Aspen mushrooms are conditionally edible mushrooms, and not everyone risks eating them. But if you learn how to salt them correctly, the result can really be a pleasant surprise, especially since aspen breasts are easy to prepare in both hot and cold ways.
How to distinguish aspen mushrooms?
In aspen and poplar forests, sometimes under willows you can find groups of mushrooms with white, slightly pink hats. In the center of each of them there is a recess, which most often differs aspen mushrooms from other mushrooms. Their feature is a thick fluff along the edge of the fleshy cap, reaching a diameter of 30 centimeters or more. The aspen breast, the photo of which is presented below, has a short stalk and grows mainly in groups.
Mushrooms grow under trees or next to them whole glades. At 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 twist them clockwise. This is explained by the fact that with the breast, the remaining part of the leg begins to rot intensively, until it disappears completely.
Aspen mushrooms love the sun. In such places, they grow denser than in the shade and reach large sizes. In the southern regions, it is unlikely to meet such mushrooms. They prefer a humid climate with frequent heavy rain. In Russia, a lot of aspen mushrooms grows in the Volga region. The best time for mushroom harvesting is from August to October.
Features of cooking
Aspen mushrooms are not recommended to be fried, boiled or baked. They not only do not have pleasant taste, but can also be dangerous to humans. But this does not mean that aspen mushrooms should not be eaten. In Russia, this mushroom has long been used for pickling.
There are two ways to salt the breasts: cold and hot. In the first case, the mushrooms need to be soaked for several days, regularly changing the water. According to this recipe, the breasts are elastic and slightly crunchy. By the way, only mushroom caps are steeped, 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 breasts, this cooking option is the most suitable. They turn out gentle and pleasant to the taste.
To find out which of the recipes is the most successful, you need to try to cook both.
Aspen lump: how to salt cold
It is this method of salting of mushrooms that has always been used in Russia. It has survived to the present day. For salting, oak barrels were used the same as in the preparation of sauerkraut and soaked tomato cucumbers. At home, you can use deep glassware or clay.
To prepare cold aspen mushrooms, you need the following ingredients:
- peeled mushrooms (caps) - 1 kg;
- salt - 2 tablespoons;
- garlic - 2 cloves;
- leaves of cherry, currant, horseradish.
First you need to prepare the mushrooms. Since they grow, as a rule, under last year’s foliage, it’s quite difficult to clean the bonding on the hat. To do this, aspen breasts are dipped in water and cleaned with a knife and sponge. Some mushroom pickers use a different way. The loaves are soaked in cold water for 2-3 days with a systematic replacement, and only after that the hats can be easily washed with a soft sponge.
In peeled mushrooms, the leg is removed, and the hats are lowered into the dishes upwards 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 leaves and spices, a layer of mushrooms, again greens and again mushrooms are laid out at the bottom of the dishes prepared for pickling. Next, cover with a plate and put under the press until juice appears. In this brine, they will stand in a dark, cool place for 40 days, and only after that the breasts can be transferred to banks.
Hot cooking
In a hot way, salt the breasts much faster. They do not need to be soaked, but simply boil for 20 minutes. It is important to pay attention to how the aspen breast, the photo of which is presented below, changes color when cooking. If it gets dark - it is an edible mushroom, and if, on the contrary, it turns pink - inedible.
After the breasts are cooked, they must cool. And only after that they are placed in salting dishes. Further, the recipe repeats the previous one. Aspen breasts, the salting of which took place in a hot way, can be eaten already after 15 days.