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Pickled milk mushrooms are the best preparation option for preparing these amazingly tasty and nutritious gifts of the forest. Thick crispy flesh and subtle mushroom aroma will become a real highlight of the table. After all, when pickled, these mushrooms are most often served as an independent dish, with potatoes being the best side dish.
Traditional Russian fermented milk mushrooms are prepared hot or cold. To cook mushrooms correctly, you should familiarize yourself with the features of the process and the step-by-step recipe.
Features of pickling milk mushrooms
Milk mushrooms belong to the class of conditionally edible mushrooms, and therefore you cannot simply fry them in a frying pan. With this method of preparation, the poisons present in them are not destroyed; such a dish can be hazardous to health.
To get rid of poisons, before cooking they need to be cleaned of dirt, thoroughly washed, soaked and boiled. Only after such procedures can you prepare different dishes.
The milk mushroom belongs to the Syroezhkov family. Its uniqueness is that it contains vitamin D of plant origin.In addition, in terms of protein content, this species competes with meat, which means that the dishes turn out to be very satisfying and healthy.
The product also contains a high content of vitamin PP. The chemical composition is quite rich in useful elements: ascorbic acid, calcium, iron, molybdenum, zinc, silver, cobalt, copper. In terms of the content of vitamins PP, D and calcium, the value of mushrooms is superior to butter.
In addition to these features, milk mushrooms have a healing effect. There are substances in mushrooms that can stop the proliferation of the Koch bacterium that causes tuberculosis.
Before you go on a quiet hunt, you should consider some features of further processing of forest products:
- if you have the slightest doubt about the edibility of mushrooms, it is better not to take them; some poisonous specimens that accidentally ended up in the basket can poison all the mushrooms located next to them;
- The shelf life of mushrooms is very short, fresh specimens must undergo culinary processing no later than 4 - 6 hours after they are collected;
- It is possible to extend the storage time up to 12 hours; for this, the mushrooms are placed in a colander or sieve, covered with a damp cloth and sent to the refrigerator or cool room; it is important to ensure that the cloth does not dry out completely.
Milk mushrooms have a subtle mushroom aroma. The characteristic milky juice at the break of the pulp has a pronounced bitterness. One of the ways to get rid of it is pre-boiling or soaking.
In addition to white milk mushrooms, there are also black milk mushrooms in the forests, similar in chemical composition
Pickling (salting) milk mushrooms allows you to preserve all the beneficial substances in them, and pre-processing allows you to get rid of toxic components.
How to prepare pickled milk mushrooms for the winter
To prepare pickled mushrooms with a light, vigorous note, you can use one of the pickling methods: hot or cold. Before cooking, most cooks cut them into pieces that are convenient to prick on a fork. Many people prefer to ferment exclusively caps.
What mushrooms will be like, sliced or whole, is a matter of taste. The main thing is to approach the cooking process correctly. Recipes for pickled milk mushrooms for the winter do not require special ingredients. Use coarse salt, not iodized.
They salt it in jars or oak barrels, as they did in the old days. To ferment in barrels you need a well-equipped cellar. Spices are added to taste.
Hot fermentation of milk mushrooms
Hot fermentation consists of the following stages:
- soaking;
- boiling;
- pickling.
An important step is soaking. Since milk mushrooms have dense flesh, unlike other types of mushrooms, they are soaked before fermentation for several days at room temperature. So that they do not float up and are completely covered with water, a light weight is placed on top of them.
The soaking process can take up to three days. The water takes on a dark color. After soaking for a day, check for hardness, change the water and leave for another 24 hours. By the end of 3 days, the mushroom caps should not be hard, but elastic, but at the same time retain their elasticity.
Ready mushrooms are crispy and elastic
Boil milk mushrooms in salted water. During the process, periodically remove the foam with a slotted spoon. The mushrooms are ready when they have sunk to the bottom of the pan and the water has become clear. After this, place them in a colander or sieve to drain the liquid.
Place in pre-sterilized dry jars - the product must be placed as tightly as possible. The laid layers are sprinkled with salt and spices. Garlic is cut or sent into jars in slices. The amount of spices and garlic is determined by taste.
Cold fermentation of milk mushrooms
With this method of preparation, milk mushrooms go through the stages of soaking and salting, without boiling. This recipe differs from the hot method in the waiting time. The preparation process - cleaning and soaking - is carried out according to the same rules as for the hot method.
Milk mushrooms prepared without boiling can be placed in oak barrels. Ultimately, they will acquire a special aroma.
For both types of fermentation, the same set of products is used. If desired, you can change the quantity and composition of spices. Experienced housewives add them “by eye”.
Ingredients:
- milk mushrooms - 10 kg;
- salt - 300 g + for cooking at the rate of 2 tbsp. l. for 1 liter of water;
- Bay leaf;
- black peppercorns;
- garlic;
- dill umbrellas;
- carnation;
- black currant leaves.
Recipes for pickled milk mushrooms
Hot fermentation. Step by step recipe:
- Place the peeled mushrooms in a container, add water and put a weight so that they remain in the water.
- Cook at low boil in salted water, skimming off the foam. The milk mushrooms are considered ready when they sink to the bottom of the pan.
- Place the milk mushrooms in a colander to allow the liquid to drain. Pour boiling water over currant leaves and dill umbrellas. Sterilize the jars in which you plan to put the mushrooms. Place in layers, legs up, sprinkle with salt and spices. A 3 liter jar requires 100 g of salt.
- Having laid it tightly, press the top layer with a dill umbrella folded into a ring. Cover with a plastic lid. Store in a cool place. The dish is ready in 25–35 days.You can store milk mushrooms fermented in jars in a hot way for 6 months.
Cold preparation method. Step by step recipe:
- Soak according to general rules. Then place them with their caps down in a basin or dish, sprinkling them with salt. Cover with a flat plate and place a weight on top. The role of oppression can be performed by a jar filled with water with a capacity of 3 liters.
- Boil and then cool the brine: for 1 liter of water - 3 tbsp. l. salt. Place the milk mushrooms tightly in prepared dry jars in layers, adding herbs and spices. Cover the top with currant leaves. Pour in cold brine.
- Cover the jars with plastic lids and place in the refrigerator. Milk mushrooms are ready in 40 - 50 days.
A quick way to prepare pickled milk mushrooms.
With this method of preparation, milk mushrooms turn out elastic with a slight bitterness. Currant leaves in this recipe are replaced with oak leaves.
Step by step recipe:
- Soak the mushrooms briefly in water to make them easier to peel. Place milk mushrooms into boiling salted water (2 tablespoons of salt per 1 liter of water). Add spices to the water (pepper, oak leaves, dill, garlic - optional).
- Cook until the mushrooms sink to the bottom and the water is clear. During the cooking process, skim off the foam periodically. Remove the milk mushrooms with a slotted spoon and place in a colander.
- Place warm mushrooms in prepared jars. No need to add spices. Fill the jars to the top with the water used for boiling. Cover with plastic caps and shake to ensure there are no voids. Place the jars in the refrigerator. The dish is ready in 35 - 45 days.
Calorie content of pickled milk mushrooms
General indicators for pickled milk mushrooms prepared in different ways look like this:
- preparation time - up to 3 days;
- cooking time - 1 hour;
- waiting time - 25 - 40 days;
- energy value - 17.3 kcal.
BJU:
- proteins - 1.4 g;
- fats - 0.6 g;
- carbohydrates - 1.5 g.
A hearty and healthy dish with low calorie content, which allows it to be used by those who care about their weight.
Onions will be a good addition to the dish.
Conclusion
Pickled milk mushrooms can be prepared in different ways. If you do everything correctly, then in 1.5 - 2 months an incredibly tasty snack or independent dish will appear on the table. Serve cold. The best side dish would be potatoes in any form. You can use mushrooms in salads. If the finished product is too salty, you can soak it before serving.
