Valui mushroom
Despite the dissonant name in Latin, which means “stinking russula”, the Valui mushroom is edible. Although, as the name indicates, its use in food is preceded by long-term processing. But pickled, pickled mushrooms will become perhaps one of the most delicious snacks on the table. It is also useful for every mushroom picker to know how not to confuse edible and poisonous mushrooms.
Mushroom Valui
The appearance of fruit bodies and habitat
Valui mushrooms are classified as russules. Many people think that they are not suitable for food, and are not harvested in season, but Valui is a conditionally edible mushroom. The people gave him the names "bull", "snotty" and "cam". It looks like a russula.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
Specific features of the Valui mushroom:
- The cap of young mushrooms is spherical.
- The peel from the surface of the cap can be easily removed.
- The plates of the hymenophore are adherent, forked, of different lengths, secrete a yellowish transparent liquid, which, when dry, leaves brown spots.
- Valuya spores are amyloid, i.e. colored under the influence of iodine.
- The pulp has a burning-bitter taste, its unpleasant smell is similar to the smell of rancid oil.
- With age, an irregular cavity forms in the middle of the leg.
The appearance of Valui mushrooms:
- A curved or flattened cap up to 15 cm in diameter has a ribbed edge. There is mucus on it, which dries up in the heat. The skin is buffy-yellow or buffy-brown.
- In young individuals, the plates are white-cream, in adults, they are yellow. When damaged, juice is released.
- The pulp darkens with age and in humid weather has an unpleasant odor of dampness and a burning taste. May cause nausea.
- According to the species description, the young Valui mushroom has a dense, barrel-shaped leg. In adult specimens, it is hollow and filled with soft tissue, growing up to 12 cm in height. Shades range from cream to brownish yellow.
By July, whole placers of Valuev ripen in the forests, and remain there until the end of October. They are not whimsical to the soil and its cover, therefore they grow in any forest, but they prefer moist soil. Often value mushrooms are scattered in the shade of both deciduous and coniferous trees, although many mushroom pickers believe that looking for the species should only be in deciduous forests.
Valui are mycorrhizal forming agents that enter into symbiotic relationships with representatives of coniferous and deciduous tree species; it can often be found in birch forests or in forests with an admixture of birches.
The habitat is located in the European part of Russia, western Siberia, the Far East and the Caucasus.
You can also meet the Crimean species. According to Western European opinion, this species is inedible, but in the Slavic territories it has long been consumed in salted form and caviar was prepared.
Valui mushrooms are classified as russules
In order not to endanger your life, you need to know how edible fruiting bodies differ from false ones. The most dangerous for humans is considered to be gebele - a poisonous mushroom that disguises itself as russula or white.
Gebeloma as a false mushroom Valui
The false Valui mushroom - gebele - was nicknamed the "shitty" mushroom because of the pungent smell of radish or horseradish emanating from its pulp.
It is widespread, outwardly similar to edible fruiting bodies in structure, leg shape and pulp color. Her hat is the same brown-yellow color with mucus.
Signs of a false value that distinguish it from the real one:
- The edges of the cap of the poisonous fruit go in a "wave".
- There are horizontal, discreet curls on the leg.
- Edible fruiting bodies never gnaw worms, insects do not sit on them.
To protect yourself from poisoning, you should carefully consider the appearance of the mushroom and not neglect the sorting of those already collected at home. If you are not sure whether it is a gebeloma or a Valui mushroom, it is better not to cut it at all.
Processing of harvested fruit bodies
Even edible fruiting bodies need to be prepared for consumption in order to get rid of bitterness and possibly dangerous corrosive juices.
Features of using the fruit bodies of Valuy:
- they are not used for frying and drying;
- hot salting is considered optimal;
- they are pickled and rolled up in jars.
Edible mushrooms also need to be prepared for consumption.
Due to its natural bitterness, Valui needs to be soaked or blanched for a long time before cooking.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
Blanching is used instead of soaking to speed up preparation for the main cooking process. To do this, the mushrooms are dipped for 20 minutes in a boiling brine (100 g of coarse table salt per 10 liters of water), then filtered and washed with cold water.
Attention! For blanching, as well as for the processes of harvesting mushrooms for the winter, iodized rock salt is not used.
If you have enough time left, then soaking can be used. It is better to spend it in salted water, pressing down with oppression from above. And in order to better remove bitterness from the mushrooms and at the same time preserve their crisp structure, you can acidify the brine for soaking: for 10 liters of water you need to take 100 g layers and 20 g of citric acid. In this case, the water is changed twice a day.
Soak them in cold water, changing the liquid regularly. Sometimes in older specimens, the skin is cut from the cap, since it is tough and especially bitter. The soaking time is at least 3 days, and the water must be drained and replaced with a new one several times a day. The soaked mushrooms are boiled for 10-15 minutes, removing the foam.
Cool the product under running water. Now mushrooms are used to prepare a snack or prepare for pickling. Also, delicious mushroom caviar is obtained from this species:
- Fruit bodies boiled for half an hour are crushed with a blender or meat grinder.
- Stew with the addition of spices and onions.
- It is immediately eaten or harvested for the winter.
On a note. If, even after boiling, the values are bitter, roll them up in jars and leave for 2 months. During this time, the bitterness should go away. Often I use young fruit bodies for pickling and pickling, because they are small and dense, pickle better and look pleasant on a dish. And caviar is made from old mushrooms.
Conclusion
This species has a description similar to the porcini mushroom, russula and gebeloma. Edible mushrooms grow in all forests, prefer moist soil and tree shade. Before eating, even edible mushrooms are subjected to long-term processing to get rid of pungent bitterness.
