The porcini mushroom belongs to the genus of boletus and one can safely assume that this is his middle name. It belongs to the Fleet family. With this famous mushroom, you can cook a huge number of delicious dishes: soups, sauces, salads and use as a filling for pies. However, in order for health to remain in order, you need to learn how to identify them. In the world there are many types of mushrooms that differ in appearance, taste, and place of growth. But mushrooms: royal, spruce, pine, birch and oak, occupy a leading position among all and are the most popular and delicious.
General description
Ceps, botanically classified as Boletus edibus, are a popular wild edible variety that is a member of the Boletaceae family. They grow individually or in small clusters in the forests at the base of pine, fir, chestnut, oak and spruce. They are classified as mycorrhizal fungi, which form a mutual symbiotic relationship with the roots of trees.
The fungus takes sugar from the roots for growth, and the roots absorb water and nutrients from the fungus. Basically, whites are found in selected regions of the wild, they are often sold in dried form for distribution on a global scale.
Types of porcini mushrooms
The information that is published in this article will help to find the edible mushroom. With the help of a description and a photo, it will be possible to recognize varieties of porcini mushrooms and confidently choose the desired species, knowing where it grows and distinguishing its features.
Thick pulp, excellent taste, the possibilities of different cooking methods distinguish boletus from other brothers. But still the main feature is color.
Pine white mushroom (Boletus pinophilus)
This look has a brown-chocolate hat, which can change its tone to dark purple with light veins on the sides. Diameter 25 cm, has smooth skin, which becomes slippery in rainy weather, and in the sunny it looks matte or glossy. The leg is in the form of a tuber with a brown surface. Its height is approximately 15-16 cm. The cream or yellow shade has a tubular layer, and only later it acquires a green color.
Disputes from olive to green. The pulp of pine is milky white, pink on top with a dense structure. The taste is sweet, and the aroma can be either nutty or mushroom. This species begins to appear in early spring. It grows most often on poor sandy soil. It can also be found on natural beaches, but less often this species is found on chernozem. Pine can be used in any dishes.
Did you know? Psychoactive mushrooms are commonly called "magic mushrooms." They have a psychotropic effect, since most contain a psychoactive ingredient called psilocybin.
Boletus Oak (Boletus reticulatus)
The hat has the shape of a hemisphere, its height can be 23–25 cm. It has a brown color with a mouse tint with drops of light or gray color and a smooth surface. The leg is covered with a cream mesh, quite long, about 21 cm, has a thickening at the base. In a whitish dense, slightly spongy pulp, mushroom aroma is not as pronounced as in other varieties, while the taste remains sweetish-mushroom. White tubular hymenophore with olive-brown spores.
Dubovik appears from the beginning of May and pleases mushroom pickers until October. You can find it in the forest, near the oaks or beech. An inexperienced mushroom picker can be confused with a gall. Oak mushroom loves a warm climate. A variety can be fried, boiled, pickled, salted and based on it make sauces and salads. In the dried version, the specimen exudes an incredible aroma, so housewives often make soups from the oak.
Did you know? 90% of the mushrooms that we eat belong to the white button mushroom variety. It has the mildest taste among all types of mushrooms.
White birch mushroom (Boletus betulicola)
White birch fungus grows on all soils, but on acidic peat bogs or birch-aspen forests it is definitely not to be found. Most often lives alone, less often happens to meet a whole family. Collecting can begin in July and finish at the end of October. The variety differs from most of its counterparts by a thin leg and a smooth hat. This species has a small size up to 14 cm.
Features and classification:
- the mushroom at a more mature age looks squat and not very attractive, and at the beginning of its growth it looks very beautiful;
- has a very bright taste and smell;
- the base leg is quite large in volume (resembles a keg), but as it grows it becomes much higher (up to 12 cm) and thinner (2-4 cm);
- the cap of an adult mushroom is almost white, can be wrapped up;
- the pulp is dense, fragrant, white. The cut location remains white;
- tubular layer of white or light yellow color;
- spore powder is brown.
Boletus edulis (Boletus edulis)
Spruce porcini mushroom is most often found in a dense spruce. He likes a temperate climate. It may appear after fog or rain. You can also find it in an ordinary park, in which spruces or other conifers grow. You can collect from the beginning of July and finish around October. The largest collection period falls in September. At different stages of growth, the hat can reach both the smallest sizes - 5 cm, and large - 40 cm.
Important! To avoid administration, you need to eat any mushroom product dosed: 150 g / 2 p. in weeks
In the rain, it can crack and become covered with mucus. It always has a white to dark brown shade with the addition of yellow, red or white blotches. The leg can grow up to 25-26 cm and be in girth up to 5 cm. The pulp is dense, strong. A young specimen is white, an adult appears yellow.
The spore-bearing tubular layer is white, turning into yellow and then green. And the spore powder is olive with brown. Most lovers of mushroom delicacies believe that among the edible species, this variety is the most delicious. Spruce can be fried, dried, pickled, etc.
Useful properties of porcini mushrooms
The composition of mushrooms contains a large amount of beta-glucan. Its benefit lies in the fact that it strengthens the immune system, protects against bacteria and fungi. Doctors recommend using porcini mushrooms to people who have problems with anemia and atherosclerosis.
Also, their use reduces the development and appearance of cancer due to the presence of polysaccharides and sulfur. Whites contain vitamins C, A, B groups, fiber, Ca (calcium), Se (selenium), riboflavin and many antioxidants.
Inedible Doubles
Visually distinguishing a dangerous mushroom specimen from an edible one is almost impossible. There are not so many inedible boletus, but such as gall or Satanic, as well as their varieties, nevertheless exist. A characteristic feature of the gall fungus is that it is not suitable for food due to the bitter pulp, the bitterness of which intensifies during cooking. Gorchak has a hat up to 10 cm, whitish thick pulp, turns pink when broken. There is no distinct mushroom aroma.
Important! Fans of quiet hiking in the forest, in the absence of skills and knowledge about the varieties of forest gifts, should not independently collect mushrooms in order not to get poisoning.
Satanic appearance:
- Title - Boletus satanas.
- The hat can reach 25 cm. It has a gray or olive tint.
- The pulp is white or yellow, shows a blue color on the cut.
Everyone should know what symptoms may appear when poisoning and overeating a mushroom product.
Symptoms of poisoning:
- nausea and vomiting;
- diarrhea;
- body cramp;
- severe headaches;
- weakness in the body;
- mood swings or hallucinations.
After the appearance of these symptoms, you must immediately put the person who has poisoned the mushrooms into bed, then use the potassium permanganate to wash the stomach, send him to the hospital. Borovik is rightly considered the king of the forest. He stands on the top step among the mushroom counterparts. Having studied all the existing varieties of edible species and their counterparts growing in Russia, it will be possible to go with confidence to the forest. He will reward the "hunters" for mushrooms with a basket of useful forest gifts. Hostess porcini mushrooms will pleasantly surprise you with the fact that they can be perfectly combined with parsley, thyme, oregano, herbs, arugula, dried fruits.
They can be combined in dishes with cheeses, meat, fish, tomatoes, garlic and onions. Serve with rice and noodles. White will be stored up to 3 days fresh in a paper bag in the refrigerator, up to 6 months. Dried in an airtight container.
