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Mushrooms are very beautiful and interesting mushrooms that are difficult to confuse with any others, especially since they do not have inedible “twins”. At the break, they secrete a milky juice of a reddish or orange hue, depending on the variety. This is one of its distinguishing characteristics. Despite belonging to the lamellar group, saffron mushrooms are one of the few, along with porcini and milk mushrooms, that are classified as edible mushrooms of the first category in terms of nutritional value. To cook mushrooms or not – each housewife determines for herself, since they can be eaten in almost any form.
Do mushrooms need to be boiled?
Of course, due to the current environmental situation, eating raw mushrooms is highly discouraged. Even if we are talking about such tasty and safe representatives of this family as mushrooms. Moreover, cooking mushrooms does not present any difficulties. But unlike many so-called conditionally edible mushrooms, which require soaking or mandatory boiling before direct cooking, they can be cooked immediately after collection and mechanical cleaning from adhering forest debris.
Mushrooms are versatile in cooking: they are boiled, fried, stewed, baked, and, of course, salted and marinated.
Indeed, very young mushrooms, collected in environmentally safe places, are allowed to be eaten after salting and infusion for several hours in a cool place.
But if there is even the slightest doubt about the quality of the mushrooms or where they were harvested, then it is much safer to boil them before any further cooking. If you want to get a more delicate taste and texture, then mushrooms can be boiled before frying or pickling.
True, these mushrooms are salted only in their raw form. Only in this way can you get a special taste and extraordinary crunchiness of the finished dish.
It should be noted that these mushrooms have a unique taste in any form. And if, for dietary reasons, fried foods are contraindicated for someone, then the usual boiling of mushrooms can help to prepare a surprisingly tasty snack or even a festive dish from them.
How to cook mushrooms
Cooking mushrooms is not at all difficult, moreover, this procedure does not require strict adherence to any specific rules, as is the case with some other mushrooms, for example, the same milk mushrooms.
Of course, mushrooms brought from the forest must, first of all, be cleaned of debris, adhering leaves, and fruiting bodies that are too old or damaged by mold must be removed. Ryzhiki rarely turn out to be wormy, however, this fact should not be overlooked. Mushrooms should be checked for the presence of foreign living creatures in them. Damaged areas are cut out with a sharp knife.
Then the peeled fruiting bodies are poured with cold water and placed on a moderate fire. After boiling, it is necessary to regularly remove the emerging foam from the surface.
If the number of collected mushrooms is not very large, then you can do it differently. First, bring the water in a saucepan to a boil, and then boil them already in boiling water. This will help them keep their shape better.
Salt is usually added at the very end of cooking. It is allowed to boil these mushrooms without adding salt at all.
As soon as the mushrooms are considered ready, the water is drained, and the mushrooms themselves are placed in a colander to drain excess liquid.
Is it possible to cook mushrooms with other mushrooms
Sometimes from the forest you can bring a bountiful harvest of a wide variety of mushrooms, including mushrooms.
Since the latter do not require any special conditions for heat treatment, it is quite possible to cook them in one common pan along with all the mushrooms.
They should not be combined during cooking only with conditionally edible mushrooms, which are boiled to remove bitterness, for example, mushrooms, rows, volnushki, talkers and others. Since bitterness during boiling can also go to mushrooms.
How much to cook saffron mushrooms
The cooking time of mushrooms is not of particular fundamental importance. If they have to be boiled before pickling, subsequent frying or freezing, then it is enough to leave them in a saucepan after boiling water for 10 minutes.
If mushrooms are boiled to cook any dish from them in the future, then you can hold them in boiling water longer, in the region of 15-25 minutes. If the mushrooms were collected in a dubious place, and there is a chance that they will even be bitter, although this is very rare, then it is better to increase the cooking time.
What can be done with boiled mushrooms
Boiled mushrooms in themselves are already a ready-made dish that you can enjoy by seasoning it with sour cream or mayonnaise and adding it to any side dish or simply eating them with bread.
They can be easily marinated by adding vinegar, citric acid and spices.
Many people prefer to boil mushrooms for subsequent frying with the addition of potatoes, various other vegetables or cereals. In this case, they become more tender in texture. Yes, and the frying time can be slightly reduced, making the finished product more dietary.
To save a large number of saffron milk mushrooms for the winter, after boiling them, they can be frozen by decomposing them into portioned bags. In this case, the mushrooms are almost ready to eat at any time after defrosting. Moreover, for the preparation of some dishes they can be used without even defrosting. And the juice from thawed boiled mushrooms is quite suitable for making sauce or gravy.
Finally, boiled mushrooms can be used to make any of the following recipes:
- filling for pies, pies, pizza or dumplings;
- minced meat for instant, meatballs or cutlets;
- mushroom caviar, including those harvested for the winter;
- sauce or seasoning for side dishes;
- cold or hot salads with vegetables, fish, meat, eggs, seafood.
Conclusion
In order to cook mushrooms, no special culinary skills are required. This operation is not even mandatory, as is the case with many other mushrooms. But boiled mushrooms can be useful for making many delicious dishes, and for long-term storage in the freezer during the winter.
