In the autumn period, the issue of picking mushrooms is always relevant. Not all people are well versed in certain varieties. In our article we want to talk about the common milkweed. What is this mushroom, what does it look like and is it edible?
What is the name of the mushroom?
The common milkweed is a conditionally edible mushroom that belongs to the russula family. It got its name due to the fact that in its pulp there are ducts with milky juice. As soon as the fruiting body is slightly damaged, the juice begins to flow out. Very old specimens in dry years may not contain milky fluid.
Common Milkweed: photo and description
Milky are agaric mushrooms of the russula family. In a radius, a mushroom cap can be from 4 to 11 centimeters. Its surface always shines, even in sunny but dry weather. It has circles on top. With the age of the fungus, the color of the hat also changes. If the young representatives have a dark bluish color and a convex shape of the cap, then the old ones acquire a lilac or brown color, and subsequently yellow and rusty. The hat gradually becomes flatter and evendepressed. Its surface is quite dense, and sometimes there are even pits on it. The edges of the cap can be wavy or curved, and often even curl inwards.
The height of the legs reaches 8-10 centimeters. It can be painted gray or red. The shape of the leg is cylindrical. But inside it is empty. The common milky has an incredibly brittle, but dense pulp. She crumbles easily. This is due to the fact that in its composition there are practically no fibers. The flesh inside the mushroom is white, but near the surface it is colored brown. The milky juice makes it bitter. When exposed to air, the milky liquid turns yellow.
Most of the milkers were recognized by experts as inedible due to too caustic juice. However, distinguishing the varieties of the fungus is incredibly difficult because they are very similar. Even experienced mushroom pickers do not always cope with such a task. Therefore, novice mushroom pickers should not take them into the basket at all. Milkers have no doubles.
People call these mushrooms differently: alders, smoothies, hollows, gray milk mushrooms, yellow hollows.
Where milkers grow
The first common lactifers appear in the second half of July. You can collect them until the end of September. Mushrooms grow actively, of course, in damp rainy weather. They prefer damp places, and therefore grow in lowlands in mixed, coniferous and deciduous forests. As a rule, they are collected under birch or coniferous trees. Mushrooms hide in moss or tall grass. Insects do not touch milkers. Mushrooms also grow along the banks of ponds and swamps. But mushrooms do not like hot regions, preferring more moderate latitudes. Therefore, they are found in the forests of European countries, in the central and middle regions of Russia, in the Urals, in Western Siberia and even in the Far East.
Milk milk mushroom (photo and description are given in the article) has many types. However, as already mentioned, outwardly they are quite difficult to distinguish. Therefore, it is worth dwelling on some varieties in more detail.
Scorching Milky Mushroom
The burning milky milky is a conditionally edible species. It is very rare in our forests. As a rule, it grows on clay lands. It can also grow in well-lit forests among shrubs. Most mushrooms grow singly and only occasionally in groups. You can meet them from early August to early October. The mushroom has a small cap, the diameter of which is about six centimeters. It is smooth to the touch and slightly concave in the center. From above it is painted in gray-beige color. The mushroom contains a very caustic milky sap that does not change color when exposed to air. The stem of the mushroom is painted the same color as the cap. This kind of milky belongs to the third category. Such mushrooms can only be s alted, and they must first be boiled or soaked.
Milky camphor
Another variety of common lactic acid (photo is given in the article) is camphor lactic acid. You can also meet such a mushroom in our forests infrequently. They do not grow alone, but gather in groups. Grow from the end of July to the beginning of October. The yield of mushrooms is completely independent of weather conditions. They grow in damp places in any forests.
Camphor milkweed has a convex knobby cap. In old mushrooms, it becomes funnel-shaped. The edges of the cap are uneven, with a characteristic waviness. The color of the fungus can be brown and reach a red-orange hue. And in the center of the cap there is a dark purple area.
Sticky Milky
Sticky milky - conditionally edible, according to some experts, and inedible, according to others. The size of his hat is medium, about five centimeters. In young mushrooms, it has a convex shape, while in old ones, on the contrary, it is concave. Hats are painted gray and have an olive tint, but brown specimens are also found. Most of all, this species of milkers can be found in deciduous forests or between spruces and pines in the middle of summer.
Milky gray-pink
This type of milky milky is popularly called differently - inedible milk mushroom, amber milk milk, gray-pink milk milk, etc. Gray-pink milk milk is considered an inedible mushroom.
His hat has a gray-pink color, which is why he got his name. In diameter, it can reach from 8 to 15 centimeters. The hat is round in shape. Its central part may have a tubercle or a depression. In young mushrooms, the edges of the cap are neat and bent inward. With age, the edges begin to open. In general, the color of this variety of fungus is very difficult to describe. There are brown gray andpink shades. The surface of the hat is dry and velvety.
The flesh of the mushroom is thick and brittle. It has a very intense aroma and a pungent taste. The milky juice has a watery appearance and is excreted in small quantities. Mature mushrooms may not contain juice at all. Thick and short legs of the mushroom, as a rule, do not exceed 5-8 centimeters in height. In cases where the gray-pink lactic (photo and description are given in the article) grows in mosses, the height of the leg can be much larger.
Where the inedible mushroom grows
The gray-pink milky is a mushroom that grows in swamps. It can be found among pines and birches, in mosses. It grows from August to September. When favorable conditions occur, there can be a lot of mushrooms.
Such a mushroom in Russia is often referred to as conditionally edible. But in foreign literature, it is defined as slightly poisonous. Yes, and in our country such mushrooms are often considered inedible. It should be noted that this species can be attributed to low value. Therefore, it makes sense to collect milky in the complete absence of commercial varieties. Mushrooms have a very strong specific smell, which usually repels mushroom pickers.
Related species
The inedible mushroom has related species that grow in different regions. One of them is the zoneless lactic acid, which is common in Eurasia. There is such a fungus in deciduous forests. It can grow both in groups and alone. They appear from July to September, but in lean years they may not grow at all.
Zoneless Milky is an edible mushroom. It is perfect for pickling and pickling. For cooking, it is recommended to collect only young mushrooms.
Another related species is oak breast, or zonal. It is ubiquitous, preferring broad-leaved forests with birches, beeches and oaks. The oak mushroom is conditionally edible, so it needs to be soaked before cooking to remove unnecessary bitterness.
Edible milkers
As we have already mentioned, the milky mushroom has a lot of similar varieties. Earlier we listed some types of edible and conditionally edible species. They should also include a lilac milky, non-caustic, fragrant, faded, white, brownish.
Among the milkers, there are also poisonous representatives that are incredibly dangerous for humans. It is better never to put such mushrooms in your basket. When collecting milkers, you need to be very careful not to take a poisonous mushroom. And for this you need to have an idea of \u200b\u200bwhat inedible species look like.
Shyroid lactic
The thyroid milky is a poisonous species. The mushroom cap reaches five centimeters in diameter. In a young state, it has curved edges, which gradually open in the future. The surface of the cap is covered with a large amount of mucus. The hat is yellow with a brownish or rusty tinge. When pressed, its color changes to gray or brown. Milkythyroid, like other varieties, has milky juice, which initially flows white, and then turns blue.
Other types of poisonous milkers
Milky gray is also a poisonous species. Its name clearly characterizes its peculiarity. The cap of the mushroom is small, reaches no more than three centimeters in diameter, it is painted gray. Mushrooms prefer growing under alder trees.
Among other poisonous forms, pink, dark brown, pale sticky, brown, lilac, bitter, wet, watery-milky, spiny lactic can be distinguished.
Harm and benefit from milkers
The common lactic mushroom (photo is given in the article) contains valuable amino acids - leucine, glutamine, tyrosine and arginine. In addition, the pulp contains fatty acids: stearic, butyric, palmitic and acetic. Mushrooms are rich in essential oils, phosphatides and lipoids. The common milkweed (smooth) contains fiber and glycogen, but there is no starch in it. No less interesting is the set of microelements of fungi: Ca, K, P, J, Cu, Zn, As. Surprisingly, an antibiotic called lactarioviolin has been found in selected varieties to be effective in fighting tuberculosis.
Other types of lactic acid have a positive effect, for example, in gallstone disease, purulent and acute conjunctivitis. And some contain an antibacterial agent that is effective against Staphylococcus aureus.
The common milky isexcellent mushroom for pickling and s alting. During this processing, a fermentation process takes place in it, due to which a characteristic sour taste appears, which is very much appreciated in Russian pickles. The milky mushroom is quite fleshy, so it can be used after pre-cooking for cooking other dishes.
Most of the bitterness found in mushrooms disappears during heat treatment, so thoroughly fried milkers can also be eaten. When finished, smoothies will have a characteristic slightly bitter taste, as if seasoned with black pepper. Northern peoples have long respected milkers, using them in cooking. The natural bitterness of mushrooms repels pests from them. For this reason, smoothies are the least susceptible to damage by all kinds of worms and insects. In Finland, for example, from time immemorial there has been a recipe for grilled or bonfire milkers.
And yet you need to cook smoothies with extreme caution, since these are conditionally edible mushrooms. Mushrooms are pre-soaked. This is done in order to neutralize the bitterness of the milky juice, which can cause people to have an eating disorder, diarrhea and vomiting.
Conclusions
Gladysh, or common milkweed, is a mushroom whose taste properties can only be appreciated by true gourmets and true mushroom pickers. Properly prepared milkers are tasty and have their fans. However, it is worth remembering the preliminary primary processing of smoothies. It is not for nothing that lactic acid has long been popular in s alted form. To cook such mushrooms, you need to spend enougha lot of time for all the preparatory stages. The process is not at all simple and even laborious. At one time, people appreciated the long fruiting period of mushrooms and their high yield. At present, the economic importance of milkers has significantly decreased due to difficulties with their preparation. But they have learned how to obtain valuable antibiotics, which are widely used in modern medicine.
