Brown russula

Edibility

The mediocre taste and peppery taste, usually inherent in ocher russula, give reason to consider this mushroom inedible. At the same time, some mushroom pickers collect it as conditionally edible and remove bitterness by boiling the fruit bodies in several waters. Probably, the severity of the unpleasant aftertaste depends on the area in which the mushroom is harvested. In addition, ocher russula can be easily confused with bilious, which will surely ruin all the pleasure of mushroom cooking.

The ocher russula is a mushroom with a dubious reputation for taste. Most often, this species is classified as inedible and well-informed mushroom pickers are better off collecting more reliable, certainly edible varieties of russula.

Interesting Facts

Russula contains dietary fiber, monosaccharides, disaccharides, saturated fatty acids, vitamins B1, B2, C, E, and PP. The calorie content of mushrooms is only 19 kcal!

Experienced mushroom pickers claim that pink russula, which appeared in April - May, do not have bitterness, like later ones.

The main differences between russula and poisonous pale toadstool are the absence of a ring on the leg, a volva at the base and fragile flesh.

In France and Germany, russula are not harvested, considering them inedible mushrooms.

Reindeer, moose, wild boars are very fond of this mushroom, perhaps because its special substances help to heal animals from parasites.

The russula with a pink leg undoubtedly deserves the attention of lovers of quiet hunting. This mushroom can be salted, pickled, boiled, and fried russula, according to mushroom pickers, is one of the most delicious dishes from forest fruits.

Primary processing and cooking recipes

Before preparing pickles or russula blanks, the mushrooms are pre-washed well, then peeled, removing the skin, and the middle is slightly cleaned. Fruit bodies must be heat treated immediately, otherwise they may darken on exposure to air.

From russula, you can prepare any dish, except for soups and stews. The most popular are salted, pickled russula, they are fried and frozen for the winter.

Cooking

The main task in the preparation of this type of mushroom is to remove the bitterness, which is characteristic of all types of russula. For this, peeled fruit bodies should be boiled in several waters. First, make a salted broth: 40 g of salt per 2 liters of water. Then it is drained and the fruits are poured with an acidified liquid: 20 g of citric acid per 2 liters of water. Both times, the mushrooms must be cooked for 20 minutes.

Frying

The classic recipe for russula will appeal to mushroom lovers. You can add sour cream, cream to the finished dish, serve with potatoes and eat with other side dishes.

Ingredients:

• mushrooms - 600 g;
• butter - 30 g;
• garlic - 3 cloves;
• onion - 2 heads;
• lemon juice - 1 tbsp l .;
• salt, pepper, herbs - taste.

Step by step cooking process:

1. Peel the onions and garlic. Chop the first into cubes, pass the last through a press.
2. Fry the vegetables in oil.
3. Pre-prepared, boiled russula cut into slices, add to vegetables, pour in lemon juice.
4. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 15–20 minutes.

Salting for the winter

The use of cherry leaves in the preparation of pickling allows you to give the dish a pleasant fruity-resinous smell. You can also take umbrellas of dill, other herbs, bay leaves, garlic, etc. It is easy to make a blank.

Ingredients:

• russula - 1 kg;
• salt - 3 tbsp. l .;
• cherry leaves - 7-8 pcs .;
• cloves - 5 pcs.;
• black pepper - 5 pcs.

Cooking method:

1. Wash the fruiting bodies, place in a bowl of salt water for 3 hours so that they stop bitter.
2. Place the soaked mushrooms in a pot of boiling water, season with salt and cook for 20 minutes, constantly skimming off the foam.
3. Once the fruits settle to the bottom, add the spices and simmer for another 5-7 minutes over low heat.
4. Arrange the mushrooms in sterilized jars, fill with boiling brine and seal.
5. Store in a cool, dark place.

Russula fading

Description

The beautiful russula is characterized by a bright color of the cap, which "fades" over time, hence the name of the species.

Hat

Fading russula caps are usually small (up to 10 cm in diameter), but there are extremely large overripe specimens. The color is usually close to crimson, with darker edges. Enlightenment can be observed in the center. Small russules have spherical, gradually opening caps. The surface of the cap is dry and smooth. With the maturation of the mushroom and an increase in its size, the color of the cap turns pale. The skin is difficult to separate from the cap.

Leg

The leg of a beautiful russula is relatively thick and low (about 3 cm in thickness and 6 cm in length). It is cylindrical in shape with a downward extension. Its color is predominantly white with a pinkish tinge in the upper third. In the lower third, yellow spots may appear.

Pulp

In young specimens, the flesh is white, and in old specimens it is grayish, it turns red on the cut, then turns gray. The consistency is dense, tough, especially at the legs, so many people prefer to eat only hats. The raw mushroom tastes bitter, but when cooked it is sweetish.

Distribution and collection

The beautiful russula is widespread almost all over the world, but prefers temperate latitudes. Symbiotic coexistence is usually found in russules fading with deciduous trees. But the growth of this species is also possible in coniferous forests.

Similar species

The fading russula has a rather characteristic appearance so as not to be confused with other mushrooms. The only mushroom that looks a little like her is the russula, burning or emetic.

The latter is distinguished by whiter plates (not darkening in mature mushrooms) and pulp that does not gray out on the cut. This mushroom has a very bitter taste, therefore it is considered inedible.

Its use can cause stomach troubles, which reflects its name. However, according to some sources, russula emetic becomes edible when boiled well.

Edibility

The beautiful russula has, according to many consumers, very mediocre taste. The legs of these mushrooms are rarely eaten because of their rigidity. We can say that russula is an amateur mushroom, suitable for those who prefer a strong food consistency. After boiling, russula are fried with potatoes, salted and pickled.

Interesting facts

Russula mushrooms, including such as the fading russula, are characterized by a number of interesting properties:

• Russulin contained in russula promotes milk curdling, therefore russula components can be used in cheese making.
• Lecithin, which is part of this mushroom, lowers the content of bad cholesterol in the blood.
• Regular use of russula cleanses the gastrointestinal tract.

• The russula got its name not because it can be eaten raw. Quite the opposite: like any conditionally edible mushroom, it requires preliminary digestion.

And the name comes from the fact that pickles from these mushrooms are prepared faster than from the rest.

Not all mushroom pickers collect russules. Many neglect them, because there are boletus, moss and other, more "valuable" mushrooms. However, fried or salted russula are also quite edible and tasty.

Similar false doubles

The pink russula has an edible counterpart: the marsh russula. This species got its name due to the fact that it prefers to grow in swampy areas, in moist pine forests.Where this species grows, it is almost always wet and damp. Grows from June to September. At a young age, the cap of the fruiting body has a convex shape, then it becomes depressed. Color - bright red, brown closer to the center. The leg is white, sometimes with a pinkish tinge. The mushroom is edible, tasty, suitable for all types of heat treatment.

All the differences in the types of russula can be seen in the photo or in the table:

Name	Pungent russula	Bitter russula	Russula false red
Appearance	The hat is red or red-pink, up to 10 cm in diameter, flat-convex at first, stretched out with age	Bright red or pinkish-red cap, the skin peels off quite easily	The hat is 5–12 cm, pink, rose-red, can fade to a light, almost white color.
Differences in taste	Burning, unpleasant taste and smell	Fragile, white flesh, very bitter characteristic taste	White, fresh-tasting pulp
Growing places	Grows only in coniferous forests	Only grows under beeches	Grows in oak forests, clearings and forest edges.

Green russula (Russula aeruginea)

Synonyms:

• Grass-green Russula
• Green russula
• Russula copper-rust
• Copper-green russula
• Russula blue-green

Among russula with hats in green and greenish tones, it is quite easy to get lost. Green russula can be identified by a number of signs, among which it makes sense to list the most important and most noticeable for a novice mushroom picker.

It:

• Fairly uniform cap color in shades of green
• Off-white or yellowish spore powder print
• Soft taste
• Slow pink reaction to iron salts on the surface of the stem
• The rest of the differences are only at the microscopic level.

Description

Hat: 5-9 centimeters in diameter, possibly up to 10-11 cm (and this is probably not the limit). In youth it is convex, becomes broadly convex to flat with a shallow depression in the center. Dry or slightly damp, slightly sticky. Smooth or slightly velvety in the center. In adult specimens, the edges of the cap may be slightly "ribbed". Color from grayish green to yellowish green, olive green, slightly darker in the center. "Warm" colors (with the presence of red, for example, brown, brown) are absent. The peel is fairly easy to peel about half the radius.

Plates: adherent or even slightly descending. Located close to each other, often branching near the stem. The color of the plates is from almost white, light, creamy, creamy to pale yellow; with age, they become covered with brownish spots.

Leg: 4-6 cm long, 1-2 cm thick. Central, cylindrical, tapering slightly towards the base. Whitish, dry, smooth. With age, rusty spots may appear closer to the base of the leg. Dense in young mushrooms, then wadded in the central part, in very adults - with a central cavity.

Flesh: white, rather dense in young mushrooms, fragile with age, wadded. The cap is rather thin at the edges. Does not change color at cut and break.

Smell: no special smell, weak mushroom. Taste: soft, sometimes sweetish. Young records have, according to some sources, “sharp”.

Spore powder imprint: from cream to pale yellow. Spores: 6-10 x 5-7 microns, elliptical, warty, with an incomplete mesh. Chemical reactions: KOH on the surface of the cap is orange. Iron salts on the surface of the stem and pulp are slowly pink.

Ecology

Green russula forms mycorrhiza with deciduous and coniferous species. Among the priorities are spruce, pine and birch.

Edibility

An edible mushroom with a controversial flavor. Old paper guides classify the green russula as category 3 and even category 4 mushrooms.
It turns out great in salting, suitable for dry salting (only young specimens should be taken).
Sometimes it is recommended to pre-boil for up to 15 minutes (it is not clear why).

Warning

Many sources indicate that the green russula is not recommended for harvesting, as it can supposedly be confused with the pale toadstool. In my humble opinion, you really need to absolutely not understand mushrooms in order to mistake the fly agaric for a russula. But, just in case, I am writing: when collecting green russula, be careful! If the mushrooms have a sac at the base of the leg or a "skirt" - this is not a russula.

Similar species

In addition to the aforementioned Pale toadstool, any kind of russula that have green colors in the color of the cap can be taken for a green russula.

In the old reference books one can find the Russian name "Big green russula" for Russula aeruginea, with the indication "prefers birch forests" and a separate clarification that the skin from the cap is peeled off completely. When preparing this material, the author had to read a lot of different descriptions (in different languages) , and the conclusion, alas, disappointing, can only be drawn: we still do not really know anything about russula in general and about Russula aeruginea in particular. Sometimes the species Russula graminicolor Secr. ex Quel., apparently, is indistinguishable from Russula aeruginea, the difference is only in the sources, the name Russula graminicolor is taken from French authors.

Photo: Vitaly Gumenyuk.

Similar species

There are several types of russula, resembling golden in appearance:

This mushroom has a very strong pulp and red shades of the cap, which do not turn yellow with age. The pulp has a distinctly fruity smell, and when heat-treated it is turpentine, and therefore the species is not considered edible. This species is found in all types of forests.

On the cut, it changes color to gray, grows more often in swampy areas, is edible.

1-Beautiful russula 2-Yellow russula

It is similar to the previous one (yellow), but higher in gastronomic quality, does not turn gray on the cut and grows in dry places.

It is edible and smells like flowers, this smell is enhanced by heat treatment. The mushroom has a bright yellow coloration of the plates and a cap without redness.

1-ocher russula 2-Russula golden yellow

Inedible, has a yellow cap without redness. The taste of this mushroom is pungent, and the smell is mustard. It is usually found next to oak trees.

It has a red cap and emits a pronounced vinegar smell, its edibility is controversial.

1-Solar russula 2-Acetic russula

Definitioner

Basidia (Basidia)

Lat. Basidia. A specialized structure of sexual reproduction in fungi, inherent only in Basidiomycetes. Basidia are terminal (end) elements of hyphae of various shapes and sizes, on which spores develop exogenously (outside).

Basidia are diverse in structure and method of attachment to hyphae.

According to the position relative to the axis of the hypha, to which they are attached, three types of basidia are distinguished:

Apical basidia are formed from the terminal cell of the hypha and are located parallel to its axis.

Pleurobasidia are formed from lateral processes and are located perpendicular to the axis of the hypha, which continues to grow and can form new processes with basidia.

Subasidia are formed from a lateral process, turned perpendicular to the axis of the hypha, which, after the formation of one basidium, stops its growth.

Based on morphology:

Holobasidia - unicellular basidia, not divided by septa (see Fig. A, D.).

Phragmobasidia are divided by transverse or vertical septa, usually into four cells (see Fig. B, C).

By type of development:

Heterobasidia consists of two parts - hypobasidia and epibasidia developing from it, with or without partitions (see Fig. C, B) (see Fig. D).

Homobasidia is not divided into hypo- and epibasidia and in all cases is considered holobasidia (Fig. A).

Basidia is the place of karyogamy, meiosis and the formation of basidiospores. Homobasidia, as a rule, is not functionally divided, and meiosis follows karyogamy in it. However, basidia can be divided into probasidia - the site of karyogamy and metabasidia - the site of meiosis. Probasidium is often a dormant spore, for example in rust fungi.In such cases, probazidia grows with metabasidia, in which meiosis occurs and on which basidiospores are formed (see Fig. E).

See Karyogamy, Meiosis, Gifa.

Pileipellis

Lat. Pileipellis, skin - differentiated surface layer of the cap of agaricoid basidiomycetes. The structure of the skin in most cases differs from the inner flesh of the cap and may have a different structure. The structural features of pileipellis are often used as diagnostic features in descriptions of fungi species.

According to their structure, they are divided into four main types: cutis, trichoderma, hymeniderma and epithelium.

See Agaricoid fungi, Basidiomycete, Cutis, Trichoderma, Gimeniderm, Epithelium.