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The golden boletus is a rare and very valuable edible mushroom, which is classified as noble. Although you can rarely meet him in Our Country, you should familiarize yourself with the description and features.
What do golden mushrooms look like
The cap of the golden boletus is of medium size, it usually reaches about 12 cm in diameter, but in rare cases it can grow up to 20 cm. It is convex in shape, sometimes becomes almost flat with age, but usually retains a hemispherical shape. The surface of the cap is dry, smooth or slightly velvety; in adult fruiting bodies, cracks often appear on the cap. The lower surface is tubular, sponge-like and slightly depressed around the stem, with large round pores.
The color of the cap of the golden boletus, or bolete, can vary from reddish brown to brown with a dark purple tint. The underside is usually yellow or greenish-yellow. A characteristic feature is that when pressed, the tubular lower surface does not turn blue, as happens with most mushrooms, but acquires a different shade of yellow.
The leg of the golden boletus can rise up to 24 cm above the ground, but more often it rises by only 10-15 cm. It reaches an average of 2 cm in diameter, and narrows slightly in the upper part. To the touch, the leg is elastic and dense, and in color it is yellowish, brownish or reddish, slightly lighter than the hat, but of a similar shade. The stem of young fruiting bodies is usually lighter in color, becoming darker with age.
The golden boletus is characterized by the presence of a distinguishable mesh pattern on the stem; longitudinal ribbed lines can be seen on its surface. In the upper part of the stem, this pattern is more noticeable, but closer to the base, you can see the white mycelium of the fungus. The leg is dry to the touch, it can become sticky only in wet weather.
If you cut a golden boletus, then its flesh will be dense, pinkish-white or yellowish-white in hue. From contact with air, the flesh does not change its color or very slowly becomes greenish-brown. Golden boletus does not have a pronounced smell, and the taste of raw pulp is described as slightly sour.
Where do golden mushrooms grow
The golden boletus is considered quite rare in Eurasia. It is mainly distributed in the United States of America, Canada and Mexico, and is also found in Taiwan. It is extremely rare to see it in the forests of Europe, although there are reports that the mushroom was found in Lithuania, as well as in the Kaliningrad and Leningrad regions.
Golden mushrooms grow mainly in coniferous and mixed forests near tree trunks, they prefer spruce plantings. You can meet them both singly and in small groups, the main fruiting occurs at the end of summer and the beginning of autumn.
Is it possible to eat golden mushrooms
The golden boletus is a completely edible mushroom and is widely used in cooking without complex pre-treatment. True, experienced mushroom pickers do not appreciate its taste too highly, but they note that this boletus is rarely affected by worms and insects, even in adulthood.
False doubles
There are few twins in the golden boletus, however, in the absence of experience, it can be confused with other species. It is especially dangerous that the false twins of the golden boletus are inedible mushrooms, so making a mistake is very undesirable.
gall fungus
The most common false twin of golden boletus in Our Country is mustard, or gall fungus. The similarity lies in the structure – the mustard also has a strong dense leg and a hemispherical cap of light brown color.
But to distinguish an edible mushroom from a mustard is quite simple. First of all, you need to take a closer look at the leg – in the gall fungus it is covered with veins that vaguely resemble blood vessels. In addition, the flesh of the mustard on the cut darkens very quickly.
If the bitter gets into the soup or roast, the dish will be irreparably damaged.
Satan’s Mushroom
The golden bolete has a strong resemblance to the inedible satanic mushroom. The latter is widespread in Europe and in the Primorye, as well as in the Caucasus. The varieties are similar to each other in their external structure – the satanic mushroom also has a tall and thick stem, crowned with a very wide hat, sometimes reaching 30 cm in diameter. True, the color of the cap of the satanic mushroom is usually light gray or yellowish white, but it can also be olive with a brown tint, which increases the likelihood of error.
There are several ways to distinguish a satanic mushroom. Its leg in the lower part has a bright yellow-red color and a mesh pattern, and if you cut the mushroom in half, the flesh will quickly turn blue. An adult satanic mushroom can be recognized by its unpleasant odor; it emits a sharp aroma of rotting onions.
Borovik is beautiful
This species is found mainly in North America, but it will be useful for beginner mushroom pickers to familiarize themselves with its description. A beautiful, or beautiful boletus, has a wide hemispherical hat up to 25 cm in diameter and a high leg about 8 cm in thickness. In color, it looks like a golden bolette – the cap has a light brown, and the leg is a darker brown with a reddish tint. Despite its name, the beautiful boletus is poisonous and unsuitable for use as food.
You can distinguish it from the golden boletus by the pulp – on the cut it is not white, but yellow and quickly acquires a bright blue hue. Also a characteristic feature of the poisonous beautiful boletus is the presence of a reddish mesh in the lower part of the leg.
Collection rules
You can collect golden boletus throughout the summer, but it is more common closer to autumn, from August to the end of September. Sometimes this mushroom comes across singly, it can also grow in small groups.
It is necessary to choose the cleanest forests with the presence of spruce for collection. It is undesirable to pick mushrooms near highways and industrial sites, fruiting bodies will contain too many toxic substances and will not bring any health benefits. When picking mushrooms, it is necessary to carefully twist the fruiting bodies out of the ground by the stem or cut them off with a knife. If you roughly pull out the boletus from the soil, you can damage the mycelium, and the fruiting body will not grow again in the same place, it is undesirable to do so, given the rarity of the golden boletus in Europe.
The probability of meeting a golden boletus in the middle lane is not very high.
Use
Edible golden boletus has not only a pleasant taste, but also a very rich chemical composition. Its pulp contains useful vitamins – A, C, B1 and D, as well as iron, potassium, calcium and a large amount of protein. Eating a mushroom is useful for improving the functioning of the metabolic system, for strengthening joints and ligaments, for treating anemia and underweight.
Although the golden boletus does not contain toxic substances in its composition, it cannot be eaten raw, the pulp must be thermally processed before use:
- The collected mushrooms are cleaned of earth and forest debris, washed in cold water, and then boiled twice.
- First, boil mushrooms for 5 minutes in unsalted water and drain the broth, and rinse the mushrooms again with cold water.
- After that, mushrooms are again poured with water and boiled already in salt water for 20 minutes, while the rising foam must be removed.
After boiling, the golden boletus must be rinsed again. Boiled pulp can be used in salads or added to soups, and golden boletus is also suitable for frying, salting and pickling. The mushroom is versatile, with a pleasant taste and health benefits in any dish.
Pregnant women and children under 7 years of age also need to give up the fungus, the body with hypersensitivity can perceive the mushroom pulp negatively.
Conclusion
The golden boletus can rarely be found on the territory of Our Country, however, in recent years it has been noted that its distribution area is becoming wider. A detailed description of the mushroom and a photo will allow you to recognize it when you meet and distinguish it from other similar mushrooms.
