Mycologists have counted about 40 species of honey mushrooms in nature, among which the most famous are summer, autumn and winter. Most often they grow on trees, but in Europe they love meadow mushrooms, hiding in the grass on the ground and tasting like meat.
At the same time, the calorie content of all types of these mushrooms is low, only 22 kcal per 100 g of product.
Among the many species, there are false honey mushrooms, or inedible ones, which can cause poisoning. However, no deaths from poisoning have been recorded to date.
The most dangerous type is the sulfur-yellow honey fungus; it is indicated not only by its yellow color, but also by the bitterness present in it, as well as an unpleasant odor. Another honey mushroom, brick-red, although considered inedible, is not poisonous, provided that it is well boiled.
There are poisonous mushrooms that are similar to honey mushrooms, but do not belong to this group, for example, galerina fringed. Unlike the edible honey agaric, galerina does not have a characteristic ring on the stem and usually grows singly.
But to ensure that you avoid fatal confusion, it is better to go into the forest accompanied by an experienced mushroom picker.
Hot pickling recipe
- 1 kg honey mushrooms;
- 4-5 tbsp. l. salt;
- spices to taste (pepper, bay leaf, currant and cherry leaves, garlic, etc.)
What to do next:
- The first step is to sort out the mushrooms, clearing them of forest debris. Usually honey mushrooms are small in size, so it is much easier to wash them if you first soak them in cold water for an hour and move them a little in the water with your hands every 15-20 minutes.
- After about an hour, you will notice how the mushrooms have lightened; use a spoon to place them in a colander, being careful not to stir up the layer of dirt that has settled to the bottom.
- Rinse the mushrooms directly in a colander under running water, transfer to an enamel pan and cover with cold salted water.
- Cook after boiling for about 20 minutes, until they begin to sink to the bottom. In this case, it is necessary to remove any foam that appears.
- Place the boiled mushrooms in a colander again and stir lightly with a spoon to drain all the liquid.
- Place leaves and spices on the bottom of a glass or ceramic bowl, and on top - a layer of hot boiled honey mushrooms, spices again on them, and so on.
- Cover the bowl with an inverted plate, put some weight on top, for example, put a jar filled with water.
- You can leave the bowl with the preparation on the table or put it in the refrigerator.
- After some time, the mushrooms will release juice, and the surface will be covered with a thin layer resembling mold - this will be a sign that the mushrooms are ready for use.
The appetizer is prepared in a bowl on the table for about a week, in the cold for about a month.
Preparing mushrooms
Before you pickle honey mushrooms in jars for the winter, you need to properly prepare the fruiting bodies themselves.
Note! The taste of the product depends on the quality of the raw materials, so you should choose only high-quality mushrooms collected in an ecologically clean area.
Preparing honey mushrooms for pickling includes the following steps:
- Fruiting bodies begin to be processed immediately after purchase or return from the forest. The mushrooms are cleaned of large particles of earth and debris and washed several times under running water.
- If there is any doubt about the quality of honey mushrooms, they are soaked in salted water for several hours.
- The harvest is sorted by size. Small mushrooms are left whole, and the stems of large ones are cut off. They are not used for pickling because of their hardness.
Fruit bodies are weighed before salting. This will help determine the exact amounts of other ingredients.
How to pickle honey mushrooms for the winter in jars
Mushrooms pickled in a bowl, after they have been salted and given juice, can be placed in glass jars, covered with plastic lids and placed in the refrigerator.
It should be remembered that salted mushrooms may form a substance that causes botulism during storage. Symptoms of botulism are similar to those of poisoning, so it is not recommended to seal jars with metal lids.
If the lid is swollen and the contents are cloudy, such preparations should not be eaten.
In those places where there are a lot of honey mushrooms, there is a very simple method of pickling.
- After washing, the mushrooms should be boiled in heavily salted water for at least 20 minutes.
- Hot honey mushrooms along with brine are poured into clean glass jars, which are immediately closed. The more salty the water, the better they will be stored.
- Before use, be sure to soak to remove excess salt.
Fkusnofacts
— If salted mushrooms are prepared without cooking (cold), it is especially important to carefully process the mushrooms before cooking. To further sterilize the mushrooms, you can fill them with salted water and leave for a couple of hours and then drain the water.
— Before salting honey mushrooms, they must be weighed in order to correctly calculate the amount of salt
. One kilogram of raw honey mushrooms requires 40 grams of salt. It is better to use coarse salt for pickling, as it contains fewer chemical elements that are used to purify the salt and can give the salted mushrooms extra notes of taste.
— When preparing honey mushrooms for pickling
You can separate the small ones from the large ones and salt them separately.
If it is important to save time, then you can not separate the honey mushrooms, but salt them all together. When cleaning large mushrooms, the stems should be cut off, leaving only a small stump at the cap. For medium honey mushrooms, cut the legs into pieces no larger than 2 centimeters, and only very small honey mushrooms can be salted whole. It should be said that the most appetizing appetizer consists of small whole mushrooms that have completely retained their shape when cooked, so the mushrooms must be processed as carefully as possible. — The quality of mushrooms
can be checked by adding an onion to the water during boiling. If the color of the onion has not changed, then all mushrooms can be processed further without fear. But if the bulb has acquired a grayish or bluish tint, it is better to refuse these mushrooms and not risk the health of yourself and your loved ones.
— It is possible to make the preparation in a barrel and store it in it, but at home this method is unlikely to be the safest for the quality of mushrooms. To get a fragrant preparation with a barrel aroma, it is recommended to do all the procedures in a barrel, keep the mushrooms in the barrel under load, but finally put the mushrooms into jars.
- If honey mushrooms lighten during pickling, you don’t need to do anything, this is normal.
— Before salting honey mushrooms, you should take into account that from one bucket of fresh mushrooms you get a three-liter jar of salted ones. Since an open jar of salted honey mushrooms is stored for 1-2 weeks, it is recommended to salt honey mushrooms in small jars with a volume of 200-300 milliliters.
— Meadow honey mushrooms (with hard legs) should be salted only using the hot method, as otherwise they remain hard — When cooking honey mushrooms, add water to the pan
should be poured at the rate of 2 glasses per kilogram of mushrooms.
— Ready-made salted mushrooms are served, mixed with vegetable oil and chopped onion in half rings, as an appetizer.
— Spices
preserve the taste and aroma of salted mushrooms, but their excessive consumption can destroy the delicate taste of honey mushrooms. Mushrooms go very well with garlic and dill. When pickling, bay leaves, black peppercorns, currant leaves, and cherries are also used. Horseradish leaves, as well as the root, make the mushrooms crispy, and the oak root gives elasticity. You can add cloves, coriander and rosemary, which has a pine smell and the mushrooms turn out “forest”. The quantity and ratio of spices can be added to taste, the main thing is not to overdo it. Leaves of currants, bay leaves, and cherries must be scalded with boiling water before putting them in jars. This way, harmful microorganisms and bacteria will not be able to get to the mushrooms, and the aroma from the leaves will be stronger.
— Dishes for pickling mushrooms
It is best to use a wooden one using the cold method; it can be bought from folk craftsmen. You can also use ceramic or enamel dishes, but be sure to avoid chips or cracks. Before use, be sure to scald the dishes with boiling water and dry them. With the hot salting method, you can cook mushroom soup with the remaining broth.
- As oppression
When salting mushrooms, you can use a stone (first wash it clean and scald it with boiling water) or a jar of water. If the neck of the dish is not wide, a water bottle will do.
— So that ready-made salted honey mushrooms do not become moldy during storage
, on top they can be covered with gauze soaked in vinegar. Store the salted mushrooms in a cool place. This could be a refrigerator, cellar or balcony, if the air temperature is no more than ten degrees. Store an open jar for no more than 1-2 weeks. You can pour a little vegetable oil into a jar of salted honey mushrooms. This will prevent air access, and the mushrooms will last much longer.
— Before serving, it is recommended to place honey mushrooms in a salad bowl or bowl, season with vegetable oil, add onions cut into rings, chopped garlic and dill.
— You can buy salted honey mushrooms in the store all year round, but homemade ones have a brighter taste and aroma. The cost of store-bought honey mushrooms is 800 rubles/1 liter, home-made honey mushrooms collected with your own hands are from 20 rubles. (price as of June 2022).
— The calorie content of salted mushrooms is 20 kcal.
— It is recommended to serve salted mushrooms on any winter and spring holidays (New Year, Christmas, Maslenitsa, etc.), you can eat them during Lent.
— Salted honey mushrooms are an excellent addition when preparing dishes such as mashed potatoes, boiled rice and pasta.
Very tasty honey mushrooms, salted with onions
An excellent snack for every day and to include in a holiday menu. Please note that the calculation of spices is given for one liter of water.
The amount of ingredients is given for 2 liter jars.
Compound:
- Mushrooms - 4 kg.
- Onion - head.
- Garlic - head.
- Lavrushka – 6-8 pcs.
- Dill umbrellas (or seeds) - to taste.
- Cherry and currant leaves.
- Cloves – 10 buds.
- Sweet peas – 10 pcs.
For brine per 1 liter of water:
- Salt – 2 large spoons.
- Dill seeds - a teaspoon.
- Allspice – 3 peas.
- Cloves – 2 buds.
Preparation:
- Carefully sort out the honey mushrooms, wash them, and divide them into individual mushrooms. Chop if necessary.
- Place in a saucepan, fill with water. Place the whole onion, add dill seeds, and salt. I advise you to place the seeds in a fabric bag to make it easier to remove from the pan after cooking.
- Cook the mushrooms for 30 minutes from the moment of boiling. Afterwards, remove the dill seeds; they will no longer be needed.
- Throw garlic, dill umbrellas, cherry and currant leaves, laurel leaves, allspice, and cloves to the bottom of the jars.
- Fill the jars tightly with cooked mushrooms. Pour out the broth in which the mushrooms were cooked.
- Separately, prepare fresh brine. For 2 liter jars, take a liter of water, add everything that is indicated in the recipe. Boil for about 5 minutes until the salt is completely dissolved.
- Pour over the mushrooms, let cool without covering. Then seal tightly with a nylon lid and place in the cold for winter storage.
- After 1-2 weeks, the pickling will be ready.
To prevent mold from appearing on the surface of honey mushrooms in jars or pans, soak a piece of gauze or bandage in vinegar and cover the top. Update the tool periodically.
Instant salted mushrooms
Finally, I’ll spoil you with a recipe for quick-cooking honey mushrooms. After a week, you can enjoy the snack, but keep in mind that it is not suitable for storing for the winter.
Take:
- Mushrooms – 5 kg.
- Salt – 200 gr.
- Bulb.
- Garlic – 2 heads.
- Coriander – 2-3 large spoons.
- Black pepper – 1-2 large spoons.
- Sweet peas – 10 pcs.
- Dill – 5-10 umbrellas.
- Laurel – 5-10 pcs.
- Cloves – 5-10 pcs.
- Cherry, currant leaves.
Salting:
- Boil the honey mushrooms prepared for processing by adding a whole onion and salt to the brine. Place coriander, bay leaves, and cloves into a gauze bag. Tie it to the handle of the pan and lower it into the broth. Cooking time is half an hour. Then remove the spice bag.
- Place garlic, dill umbrella, and leaves on the bottom of the jars.
- Fill the top with honey mushrooms, pour hot brine. Roll up or close under a nylon lid.
Honey mushrooms with horseradish according to an old Russian recipe without vinegar
An old recipe for pickling, with horseradish, cherry and currant leaves.
Necessary:
- Mushrooms – 5 kg.
- Garlic – 3-4 heads.
- Horseradish, root - to taste.
- Lavrushka – 5 sheets.
- Salt – 200 gr.
- Currant and cherry leaves - several pieces.
- Peppercorns – 10 pcs.
- Dill umbrellas – 2-4 pcs.
How to add salt:
- Rinse the prepared mushrooms in several waters. Slice the garlic cloves. Peel the horseradish root and grate it on a coarse grater.
- Place honey mushrooms in a pan in layers, alternating with seasonings and spices. Don't forget to salt the layers.
- Cover with clean double gauze, cover with a flat dish and press down with pressure. Be patient for 2 months for the pickling to develop its real flavor.
