g
Blackcurrant leaf 4 pcs.
Dill with umbrellas and stems 4 pcs.
Black pepper 5 pcs.
Sunflower oil 20 ml
Allspice 5 peas
Garlic 4 cloves

Important: if the bitters do not need special cleaning, then the situation is different with the little ones. They have a terry edge along the cap, which must be removed by prying with the tip of a knife.

Description

Bitters are small, neat mushrooms with a characteristic cap and a reddish brown color. These mushrooms are not characterized by variability in appearance, they differ from each other only in size.

Hat

The bitter hat has a characteristic look. It is small (up to 12 cm maximum), regular round shape. There is a tubercle in the center, around which there is a concentric impression. The edges can be either tucked up (in young bitters) or raised (in mature ones), which gives the cap a funnel-shaped appearance.

The color of both old and young bitters is the same - reddish-brown, in the process of growth it does not change. Sometimes a light concentric pattern can be observed. The surface is matte, unclear. May acquire a damp sheen after rain.

Leg

The leg of the bitter is thin, of medium length (2 * 10 cm). It has a cylindrical, straight shape; a light downy fluff is noticeable at the base. At first, the leg is solid, with age it acquires a cavity inside. It is colored about the same as the cap, it can be pinkish-brown.

Spore-bearing layer

The spore layer of bitters, like in all milkmen, is represented by plates. They are narrow and often located. In young bitters, the plates are more orangey, and in mature ones - a brownish shade. In overripe specimens, a whitish bloom appears on the plates.

Pulp

The flesh of the bitter is hard, thin, tastes bitter, and smells like resin. On the cut, a milky liquid is released in large quantities, very bitter and pungent. It does not change color when exposed to air.

It is because of her that bitters got their name and are unsuitable for consumption fresh or dried. The color of the flesh of young mushrooms is grayish-white, of old ones - brownish.

Spore powder

The spores themselves are small and oval, white, and their surface resembles a mesh. In the mass, they have a whitish tint.