The Urals is a huge territory of Russia with magnificent nature and large forests, which are full of valuable mushrooms, berries and other plants. Every year the locals gather rich harvests. More than one agricultural company has been created here, therefore edible mushrooms of the Urals are sold in many regions in salted, pickled, frozen and dried form.
Mushrooms of the Urals
General characteristics
In the Urals, the company for the collection of forest resources continues almost all year round.
This region is considered one of the most promising for the development of mushroom production. Crowds of local residents, starting in early spring, head to the taiga for a delicious harvest, which is then salted, fermented, fried and steamed without sparing their strength.
Mushrooms are a storehouse of trace elements and vitamins. Eating them regularly can get rid of many diseases, stimulate the immune system and normalize blood cholesterol levels.
All mushrooms used have a general classification and are divided into the following categories (groups):
- Category 1: edible;
- Category 2: conditionally edible;
- Category 3: inedible;
- Category 4: poisonous.
The presence of toxins determines the degree of edibility. Not only the first group is allowed to eat. Inedible and conditionally edible varieties are also used in cooking. Before the main cooking, additional processing, soaking and boiling are carried out. You can't eat poisonous mushrooms. It is difficult to remove toxins at home, it is better not to risk your life and health.
Edible forest mushrooms of Siberia, the Urals and other regions are divided by flavoring categories:
- 1st category: the most fragrant;
- 2nd category: less aromatic and average taste;
- Category 3: with low aroma and taste.
Aspen, white, boletus and boletus boletus belong to the first, most aromatic and tasty category. Culinary experts use its representatives primarily, using a variety of processing methods. Even dry, whites do not lose their properties and remain just as tasty.
Ryzhiki, autumn mushrooms and russulas have an average taste and aroma. They are more often boiled and fried.
The third flavoring category includes conditionally edible and inedible species.
They take longer to cook. All kinds of spices are added to give them flavor. They are used to create pates and pickles. Pre-soaked to remove the unpleasant bitter taste of milky juice that is present in the pulp.
Edible species
In the Urals, mushrooms are found everywhere and during any season. But not all of them are edible. In order not to be mistaken, it is better to get acquainted with the edible species in advance. The most popular in this region are the following:
- White;
- Aspen mushrooms;
- Boletus boletus;
- Oil;
- Ryzhiki;
- Waves;
- Russula;
- Squeaks;
- Milk mushrooms;
- Horns.
Summer and autumn mushrooms are so common that some people pass by, considering them something like weeds.
White
White mushroom is called the king of the forest
The porcini mushroom cannot be confused with others, it is remembered at first sight. He is called “the king of the forest”. In the Urals, other names were invented for him:
- Pechura;
- Wood grouse;
- Bugbear;
- Cowshed;
- Belovik.
He has a beautiful powerful leg, cylindrical at the bottom and tapering to the cap. Her color is white. The surface of the cap is brown, sometimes slightly reddish. The pulp is firm, with a strong mushroom aroma. At the bottom of the cap is a spongy layer of white or slightly yellowish color. On the cut, the color never changes. Even when dry, the pulp remains snow-white. This is an important quality of the mushroom. For him, the mushroom was nicknamed "white".
Whites grow in mixed forests from early July to October. They prefer dry, non-swampy soils.
Boletus
The boletus has a second name - the redhead, which he received among the people because of the color of his cap. And also - aspen, kvasyuk, obabok, kazarushka. The lower (spore-bearing) layer of the cap becomes brown with age. The shape of the leg is cylindrical, reaching a height of 18 cm. A mesh consisting of dark scales is clearly visible on it.
A characteristic feature is the blue discoloration of the cut. The aroma is strong and pleasant. The pulp is dense, homogeneous, soft. Boletus grows in deciduous and mixed forests under aspens and other deciduous trees. The best harvest time is from July to the end of September.
Boletus
If a boletus is found in the forest, then there will be boletus somewhere nearby. These forest organisms form mycorrhiza with birches, poplars, and aspens. The mass gathering begins in June and lasts until the end of August.
Description of boletus:
- the cap is dense and wide;
- cap diameter - up to 30 cm (maximum);
- the color of the cap is dark brown;
- the leg is slender, dense, uniform;
- the color of the leg is grayish and beige;
- height - up to 25 cm;
- the pulp is white;
- the aroma is pleasant, strong.
The pulp has a uniform structure. It never darkens on the cut. It becomes dark during heat treatment. For this, the boletus is called “black”.
Hornets
Scallops, or slingshots, are a real treat for a gourmet.
Experienced mushroom pickers will never pass by these strange-looking mushrooms. Mushroom places sometimes do not change for many years due to the "perseverance" of the mycelium. Horned beetles are highly valued by chefs not only of the southern Urals, who use them to prepare delicacies, but also from other regions. It is the delicate aroma and pleasant taste that make the dishes unique. Only young individuals that have white-pink flesh are taken. The shape of the mushroom resembles a branchy sea coral with small horns, which is where the name comes from. Those who are unfamiliar with the slingshot often pass by, considering it inedible.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
They love in the Urals, in addition to the above-mentioned mushrooms and milk mushrooms. To collect them you need to know where to find them. An experienced mushroom picker will never go to young lines where the height of the tree is not higher than that of a person. He will pay attention to older plantings. And in the old forests - be sure you will definitely meet your coveted prey - milk mushrooms. It often happens that the fruiting bodies are almost completely hidden up to the cap in the ground. Then sticks come to the rescue, with which you can "dig deeper" in suspicious bumps. But some of the especially "thoughtful" mushroom pickers perform this operation with specially grabbed small rakes. To find weight-bearing places, you need not only experience, but also a "scent" for them. As it turned out, the load-bearing places have a characteristic smell that can never be confused with anything. Its source is the fruiting bodies and mycelium of the fungus.
When going on a mushroom picker, it is important to pay attention to the smallest details, because it is they who help to find mushrooms and return home with a full basket of wonderful gifts of the forest.
Poisonous species
Poisonous mushrooms should not be picked
Avid mushroom pickers are familiar with poisonous species and will not put them in a basket. They know the blacklisted species. But sometimes even the most professional assemblers make mistakes. Before going into the forest, it is better to remember what poisonous and inedible mushrooms are found in the Urals. The most famous and frequently encountered are the following:
- false mushroom;
- Satanic;
- bilious;
- death cap;
- fly agaric;
- yellow-skinned champignon;
- the chanterelle is false.
Death cap
This fungus, not very large and simple in appearance, is dangerous. Its toxins are so strong that they can even penetrate the skin. Therefore, mushroom pickers do not touch the toadstool, leave it to grow in its place. One touch of her on completely edible mushrooms will make them poisonous.
According to the description, it looks like a russula or mushroom, but there is no "skirt" on the leg. Her hat is whitish or brown-olive. There is almost no smell, completely tasteless. Grows in birch groves from June to the very frost.
Fly agaric
Of the poisonous, fly agaric is especially dangerous. In these forests, rare giant individuals are found, especially after good rains. It is after the rains that it is easy to confuse fly agarics with russula, because the water erodes the white spots on their caps, they become almost invisible.
Description of Fly agarics:
- the leg is high and slender;
- the color of the leg is white (or yellowish);
- grow in height up to 23-30 cm;
- the cap is flat, lamellar;
- the surface of the cap is reddish;
- there is a characteristic thin "skirt" under the hat;
- cap size - up to 30 cm.
Sometimes the cap is orange or pink, which makes it look like russula. The pulp is odorless and yellow in color.
False chanterelle
This representative of poisonous mushrooms grows in conifers. The hat looks like an orange-red funnel. The leg is hollow, cylindrical. These are autumn mushrooms. The mushroom places are the same as in the edible species, the common chanterelle, or cockerel.
The difference from a real mushroom can be seen on a break, which turns pink over time.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
The fact that you cannot eat false chanterelles was an axiom for all mushroom pickers until recently. Recently, there has been evidence that the false chanterelle (orange talker) is already classified as conditionally edible mushrooms. But with the following caveats:
- before eating, this mushroom needs a particularly careful pre-processing;
- people with a weak digestive system are strictly prohibited from eating them.
However, there are no confirmatory factors for the edibility of the orange talker, but there are reports of poisoning with this mushroom.
Weakly poisonous false chanterelles contain toxic compounds that are destroyed under the influence of high temperatures, or, in other words, thermolabile. However, it is impossible to determine at home whether they all collapsed during cooking and the mushroom became harmless to health. Therefore, it will be safer to treat them as inedible mushrooms.
Mushroom business of the Toporkov family. Oyster mushrooms and other mushrooms. Agrofirm "Mushrooms of the Urals".
Machine for forming mushroom blocks. Agrofirm "Mushrooms" of the Urals
Application
Mushrooms are used in different ways. First of all, for food. They are rich in vitamins, trace elements and minerals, useful for the human body.
Forest mushrooms are successfully used by pharmacists and physicians to create medicines and treat certain diseases. Mushrooms are also widely used in folk medicine. Our ancestors knew very well about the properties of many of them. This knowledge is preserved in the memory of some families, who use it to save people.
In cosmetology, mushroom extracts are used to create anti-aging and moisturizing masks.
In animal husbandry, they are used to create feed, and in agriculture they are used for better decay of silage pits and compost heaps.
Conclusion
It is difficult to overestimate the importance of mushrooms in human life. There are many mushrooms in the forests of the Urals, which make wonderful dishes.