Why are milk mushrooms bitter?
Many people, answering the question whether it is possible to fry milk mushrooms, give an unequivocal negative answer, rightly pointing out the excessive bitterness of these mushrooms.
Curious. In most European countries, for a very long time these mushrooms were considered, if not poisonous, then inedible. Later they began to be eaten salted or pickled. But the recipe for fried milk mushrooms is still practically unknown in most European countries.
The reason for the bitter taste lies in the biochemical composition of these mushrooms. Their pulp contains a significant number of so-called milk vessels. At the slightest damage to the structure of the mushroom, these vessels secrete a special juice, which imparts the characteristic astringency and bitterness during heat treatment.
Useful tips
Several useful recommendations will help remove bitterness from mushroom pulp faster and more reliably:
- It is best to collect young mushroom bodies in the forest; their pulp contains less milky juice. Overripe fruiting bodies always taste more bitter, and besides, older specimens, by definition, contain more harmful substances collected by the fungus from the soil and air.
- Experienced mushroom pickers advise going for milk mushrooms on cloudy days after rain. Fruit bodies collected in damp weather are less bitter, but those that have had time to dry in the sun lose a significant part of their moisture and are more bitter.
- Yellow and white milk mushrooms are less bitter than dark varieties of the mushroom. If you don’t want to put too much effort into removing the unpleasant taste, then it is better to collect light-colored fruiting bodies.
- It is recommended to soak or boil the collected mushrooms immediately upon returning from the forest. If you leave them in the air for several hours, the mushrooms will have time to darken, dry out, and the bitterness in them will only intensify, which means it will be more difficult to remove it.
Advice! If, after careful processing, a bitter taste is still felt in the taste of the mushrooms, you can muffle it with the help of spices, vegetable oil, onions and garlic. This will not make the unpleasant tint disappear, but it will almost completely cease to be felt.
You can drown out the bitter notes in mushrooms with spices
How to get rid of bitterness
In fact, it is quite possible to get rid of bitterness. The most common method is soaking .
Mushrooms cleared of forest debris are placed in a sufficiently large amount of water for two or three days. In this case, the water must be changed periodically (about ten times), and the resulting foam must be regularly removed. It is not difficult to determine the progress of the process: just taste a small particle of mushroom to determine whether the bitterness has completely gone away or whether it is worth continuing soaking the mushrooms for some time. At the end of the hydroprocessing process, the mushrooms must be boiled in salted water for ten minutes. To ensure an acceptable result, it is best to do this twice. Next, you should put them in a colander and leave them for a while to remove excess water, which hygroscopic mushrooms absorb in very large volumes. This will take approximately 30-40 minutes.
How long to cook and how to fry porcini mushrooms in a frying pan
Some housewives insist that the soaking process is not at all necessary. However, in the absence of experience and possession of certain culinary secrets, this can not only lead to the dish being hopelessly spoiled, but is also fraught with very real risks of food poisoning . Especially if the human body is susceptible to various allergic reactions or his stomach is too sensitive to so-called “heavy” types of food.
Clinical picture
Poisoning can be recognized by the characteristic symptoms that appear several hours after eating mushrooms (see Mushroom poisoning: symptoms and signs of the condition, methods for its correction). The accompanying symptoms are similar to food intoxication.
The main symptoms appear as:
- general malaise;
- tremors of the limbs;
- chills;
- stomach pain;
- pallor or yellowness of the skin;
- cardiac arrhythmia;
- liquid diarrhea;
- vomiting;
- hallucinations;
- confusion.
Tremors of the limbs may be noted.
The period of onset of symptoms can be from 2 hours to 3 days. But, despite the fact that milk mushrooms cause moderate severity of intoxication, the help of doctors is required in any case. After all, each person’s body can react differently to incoming harmful substances.
There are cases of serious complications (the functioning of the liver, kidneys, heart, and gastrointestinal tract is impaired); in the presence of chronic diseases, exacerbations may develop. Therefore, the sooner medical assistance is provided to the victim, the lower the risk of developing consequences.
Important. Some of the toxins contained in milk mushrooms affect body tissues gradually, which complicates the situation with the development of acute necrosis of liver tissue. Without assistance, the victim may face the most dire consequences, and even death.
Subtleties of the process
Among mushroom menu lovers, there is ongoing debate about whether the whole mushroom is suitable for frying or whether it is better to use its individual parts. The fact is that the cap of a white, gray or black milk mushroom is much softer in structure than the rather rough stem of the mushroom. Therefore, many housewives prefer to fry the caps, sending the legs for salting or marinade.
But this is partly true only for freshly picked mushrooms. When answering the question whether it is possible to fry salted milk mushrooms or a pickled product (for example, canned mushrooms), the problem goes away by itself - absolutely everything that is in the jar is used.
Important. The nutritional and energy value of mushrooms in general and various types of milk mushrooms in particular is very high. They not only successfully replace meat, but also significantly surpass it in most respects. This property becomes especially relevant, for example, during the period of fasting. True, mushrooms are much more difficult to digest by the human body.
Thus, the question of whether it is possible to fry milk mushrooms should definitely be answered in the affirmative. No wonder there are several fairly simple recipes that allow you to get an amazingly tasty dish with a unique character, incomparable aroma and appetizing appearance.
Varieties
Although milk mushrooms are classified as conditionally poisonous mushrooms, this does not reduce its popularity. Picking mushrooms is a pleasure. If you come across a couple at the edge of the forest, look nearby for the rest of the company under a layer of fallen leaves. They grow in huge families, which makes them easy to collect.
There are several types of milk mushrooms, and each of them is suitable for further pickling. The most common are white and black milk mushrooms. Yellow and aspen are rare specimens. But there are still features that unite them.
The mushrooms have quite decent shapes; the cap in its raw form can reach up to 20 cm in diameter. The leg is dense and thick.
The flesh of the white milk mushroom is light milky in color with yellowish plates on the back of the cap. When broken, a sharp juice is released, and the flesh itself changes color to yellowish.
Information:
The black milk mushroom has an ambiguous color scheme. It can vary from olive to dark brown. It is this type of milk mushroom that is considered optimal for pickling.
Milk mushrooms fried with potatoes and onions
A recipe considered a classic of the genre. It is recommended to use only mushroom caps for frying. After appropriate processing to remove bitterness, they are sent to a colander. While the mushrooms are draining, you need to peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes. The onions are peeled and cut into half rings. To speed up the process of drying the milk mushroom caps, you can use paper napkins or towels.
How to deliciously fry oyster mushrooms in a frying pan with onions
Mushrooms are the first to go into the heated frying pan. They must be fried, stirring vigorously and covering with a lid, for about ten minutes. After this, potatoes and onions are added to the mushrooms. The frying process must be continued until all the ingredients of the dish are covered with a uniform brown crust. And only at this stage can you add spices and seasonings to taste. Typically the following components are used:
- salt;
- pepper;
- parsley and/or other herbs.
After that, the heat on the stove should be reduced to low and, covering with a lid, bring the dish to full readiness, periodically tasting it.
On a note. Some housewives recommend putting mushrooms in a dry frying pan. The ability of mushrooms to absorb a significant amount of moisture has already been mentioned above - they will stew perfectly. It is recommended to add oil (sunflower or olive) only at the stage of adding other ingredients to the prepared dish.
Preparatory work
Although milk mushrooms are pleasant to collect, cleaning these mushrooms will require a fair amount of patience from you. The problem is that the top layer must be removed from the cap, which, unlike butter, is difficult to remove. You can use a small sharp knife, which you need to pry off the top layer along the edges, and carefully cut closer to the center.
The second cleaning option is using a brush. These manipulations should be carried out delicately, so as not to spoil the appearance, under running water.
Additionally, you should get rid of the thin edges of the cap and the plates below, especially in large specimens. Also, do not forget to check the mushroom for worms.
If you are wondering how long milk mushrooms should be soaked, then the answer is clear - the longer the better. Minimum time 15 hours. If you prepare mushrooms in a hurry, this is fraught with consequences.
The mushroom should be soaked exclusively in cold water, which must be changed as often as possible. You can, of course, speed up the process by using warm liquid, but then in this case you increase the likelihood of the product souring.
To ensure that the mushrooms are completely covered with liquid, cover them with a suitable plate or lid and place a pressing stone on top.
You can salt milk mushrooms at home in several ways, of which there is simply a huge variety on the Internet (both in the form of photo recipes and in the form of videos).
We will tell you about the best options below.
Mushrooms in sour cream
Another way to get delicious fried milk mushrooms, the recipe for which is quite simple. Peeled, soaked and boiled mushroom caps twice for ten minutes are placed in a heated frying pan greased with vegetable oil. The mushrooms must first be chopped by cutting them into cubes, slices or strips. In addition, they can be breaded in wheat flour before frying. This will give the mushrooms an appetizing crispy crust and juicy taste. However, in the case of frying salted or pickled milk mushrooms, this step may be unnecessary.
Frying the mushrooms with occasional stirring takes no more than 5 minutes. Then chopped onions are added to them. After another 3-4 minutes, the dish is filled with sour cream (approximately 300 g per 500 g of mushrooms), salt, pepper, herbs and spices are added. The heat is reduced to low and the pan remains on the stove for another 4-5 minutes. Thus, it takes no more than 15 minutes to directly prepare a tasty, satisfying and appetizing-looking dish.
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Marinated milk mushrooms recipe for crispy winter step by step recipe. Milk mushrooms in spicy marinade
Compound:
- milk mushrooms – 2 kg;
- water – 3 l;
- salt – 60 g;
- sugar – 20 g;
- bay leaf – 2 pcs.;
- currant leaves – 2 pcs.;
- cherry leaves – 2 pcs.;
- garlic – 3 cloves;
- black pepper (peas) – 2 pcs.;
- cloves – 2 pcs.;
- table vinegar (9 percent) – 60 ml.
Cooking method:
- Clean and sort the milk mushrooms. Soak them for two days, changing the water periodically. Cut large specimens into several pieces.
- Sterilize two liter jars for 15 minutes, prepare the lids for them by boiling them for 10 minutes. You can use four half-liter jars, which can be sterilized a little less.
- Dissolve a tablespoon of salt in two liters of water, dip the milk mushrooms in the saline solution and boil them in it for 20 minutes after boiling. In this case, you need to remove all the foam that forms.
- Rinse the boiled milk mushrooms in running water and, while it is draining, prepare a marinade from 1 liter of water, two tablespoons of salt, a tablespoon of sugar.
- When the brine boils, dip currant, cherry, bay leaves, pepper and cloves into it, and add mushrooms.
- Boil for a quarter of an hour, adding thinly sliced garlic 5 minutes before the end of cooking.
- Place the hot mushrooms in the jars, pressing them down carefully with a spoon.
- Pour 30 ml of table vinegar into each liter jar. If you use half-liter ones, then it is enough to add a teaspoon of acetic acid to each.
- Pour boiling brine over the milk mushrooms until it completely covers them. Close the jars with the prepared lids. You can roll them up or use screw caps.
- Turn the jars over, wrap them in a warm blanket and leave them to cool under it. After a day, it’s time to put them in the pantry, where such preservation can be stored all winter.
In garlic sauce
Another way to prepare an original dish for real gourmets, with its own unique character. As any recipe for fried milk mushrooms provides, all preparation of mushrooms is traditional and is designed to rid the product of bitterness. But the use of garlic seems to return this bitterness to the mushrooms. But it returns in a completely different form - more piquant, original and natural.
In the case of pickled or salted milk mushrooms, whole mushrooms are used for frying. When using fresh product, it is best to fry only the caps. Pre-treatment of white, gray or black milk mushrooms is no different from that used in the recipes given above. Mushrooms must be thoroughly cleaned, soaked and boiled in salted water.
While the boiled milk mushrooms are drying in a colander or in the embrace of paper napkins/towels, there is time to take care of the additional components of the dish being prepared:
- Peel a few cloves of garlic and finely chop;
- parsley (or some other greenery) should also be thoroughly washed and finely chopped.
By this time, the mushroom caps should already give up excess reserves of absorbed water. It's time to place the milk mushrooms cut into strips in a frying pan preheated to about 180 degrees, generously flavored with sunflower, corn or olive oil. Mushrooms are stewed with the lid closed and stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes. At the final stage, the following are sent to the milk mushroom company:
- chopped garlic and herbs;
- salt and pepper to taste;
- optional seasonings and spices.
The degree of readiness of the dish is determined by the presence of a characteristic golden brown crust and by taste testing.
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In general, in order for the mushrooms to be salted, they need to be allowed to stand for a month or a month and a half. But if you have already opened a jar of mushrooms and they are bitter, then you can try to slightly correct the taste. To do this, remove the mushrooms from the jar and rinse with cold water. Let it drain and place in a deep plate, add chopped onion, vinegar and sunflower oil. Mix everything and serve like a mushroom salad. Onions, vinegar and sunflower oil will remove the bitterness.
Almost all mushrooms that are used for pickling require soaking, and not nominally, but thoroughly: the water must be drained several times. This is done for several important reasons; I think it makes no sense to list them all; housewives already know this. But I will still voice one reason: soaking reduces bitterness. Yes, yes, insufficiently soaked mushrooms will most likely taste bitter. It's not dangerous, but it's not very tasty.
Lamellar mushrooms are usually salted. These are milk mushrooms, saffron milk caps, pigtails, white mushrooms, and volushki. All mushrooms, except saffron milk caps, must be soaked before salting, milk mushrooms for 2-3 days, changing the water to remove bitterness. Volnushki and whitefish can be soaked for less than a day. You can boil the mushrooms before salting, but then the forest smell and taste of the mushrooms are lost. Soaking salted mushrooms to reduce bitterness is no longer useful. They are best used for preparing fillings for dumplings, pies, and pies. To do this, fry the mushrooms in oil with onions and mix with mashed potatoes. You can add mushrooms to cabbage soup made from sauerkraut, or to solyanka with cabbage and potatoes.
Since you did not indicate which mushrooms are bitter, I dare to assume that these are salted milk mushrooms. Salted milk mushrooms can taste bitter for only one reason: if they are not soaked enough before salting.
Before salting, you must soak the milk mushrooms for several days, changing the water periodically so that the mushrooms do not ferment.
If the milk mushrooms are poorly soaked, then you won’t be able to completely remove the bitterness, but you can mask it a little.
Wash the milk mushrooms and add onion, sunflower oil and vinegar to them, this will slightly hide the bitterness.
Salted mushrooms can taste bitter for only one reason. Before salting, they were not soaked long enough, or the water was not changed frequently. If this happens, then unfortunately the ready-made salted mushrooms will be bitter. It's not very tasty and not everyone likes it. Before serving, you can season it with lemon juice or apple cider vinegar in addition to onions and sunflower oil. This will add a pleasant sourness and neutralize the bitter note. Before adding the onions to the mushrooms, marinate them for about twenty minutes, sprinkle with sugar and lemon juice.
To prevent salted mushrooms from becoming bitter, they must be thoroughly cleaned and pre-soaked in cold water for at least a day, and the water must be changed periodically. During cooking, the water after boiling should also be drained, and then cook the mushrooms until tender. Perhaps the salted mushrooms are bitter due to improper preservation (at high temperatures, high humidity, exposure to sunlight, etc.)
