Boletus spruce. Mushroom redhead (boletus): description of edible and false species. Why is the boletus mushroom so called

The boletus mushroom is also called obabk, chelysh, aspen or redhead. This is an edible mushroom that grows in mixed forests, its mycorrhiza (mycelium) is associated with aspen, very often it is found in aspen forests or near aspens. It has a reddish-orange cap, a stocky leg with dark "scales" and dense flesh that turns blue when cut. All types of boletus are edible and taste similar. They are used in frying, boiling, soups and marinating.

The boletus is often called the red mushroom. Young boletus with reddish caps are very noticeable in the forest, but the color may vary depending on the forest, species or age of the fungus. In mature boletus, the hat turns gray and turns brown, becomes not so bright and approaches in color the hats of boletus. The boletus has a rather high leg (up to 15 cm) with characteristic dark gray “scales”. On the cut, the fungus always turns blue and even blackens - this is the main hallmark. The change in color does not affect the taste - the boletus is very tasty and rightfully takes second place after white fungus by taste properties.

There are three main types of boletus: yellow-brown, white and red.

yellow-brown boletus

It grows in mixed deciduous forests: spruce-birch, birch-aspen. Grows in groups or singly. Often grows under broad fern leaves. Appears in the first half of June and stops growing with the first frosts. The cap is convex, cushion-shaped, with a skin hanging down at the edges (in mature mushrooms). The color of the cap is brownish-yellow or orange. The tubular layer is whitish. The leg is massive, high, has a thickening from below. On the leg there are "scales" of dark gray color. The pulp is dense, white at first, but then the cut turns pink and quickly turns blue and even blackens. When processed, the mushrooms darken, when dried, they become almost black.

white boletus

Found in damp pine or spruce-pine forests. In hot dry summers it appears in aspen forests. The cap can reach 25 cm in diameter, at first hemispherical, then convex and cushion-shaped. The color of young mushrooms is white, then gray and in mature ones dirty gray with a brownish tinge. The leg is high, thickened from below with white or brown "scales". At the base of the leg may be blue-green in color. At a break, the mushroom quickly turns blue and becomes dark purple, and then black.

red boletus

Often found in young growth, in deciduous forests, especially abundant in aspen shoots. In hot or dry summers, it can grow in mature aspen. In the tundra grows near shrub birches. Red boletus grows in groups. Often, whole placers of mushrooms can be found in clearings or abandoned forest paths. The cap of the red boletus can reach 25 or even 30 cm in diameter, spherical in young and cushion-shaped in mature mushrooms, brick-red or dark red in color. The tubular layer is white at first, then off-white, gray and, in mature mushrooms, gray-brown. The leg is high, with a thickening at the bottom. The flesh on the cut quickly turns blue and becomes purple.

P boletus has a poisonous "double" - a false boletus, in which the spongy layer (under the cap) is pink, red or even red-brown, which does not happen in real boletus. On the leg of the false boletus there is a yellow or red mesh. A real boletus is quite simple to collect, easy to recognize and easy to process. But there is one very important note: aspen mushrooms should be processed as soon as possible after harvest. The boletus deteriorates very quickly and begins to rot already in the basket, especially in the lower layers. Spoiled mushrooms or their parts can cause malaise or even poisoning. Do not be lazy - cook boletus immediately after harvest! Feel free to cut out the rotten parts, discard spoiled or wormy mushrooms. It is not recommended to take too old mushrooms, especially with damage. During the time spent in the basket, the old damaged boletus has time to deteriorate, and even if you start cooking mushrooms immediately after returning from the forest, such a mushroom can already cause intestinal upset. Do not be greedy, leave overgrown mushrooms in the forest.

You can cook any dish with boletus, this mushroom is very pliable, goes very well with a variety of products, withstands culinary mistakes and even many hours of cooking-parks "Schaub is not a poison." By the way, this is the frequently asked question when cooking: how and how much to cook mushrooms so as not to get poisoned? Actually, why bother? It is enough to exclude everything doubtful, such as old-timer mushrooms praying for a speedy burial, or obviously dubious ones. edible mushrooms, which stand out sharply against the background of charismatic as-in-cartoon boletus with bright hats. And you also need to learn the main rule of any interactions with mushrooms - fresh and only fresh! Mushrooms cannot be stored, they deteriorate even in the refrigerator, and even young handsome fellows will rot in a couple of days in an almost new plastic bag. Collected - cleaned - prepared.

Detail number two: to wash or not to wash. A very controversial issue. If you cook or prepare for pickling or pickling - wash, if you plan to fry and don’t like it when a mass of liquid is melted from the mushrooms into the pan, in which delicious mushrooms slowly darken and lose their taste - do not wash, but clean. With a brush, scrapers, a knife, cutting off damage, pits and dubious places. For drying, select best mushrooms and the youngest ones and without worms are better, in no case should they be washed, but only cleaned (carefully, trying not to damage anything) and then they can be dried whole, strung on a thread. Mushrooms dry better on a thread, retain their taste and aroma longer (inside), look more charismatic, especially if you are the happy owner of a spacious kitchen, where this wealth looks delicious on the eve of the New Year.

Cooking boletus

Everything is simple here: you need to wash or clean it, throw it into boiling water, let it boil and transfer it to another container with boiled water. There and cook until done. Everyone determines the degree of readiness for himself: for someone, even 10 minutes is already a lot, and someone doubts even after an hour and a half - turn it off or another half an hour? If you doubt the raw materials - and an hour and a half will not save you from paranoia, but if the preliminary sorting and processing was done efficiently, then 15-20 minutes is enough.

Frying boletus

There are two ways: wash the mushrooms, cut, boil and dump everything into the pan, watching how the dark mess gurgles for an hour and a half, boils down to a state where it is no longer scary to eat, or just peel, cut and fry in oil for 5-7 minutes in a well heated skillet. For the second method, you need to select mushrooms very carefully: only fresh, only varieties known to you. Let's say white, boletus, chanterelles and aspen mushrooms. Take the best mushrooms, clean (but don’t wash them!) With a brush, cut off dirty or rough and damaged parts, throw away the wormy ones, don’t even try to clean the old ones - just boil them or put them in a bucket. Cut fresh, good, young mushrooms into your favorite size, but do not grind them - they will fry three times! Do not spare oil and fry in a proven and heated frying pan with a thick bottom. Fried boletus is very fond of onions - add it if you like it too.

Drying boletus

Clear the mushrooms from twigs, grass and earth. Use a brush and a handy knife. Don't wash! Mushrooms take on water very quickly, and washed mushrooms can no longer be dried - they simply rot before our eyes. Dry small ones whole, cut large ones, but not finely. Drying is best on a thread or in the oven. In the oven, you should set the temperature to 50-60 degrees - this is the minimum available mode and the door ajar. Some oven models will require you to open the door completely due to the inability to lower the temperature. Dry the mushrooms on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Put it on the top shelf.

Marinating boletus

Salt, spices and vinegar are added to the boiling water. Boil for 7-10 minutes and transfer to sterilized jars. Alternative way consists in cooking without vinegar, but already 25-30 minutes and adding vinegar to slightly cooled mushrooms before transferring them to jars. Mushrooms in jars should be completely covered with marinade liquid. This type of cooking mushrooms is good because mushrooms can be prepared for the future, and bad because deadly botulism bacteria can form if they are not properly processed or stored in jars with mushrooms. If the lids of jars are swollen during storage, feel free to throw away the entire jar and carefully inspect the rest. Be careful!

Mushroom soup with croutons

Ingredients:
500 g boletus,
1 st. flour spoon,
4 tbsp. butter spoons,
bunch of greens
pepper,
salt.

Cooking:
Rinse the mushrooms, cut and throw in boiling salted water. Dilute the flour in warm water, pour into the broth, add butter, turn off the heat and let it brew for 5-7 minutes. When serving, sprinkle chopped greens on plates. Pepper. Serve the croutons separately.

Boletus mushrooms are tasty and very beautiful, they are easy to collect, hard to confuse with poisonous "twins" and very easy to cook. Bon appetit!

Boletus, also called aspen or redhead, is a member of the Leccinum mushroom family. Unlike the boletus, it has an orange-red cap, blue-colored flesh on the cut, a thick stocky leg and dense flesh.

Aspen mushrooms do not differ from each other in terms of culinary properties, but they can be distinguished by external signs. The name boletus mushroom comes from both the characteristic place of growth and the color of the cap, reminiscent of the color of autumn fallen leaves. We recommend to read

Boletus RED
The cap of the red boletus reaches from 4 to 15 centimeters in diameter. The cap is well separated from the stem of the fungus, in youth it resembles a ball with pressed edges of the cap, in adulthood the cap is convex. The cap is velvety to the touch, the skin is not removed and has a red or brownish color. The pulp of the red boletus mushroom, dense, becomes soft at an overripe age. The stem of the mushroom has a fibrous structure. When cut, the cut is white, but turns blue over time, and later turns black. The leg of the boletus grows from 5 to 15 centimeters long in adulthood.

In food wholes, it is used fresh, dried, pickled, boiled or fried, and in value it is in second place after the porcini mushroom.

Boletus YELLOW-BROWN
The flesh of the yellow-brown boletus is white, dense in texture, turns pink on the cut, and then turns blue. The cap of the mushroom has dimensions from 5 to 15 centimeters in diameter, it is dry to the touch, woolly, yellow-brown in color. The stem of the mushroom in its mature form reaches from 8 to 22 centimeters and a thickness of 2 to 5 centimeters, maybe large sizes. To the bottom of the leg of the fungus may have a thickening.

It grows mainly in the European part of Russia and the Far East. The fungus can be found in birch and mixed forests, such as birch-aspen, spruce-birch, sometimes found in pine forests under fern leaves. Fruits from June to September, often singly.

In terms of nutritional qualities, it has the same value as red boletus.

PLANTS WHITE
Highly interesting mushroom, completely different from all other boletus in that it is completely white color. The cap of the mushroom is from 4 to 16 centimeters in diameter, hemispherical in shape. The color of the cap is white with a brown tint, by overripe age the color becomes yellowish. The stem of the mushroom is quite high and white. The pulp of the mushroom is dense, white, if cut, it begins to sharply acquire a blue color on the cut, and later turns black.

It grows in the Volga region, the Central part of Russia, eastern Siberia, Komi, the Penza region, the Murmansk region, Lake Baikal, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, YaNAO, Western Europe, North America and Belarus. The main places of growth are pine forests with spruce growth, it grows mainly on moist soils. Sometimes it can be found in birch, aspen forests. The main fruiting time is from June to September.

In terms of nutritional qualities, it has the same value as all other aspen mushrooms, regardless of the fact that it differs from other aspen mushrooms.

Boletus - oak tree
There is another very interesting boletus mushroom, which is called Oak Obabok. Obabok oak has a hat in diameter from 8 to 16 centimeters in adulthood, the shape, like that of other aspen mushrooms, is hemispherical. The color of the cap is brown, may give an orange tint. The flesh is white with spots of light brown color, when cut it turns into dark color. The stem of the mushroom is 10 to 15 centimeters long, 1.5 to 3.5 centimeters thick. At the base, like other aspen mushrooms, it has a slight thickening.

Obabok oak grows mainly in the oak forest, and it can be found in the forests of the Northern temperate zone. The main fruiting time is from summer to the end of autumn.

RECIPES FOR COOKING BOLETS

Aspen mushrooms are quite high-calorie, and therefore dishes or broths from these mushrooms are almost as good as meat dishes. It is fashionable to use boletus for soups, fry, boil, pickle, dry and salt for the winter. At the same time, the light pulp of mushrooms begins to darken during heat treatment - they retain their natural color only in a pickled form. The caps are much softer than the legs, but both parts of the fungus are eaten in combination with potatoes, cereals, and cabbage. To prevent browning, boletus can be left for several hours in a weak solution of citric acid. Before cooking, such mushrooms do not need to be soaked or pre-boiled - it is enough to get rid of the caps from the films - the total heat treatment time is 20 minutes.

Soups
To prepare mushroom soup of these mushrooms, you will need 500 g of boletus - they must be washed, cleaned and chopped, then sent to salted water. Next, we breed 1 tbsp. flour in warm water and pour the talker into the pan in a thin stream and cook for 15 minutes. By adding 4 tbsp. butter, leave the soup to languish under a closed lid for another 5 minutes. The finished dish should be served at the table with chopped herbs and croutons.

Second courses
There are two ways to fry boletus mushrooms - first, boil the mushrooms in salted water for 10 minutes, and then fry them in oil until an appetizing crust appears. Another option: immediately put the mushrooms in hot oil and fry for 10 minutes along with onions - young and freshly picked mushrooms are selected for this cooking method. Experts recommend not washing young boletus, but simply carefully clean the twigs and debris from them with a brush. In any case, during heat treatment, the mushrooms are reduced in volume by 3 times, so you should not cut them into very small pieces.

Drying
Dry such Forest mushrooms can be outdoors in the shade or in the oven - the temperature should not exceed 50-60 ° C. Before drying, we clean the boletus from debris, but in no case wash it - if you lower them into water, they will immediately begin to draw water, so it will not work to dry them. We store dried boletus in a dry jar - you can grind raw materials into powder, which is added to dishes 15 minutes before the end of cooking - excellent aroma and taste are provided.

Boletus is a mushroom common in Russia, found both in deciduous and pine forests, localizing on the edges, in moss, in bushes and, of course, near aspen forests. The redhead cannot be confused with other species, despite the diversity. Even novice mushroom pickers can easily recognize him by his bright hat and blackening cut. Its processing does not take much time, and its preparation is quite simple.

Boletus - 6 known species

Boletus is a generic name for mushrooms from the genus Leccinum. It is also called red, aspen, obabka, redhead. A characteristic feature is a red-orange hat (very rarely white), a high leg with dark small scales.

The flesh of the obabka turns blue on the cut (both the legs and the caps), due to the interaction of chinometides and oxygen in the aspen juice. There is no danger of color change for a person.

White

It is listed in the Red Book, is extremely rare.

Description:

• Aspens have a small (up to 12 cm in diameter) fleshy hat of a cream or light brown hue.
• The flesh is whitish and dense, turning blue on the cut and gradually turning black.
• The length of the leg can reach 15 cm, in girth up to 2.5 cm, it is white in color with oblong scales.

yellow-brown

The view is quite common, it looks like this:

• The color of the hat varies from yellow-brown to bright orange, it can reach 25, sometimes 30 cm in diameter. The shape of the hat is hemispherical, it is a little fluffy and dry.
• The leg grows up to 22 cm in length and up to 5 cm in diameter, covered with scales of a grayish-black hue.
• The pulp is milky, firm. When cut, it changes color in the following sequence: pinkish - gray - pink-lilac - blue - violet-black.

Red

It looks “more solid” than yellow-brown, the scales are lighter.

• The span of the cap varies from 4 to 25 cm, it is either smooth or slightly velvety. The color of the red boletus depends on its location: near poplars, the redheads are whitish-gray, and in mixed forests they are red-yellow or orange.
• The leg grows in length from 5 to 15 cm (sometimes 28 cm), the girth is 1.5-5 cm. The scales are brown, almost black when ripe.
• The fungus has a white tubular layer with a grayish coating, which becomes yellowish with age.

Painted-footed

It differs from the rest by a whitish-pink leg at the top and a yellowish color at the base. The cap is pinkish, sometimes casts olive or lilac, it is convex and flattened. The skin is smooth and dry. The colored mushroom can be found only in the Far East and Eastern Siberia.

Oak

Color brick red. The pulp is white-gray, dense. The leg grows up to 15 cm long and 5 cm wide, covered with brown scales. The young oak boletus has a spherical hat, as it grows older it becomes pillow-shaped.

If the hat is flat, then it is no longer possible to collect it, it is poisonous. The body will not be able to digest the protein contained in the mushroom.

Pine

Mushroom pickers call it redhead. It has a dark crimson hat, reaching 15 cm in diameter. The pulp is dense white, does not smell. Pine fungus changes color like the rest, but it only takes a simple touch. The leg at the base is greenish, it goes deep into the ground. Redheads love to grow in and around moss.

There are also species such as black-scaled and spruce. Outwardly, they differ little from the mushrooms presented above.

Where and how do mushrooms grow, how long are they stored?

Obabok is found in almost all forest parts of Russia. It is most common in deciduous and mixed forests, especially in young aspen forests (hence the name). A little less often redheads are found on the edges, as well as along the tracks, in the swamp. Boletuses often grow in families. You can collect them from the first half of June until October.

These mushrooms do not keep for a long time even in the refrigerator. They quickly start to rot. Therefore, after harvesting, it is better to immediately clean and cook (they can be kept in the cold for a maximum of 2 days). It is not difficult to process the boletus: they cut off the rotten parts, remove the dirt, the tip of the leg, and wash it.

Do not collect old mushrooms, they do not have a very pleasant taste. They rot in the basket, and there is a risk of poisoning.

Aspen mushrooms quickly darken. To make darkening minimal, you need to soak the redheads in a 0.5% solution. citric acid(1/3 tsp per bucket of water).

2 ways to cook redheads

A huge number of recipes for boletus dishes have been invented. You can do absolutely everything with mushrooms: salt, dry, boil, fry, pickle. Beneficial features preserved in any form. The most common ways to prepare obabok for further use in culinary recipes are boiling and drying.

Cooking

How to cook mushrooms:

• pre-clean and rinse cold water, cut;
• water is poured into a saucepan with mushrooms, salt is added - after boiling, cook for 20 minutes over moderate heat (do not forget to remove the foam);
• put the boiled butternut squash in a colander and let the water drain.

Cooked aspen can be packaged in bags and put in the freezer. The broth is used as a broth for sauces and soups (it must be filtered through cheesecloth).

Drying in the sun

Only strong young aspen mushrooms are suitable for this, without wormholes and damage. It is impossible to wash mushrooms before drying, they quickly absorb water, which will complicate the drying process. Pre-treatment: remove moss, needles, grass with a napkin, cut off the bottom of the leg where the earth sticks.

Drying sequence:

• after processing, the cuts are sorted by size;
• small specimens are dried whole;
• in large mushrooms, the hat is separated from the stem, large hats are cut into several parts, and the legs can be left whole or divided along;
• dry on a stand made of metal or wood: mushrooms are put on ramrods and placed in such a way that they do not touch each other;
• whole specimens can be strung on a fishing line or a thick thread (stretch where there is a lot of sun);
• cover with gauze from insects and dust;
• Mushrooms are removed at night, put back in the morning.

From dried and boiled redheads, fragrant soups and fragrant broths are obtained.

Aspen mushrooms are also well known under the names of aspen and redhead. This is a common name that combines several species of fungi belonging to the genus Lekcinum (Lessinum).

Boletus is also well known under the names of aspen and redhead.

Aspen mushrooms are distinguished by orange-red, and sometimes white caps, and are also characterized by a pronounced blue of the mushroom pulp on the cut. Absolutely all varieties of the redhead belong to the category of edible mushrooms and practically do not differ in their nutritional characteristics.

Some varieties are widely distributed mainly in deciduous and mixed forest zones in Eurasia and North America. Krasnik grows under young deciduous trees, forming most often mycorrhiza with plants such as oak, beech, hornbeam and birch. The yellow-brown redhead bears fruit from June to late autumn in young birch plantings and mixed forest zones.

Where do aspen mushrooms grow (video)

Description of the taste and nutritional value of the boletus

The taste of the redhead is very soft and delicate, with a subtle and very pleasant mushroom aroma. It is thanks to their excellent taste characteristics and excellent compatibility with almost any food product that redheads are very wide application in the cuisines of different countries.

The nutritional value of the redhead is due to chemical composition pulp of fruiting bodies:

• proteins - 3.3 g;
• lipids - 0.5 g;
• carbohydrates - 1.2 g;
• dietary fiber - 6.0 g;
• water - 88.1 g;
• ash - 0.9 g;
• vitamin "B1" or thiamine - 0.02 mg;
• vitamin "B2" or riboflavin - 0.45 mg;
• vitamin "C" or ascorbic acid - 6.0 mg;
• vitamin "E" or alpha-tocopherol - 0.1 mg;
• vitamin "PP" - 9.8 mg;
• niacin - 9.0 mg;
• potassium - 404 mg;
• calcium - 3.0 mg;
• magnesium - 16.0 mg;
• sodium - 6.0 mg;
• phosphorus - 70 mg;
• iron - 0.3 mg;
• monosaccharides and disaccharides - 1.2 g;
• myristic saturated fatty acid - 0.008 g;
• palmitic saturated fatty acid - 0.037 g;
• stearic saturated fatty acid - 0.006 g;
• palmitoleic monounsaturated fatty acid - 0.007 g;
• oleic monounsaturated fatty acid - 0.023 g;
• polyunsaturated linolenic fatty acid - 0.208 g.

Mushroom pulp is involved in the main oxidative and reduction reactions, as well as energy metabolism, increases the activity of visual analyzers, improves the condition of the skin and mucous membranes. The main intracellular ions accept very Active participation in the processes of regulation of water and acid balance. Many vitamins are unstable and can be "lost" during cooking and heat treatment.

The taste of the redhead is very soft and delicate, with a subtle and very pleasant mushroom aroma.

Why is the boletus mushroom so called

Mycorrhiza-forming organisms include a large number of cap mushrooms, including the boletus. Redheads different types, contrary to their sonorous name, are able to form mycorrhiza not only with aspens, but also with birches and some other deciduous plants. However, the name "redhead" or "boletus" is most often associated not with the characteristics of the place where the fruiting bodies grow and develop, but with the appearance of the cap of such a mushroom.

Description of edible types of boletus

Currently, several varieties of edible redhead are known and fairly well studied, which differ in appearance, fruiting period and growing conditions. That's why very important know the characteristics and description of all edible species boletus.

How to look for boletus in the fall (video)

Boletus red

Lessinum aurantiasum or red mushroom - forms a hemispherical or cushion-convex hat, easily separated from the stem and covered with red, orange or brown-red, slightly velvety skin. The fleshy soft part of the fruit body with good density and elasticity, which with age are replaced by longitudinal fibrillation.

On the cut, the pulp is white, quickly turning blue and blackening, without a pronounced aroma and taste. The leg is solid, with an extension at the bottom, gray-white, covered with a white or brownish scaly pattern.

Boletus red

Boletus yellow-brown

Lec.versielle - characterized by a hemispherical or cushion-shaped cap, covered with dry, slightly woolly, orange-yellow or yellowish-brown skin. The soft part of the fruiting body is white, dense, turning pink or bluish on the cut.. The stalk is stocky, thickened in the lower part, with a white or grayish surface part, covered with small and dense, granular, brownish or black scales.

Boletus yellow-brown

Boletus white

Les.percandidum - differs in a hemispherical or cushion-shaped hat, covered with white or yellowish-whitish skin with a pinkish, brownish or bluish-greenish tint. The surface part of the felt type or bare, dry. The region of the stem is quite high, with a club-shaped thickening in the lower part, white in color, with a gray-whitish or grayish-brownish fibrous scaly pattern.

The soft part of the fruiting body is strong, white, with a bluish-green color at the base, quickly turning blue or blackening on the cut.

Boletus white

Obabok oak

Les.quersinum - a variety that has an external resemblance to the common boletus. The cap area is hemispherical or cushion-shaped, covered with a chestnut or brownish-orange skin, slightly hanging down at the edges.

The white and dense soft part of the fruiting body is distinguished by brownish-gray blotches or veins of the same color, turning almost black on the cut. The leg is almost cylindrical, with a slight thickening at the base, covered with a reddish-brownish scaly pattern.

Obabok oak

Boletus painted-legged

Har.chromares is an edible variety that has a pinkish cap with a convex or characteristically flattened shape and a dry, smooth skin on the surface. Tubular layer of pinkish color. Leg with smooth surface cylindrical shape, covered with a scaly whitish-pinkish pattern. There is an ocher-yellow tint at the base of the stem. The white soft part of the fruiting body is quite dense, without a pronounced aroma or taste.

Gallery: boletus (41 photos)

How to distinguish a false boletus from a real one

False mushrooms differ from such edible and popular varieties as boletus or boletus by a very characteristic appearance. False inedible mushrooms, of course, are not always unattractive or have bad smell. With edible varieties of redhead are often confused with gall fungus or mustard, which does not contain toxic substances, but has an incredibly unpleasant, pronouncedly bitter taste.

The bitter cap is hemispherical, round-cushion-shaped or prostrate, with a pronounced fine-fibrous structure and a dry, pubescent or velvety surface, which becomes sticky in rainy weather.

Edible varieties of redhead are often confused with gall fungus or mustard.

The skin is yellow-brown, yellow-brown, light gray-brown or chestnut-brown in color, covering the white soft part of the fruiting body. When not cut, the color may change to a reddish color, but the flesh itself does not have a mushroom aroma and is characterized by a bitter taste.

The leg area has a cylindrical or club-shaped shape swollen in the lower part. Fibrous structure, creamy or yellowish in color, covered with a well-marked reticulate dark brown or blackish pattern. It should be noted, that the bitterness from the pulp does not disappear even during prolonged heat treatment.

How to cook boletus (video)

The first forest beauties in bright hats under an aspen leaf can be found by mid-June. Not a single mushroom picker will be able to pass by such a “trophy”, even those who come to a “silent hunt” for the first time in their life. The boletus mushroom looks so bright and “juicy” - slender, bright and noticeable from afar. This "worthy" appearance really correspond to the best mushroom qualities.

Boletus is a generic name for a number of fungi of the genus Leccinum (Leccinum). Agaricomycetes class, Boletaceae family. Other names: aspen, chelysh, redhead, obabok, red mushroom.

Main types: red, yellow-brown and white. There are also oak, pine, black-scaled and colored-legged. Although the genus of the latter is controversial. Most of them can be immediately distinguished by their characteristic appearance - a “headdress” of orange-red tones (very rarely white), a stocky, fairly high leg with dark scales.

A feature of any boletus is the flesh turning blue on the cut, and not only the legs, but also the caps. Staining in blue occurs due to the interaction of chemical compounds of quinometides from the juice of the fungus with oxygen. When broken, the chemicals quinones are formed, which successively stain the cut of the boletus and the entire flesh in slightly pink, and then bright blue and black. Such changes do not pose a health hazard.

White

White boletus (Leccinum percandidum) or White aspen. Representative from the Red Book, considered a rare species.

• The hat is 4-12 cm in size, can “hold out” up to 25, fleshy. Ivory, cream or light brown, becoming yellowish with age. Feels dry, felty or bare. Sticky in wet weather. In young fruiting bodies in the form of a hemisphere, gradually turns into a pillow-shaped.
• The pulp is white, compacted, yellowish or greenish closer to the base of the leg. It quickly turns blue at the fracture site, reaching a lilac hue in the stem. Then it turns black.
• The leg is up to 15 cm long, 1-2.5 cm in girth. The shape of a club, thickened down. White, with oblong scales of the same color, later acquiring a dark, almost black color.
• The tubular layer is first light milky, then acquires a shade of gray with an orchid.

yellow-brown

Yellow-brown boletus (Leccinum versipelle), otherwise red-brown, different-skinned.

• The color of the cap is from yellow-brown to bright orange. The surface diameter can grow up to 25 and even 30 cm. The shape is hemispherical, gradually spreading into a pillow-shaped one. The skin is slightly fluffy, dry, with increasing humidity becomes slightly sticky, may slightly hang over the edge of the cap.
• The pulp is light milky, strong, slightly pink when cut, turns gray in succession, then becomes pink-lilac, blue and violet-black.
• The length of the leg can reach 22 cm, thickness up to 5 cm in diameter. The shape resembles a mace placed on the ground with a wide part. Covered with frequent longitudinal scales, gray-black in color along the entire length.
• The tubular layer is pale gray to orchid gray.

In the northern territories, such aspen trees grow up to 2 kg, while they are rarely affected by worms.

Red

Red boletus (Leccinum aurantiacum) or Redhead. Other names: krasyuk, krasik, krasnik.

• Hat. Standard form for boletus. It grows in scope from 4 to 20-25 cm. In small mushrooms, it is practically “put on” on the leg, gradually straightens. The surface is smooth or slightly velvety. The color depends on the place of collection. Mixed forests “color” the hat in orange or red-yellow color, in aspen forests the mushroom “dresses” in dark red, and next to poplars in different variations of whitish-gray shades.
• The pulp does not differ from the yellow-brown boletus.
• Leg dimensions: height from 5 to 15 and maximum 28 cm, in circumference 1.5-5 cm. Cylindrical with a thickening at the base. With longitudinal fibers of whitish brownish scales darkening to almost black as they mature.
• The tubular layer is whitish with a gray coating, becoming yellowish or olive with age.

Red boletus differs from yellow-brown in “solidity” and lighter scales along the stem.

Spreading

These mushrooms grow almost throughout the entire forest area, starting from Europe and the Caucasus and ending Far East and Western Siberia. They are collected throughout the summer, from the beginning of June to September inclusive. Some species delight lovers until the first frost. They grow especially well during the wet season.

Mushrooms can choose different places of mixed and deciduous forests. One thing is for sure - where boletus grows, cool breezes always blow, and there is no directly scorching sun. Learn more about preferences known species can be seen below.

Is there a false boletus? Mushrooms doppelgangers

Some mushroom lovers are afraid of being poisoned by a false boletus. Others generally doubt that false aspen mushrooms are real. Which of them is right? There really is no such thing.

All "twins" of the boletus are edible and do not pose a health hazard. Let's see how this mushroom differs from each of them.

• Differences between boletus and boletus: a red cap, a thicker stem, the flesh of the cap is denser, turns blue when broken throughout the mushroom and quickly turns black.
• The white fungus has a pine shape: the leg is less thick, there are no scales on it.
• From Polish: red color of the cap (in Polish, rich chestnut), the flesh is more rigid. Polish is common only in oak groves and occasionally in conifers, and boletus is everywhere.

How to collect

The white boletus, listed in the Red Book, should not be collected at all. By picking just one mushroom, a person will destroy thousands of spores, from which a mycelium can develop.

As for the rest of the representatives, it is best to collect them in young deciduous forests, although they also grow in mixed forests, but in smaller quantities. In heat and dryness, they actively “move” to aspen forests. Each species prefers its own places of growth, as mentioned earlier. The boletus grows for 3-6 days, so if you visit the old gathering places twice a week, you can always stay with the “prey”.

The description of the boletus will certainly include a bright hat, but keep in mind that this is not always the case. The less sunlight hits it, the lighter the shade can be. This fact should also be taken into account when collecting boletus. The brightest hats can be immediately seen on the edges and in rare aspen forests. Even beginners will not pass by such mushrooms, joyfully beholding the tall "beauties" in the clearings.

Collecting boletus is not difficult, because they grow in "families" and, having seen one, you can collect, if you're lucky, a whole "cart" at once. You need to cut off at the base so as not to damage the mycelium. You should not take only old mushrooms, because they will have time to deteriorate before the mushroom picker brings them home.

Primary processing and preparation

Some housewives have a question about what to do with the blue mushrooms, which differ from the boletus they saw in the photographs? After harvesting, boletus should be processed and cooked immediately! If the mushrooms have lain for more than two days, even in the refrigerator, such specimens can only be thrown away.

If you plan to cook them for salting, pickling or frying, you must first wash them, then clean and remove possible damage by worms, and then boil them in two waters. For drying, they do not wash, but they must be cleaned, best of all with a brush.

It is good to marinate or salt small fruiting bodies, strongly grown up - it is preferable to fry, stew or dry. Mushrooms have an excellent taste, go well with other products, in particular potatoes, buckwheat and rice. Good in soups and salads. You can "twist" mushroom caviar.

During processing, all aspen trees darken, when dried, they practically turn black, unlike white ones, which do not change color when dried.

Nutritional qualities, benefits and harms

In addition to the wonderful taste, the boletus is “praised” for other properties that make it useful for people:

• low calorie content (22 kcal) allows for use in dietary nutrition;
• the taste is rich and original;
• the protein content is higher than in meat;
• in terms of the amount of vitamin PP, it can compete with the liver, and in group B with cereals;
• lots of vitamin C.

Useful properties of aspen retain only under the condition of timely processing. Each 100 g of the product contains 49% of the daily requirement of vitamin PP, 25% of vitamin B 2 , 20% of dietary fiber and a little more than 16% of potassium.

From the fungus, the body can replenish its reserves of iron and phosphorus, potassium and vitamin A. Amino acids are absorbed without problems by almost 80%. Aspen mushrooms help in the recovery period after an illness, strengthen the immune system, when dried, they fight cholesterol and cleanse blood vessels. Promote wound healing.

The benefits and harms of boletus, like any mushroom, depend on the state of the human body. Digestion of such a product occurs slowly, with an additional burden on the kidneys, liver and stomach. Therefore, those who suffer from them should consume these mushrooms in limited quantities. Aspen mushrooms should not be given to children under 3 years of age, when the food digestion system has not yet fully adapted to all products.

If the storage periods are not observed, even young mushrooms can cause poisoning. To prevent this from happening, take your health seriously.

Boletus is an amazing gift from our forests, healthy, tasty and nutritious. It is quite difficult to confuse it with other mushrooms, it is easy to cook, and it is impossible to forget the flavors. Collect boletus in your basket without hesitation (except for the white boletus, which, as already mentioned, is a rare species and is listed in the Red Book). It is not for nothing that this mushroom occupies the second position in terms of "importance" after white. This is a kind of "prime minister" of the mushroom kingdom!