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White milkweed, or as it is also called, dry milkweed, is found quite often in forests. Many mushroom pickers consider this mushroom to be a type of milk mushroom, but this is incorrect.Podgrudok white is not related to laticifers and is one of the representatives of the russula genus.
What does a dry breast look like?
The white milk mushroom, a photo and description of which is given below, does have a certain resemblance to an ordinary milk mushroom. This is the reason for the similarity of names.
The photo above shows what a dry mushroom looks like. The mushroom has a traditional shape with a clearly defined cap and stem. Can reach significant sizes. The dry milk mushroom has quite a few synonymous names; in various sources you can find its photo and description under the following names:
- Podgruzd white.
- Rusk (rusk, cracker).
- The russula is pleasant.
- The russula is excellent.
The Latin name for the white plant is Russula delica. It belongs to the lamellar mushrooms of the Russula genus.
Description of the cap
The white's cap undergoes significant changes as it grows older. In young specimens it is flattened and semicircular, with strongly rolled edges. Gradually it straightens out and becomes funnel-shaped, while the edges remain turned down. The photo below shows cracked mushrooms of different ages.
The cap of the white cape becomes funnel-shaped with age
In older specimens, the funnel expands completely, taking on a reverse-conical shape. At the same time, its edges often crack. The diameter of the cap of an adult white cape can reach up to 30 cm. Initially, its color is white, but over time, yellow and brown raised spots begin to appear on it, resembling rust in appearance. In addition, a large amount of plant debris and soil sticks to the cap, which also affects its color.
On the reverse side there are numerous thin straight white plates, often with a greenish or cream tint. At a more advanced age, brown spots may sometimes appear on them. The pulp is white, dense, and has a pronounced mushroom aroma.
Description of the leg
The leg of the white pod is quite short, thick, massive, solid, and dense to the touch. It has a cylindrical shape, while slightly tapering at the top. The leg is white; in adult specimens, uneven rusty-brown dimples often appear on the surface.
How and where does the white plant grow?
White Podgruzd can be found in forests of any type, but in coniferous forests it is found much less frequently. Its habitat is the temperate zone of both the European and Asian parts of Russia. Most often, this mushroom can be found on the edges of forest roads, clearings, in mixed forests with a predominance of birch, aspen, and less often spruce or pine.
In the video at the link below you can see how dry milk mushrooms grow in the wild.
How long does dry mushroom grow?
The first wave of growth of white pods usually begins in mid-summer. Most often they grow in small groups, although sometimes large colonies are found. However, it is quite difficult to find a clean mushroom not damaged by worms at this time. Numerous flying insects love to lay eggs in the fruiting bodies of dry milk mushrooms, so the lion's share of them are wormy during this period. There may be several more such waves of mushroom growth before the end of the season (late October or early November).
Under a layer of fallen leaves, the loading is sometimes difficult to notice
Rapid maturation of white pods can be observed in the first half of autumn, especially if warm weather returns after a long cold snap. At this time, there are practically no midges in the forest, so most mushrooms during this period do not have wormholes.
Edible white load or not
White mushroom belongs to category III edible mushrooms. Despite the fact that its taste is rather mediocre, many mushroom pickers love this mushroom for its versatility.
Doubles of white loading and their differences
The white loader has many doubles. Here are some of them.
- Russula is chlorine-likeI (greenish boot). This mushroom grows mainly in deciduous forests in Western Siberia. It differs from dry milk mushroom only in the bluish-green color of the plates. Greenish Podgrudok is an edible mushroom, so there will be no negative consequences from its use.
- Violin (creaky, felt milk mushroom). A widespread mushroom, visually similar to dry milk mushrooms. In contrast to the latter, the cut of the violin exudes a bitter-tasting milky juice. Because of this, the violin is almost never wormy. The violin has a pure white color (with the exception of old specimens), there is usually much less debris and soil on it, and the cap itself has a velvety, pleasant-to-touch surface. Skripun can be eaten after a long preliminary soaking in water; it is a conditionally edible species.
Important! If you run a fingernail or other object across the surface of the cap, you can hear a characteristic squeak, which is how this mushroom got its name.
- Pepper milk mushroom. This mushroom is a lactiferous mushroom; when cut, it exudes a milky juice that has a very pungent taste.Pepper milk mushrooms, like violin milk mushrooms, are always cleaner than dry milk mushrooms. At the same time, it has a thicker leg. Despite the pungent taste, pepper milk mushrooms can be eaten, but before doing so, it is necessary to keep them in running water for a long time to get rid of the milky juice.
- Volnushka white. This is also one of the representatives of the Milky family, so milky juice will definitely appear on a cut or fracture of this mushroom. The white milkweed is easily distinguished from the dry milk mushroom by its heavily pubescent and sometimes slimy cap. This mushroom is conditionally edible and can be eaten, but it must first be soaked in water for a long time.
What is the difference between raw milk mushrooms and dry ones?
Raw milk mushrooms are most often called real, white milk mushrooms. Their caps are covered with a thin layer of mucus, which makes them moist to the touch. In addition, there are several other differences between raw milk mushrooms and dry ones.
- Yellowish color of the cap, on which darker concentric circles are faintly distinguished.
- Fringe on the hat.
- The edges are strongly turned down and inward.
- The leg is hollow.
- Milky juice appears abundantly on the cut.
You can distinguish raw milk mushrooms from dry ones not only by photo or appearance, but also by smell. True white has a strong, specific aroma with fruity tones.
A real milk mushroom is a mushroom picker’s dream
Raw (real) milk mushroom (pictured) is a much more valuable mushroom than dry mushroom. In terms of nutritional value, it belongs to Group I, the highest, and is a desirable trophy for mushroom pickers.
How to distinguish dry milk mushrooms from false ones
The easiest way to distinguish rusk from other similar species is to examine the cut.The release of white juice will clearly indicate that the mushroom belongs to the laticifers. The white load on the cut will remain dry.
The benefits and harms of white loading
White supplement contains many substances beneficial to human health. It includes:
- amino acids;
- proteins;
- vitamins of group B, D, PP.
- microelements.
The low calorie content of dry milk mushrooms allows them to be used as dietary products. Their regular use helps improve blood circulation and cleanse blood vessels, and helps maintain a high level of immunity.
However, it should be remembered that any mushrooms and porcini mushrooms in particular are quite heavy food, and not every stomach can cope with them. It is not recommended for use by young children, as well as people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and individual intolerance.
How to process dry milk mushrooms after collection
The collected white loads must be processed as soon as possible, otherwise they will dry out and become brittle. As a rule, the caps always contain a large amount of plant remains and soil, so it takes a long time and carefully to wash each specimen. Many mushroom pickers use an old toothbrush with hard bristles for this purpose.
It is convenient to clean dry milk mushrooms with an old toothbrush.
The leg of the white pod is usually separated at the harvesting stage; it has no value. Completely washed dry milk mushrooms can be boiled, salted, or pickled.
Are dry milk mushrooms soaked before cooking?
Unlike milkweeds, which are kept in water to remove the caustic milky juice, white podgrudok is soaked only for the convenience of removing dirt from its surface.Usually it is enough to fill them for 15-20 minutes, after which it will be much easier to clean the cap from the soaked dirt. If the white loads are not very dirty, then they are simply washed under running water without pre-soaking.
What is prepared from white loads?
The main method of preparing white mushrooms is salting. Before this, the mushrooms are boiled for 15-20 minutes and then placed in jars in layers mixed with salt and spices. In addition to salting, other preservation methods are used, such as pickling.
White mushrooms are especially good when salted.
Fresh white mushrooms can be added to soup, boiled and fried; mushroom caviar and various sauces can be prepared from them. They are stewed with meat and vegetables and used as a filling for pies. Freshly picked mushrooms can be stored for future use by drying or deep freezing them raw or boiled.
How to grow dry milk mushrooms in your summer cottage
If there are birch or aspen trees at your summer cottage, then you can try to grow white milk mushrooms or milk mushrooms yourself. To do this, you need to purchase mushroom mycelium in a store or through a boarding school. You can use the fruiting bodies of dry milk mushrooms collected in the forest to breed mycelium, but practice shows that the effectiveness of this method is extremely low. If you use ready-made mycelium, the chances of getting a harvest become much higher.
These are the mushrooms you can grow near your home
You can sow white spores throughout the season. Small trenches 12-15 cm deep are prepared next to any deciduous tree (preferably birch or aspen).Planting material is evenly sown in them, and then filled with a mixture of humus and turf soil mixed in a 1:1 ratio. It will take about six months to form a full-fledged mycelium. In autumn (or spring, depending on the time of planting) you can get the first harvest. After the formation of mycorrhiza with the roots of the tree, the mushrooms in this place will ripen annually, and this usually happens twice per season.
Conclusion
White Podgrudok is a mushroom loved by many and has a universal culinary purpose. It is found much more often than real milk mushrooms, which is why it is used more actively in homemade preparations. It is believed that crackers do not have a distinct taste, but experts in pickling mushrooms will disagree with this. And the huge number of recipes for preparing white soup only confirms that they are right.
