Milk mushrooms turned black: what to do, is it possible to eat them, how to bleach

If the milk mushrooms have darkened, this is usually not a reason for panic – the process belongs to the category of quite natural. But at the same time, it is interesting to know why the mushrooms darken, and what can be done in such a situation.

Why do mushrooms darken

White milk mushrooms delight lovers of mushroom pulp not only with taste, but also with a pleasant light color. However, during processing, an unexpected problem often arises – white milk mushrooms turn black or change color to dark blue and dark brown. It is possible to face the fact that the product has darkened at any stage of preparation – during soaking, boiling, and even during the salting process.

Seeing that the milk mushrooms have darkened, inexperienced mushroom pickers are often frightened and think that they have collected false inedible twins. But in fact, darkening is a natural process and does not contain any danger.

Fresh pulp contains milky juice, it is he who gives raw mushrooms an unpleasant bitter taste. When the pulp is cut or broken, this juice enters into a chemical reaction with air and first acquires a yellow-gray color, and then completely blackens. If the mushroom caps turn black, this means that milk has remained in their pulp, which has changed its shade from interaction with oxygen and other environmental factors.

Mushroom caps turn black when exposed to air

Why do milk mushrooms darken when soaked

White milk mushrooms belong to the highest food category, in other words, they are one of the safest, most delicious and healthy mushrooms. But to use them raw, however, is not advised – first, the collected fruiting bodies must be soaked in water. Moreover, soaking takes a fairly large amount of time – from 1 to 3 days.

Soaking the mushroom pulp is necessary not only in order to remove possible toxins, but also so that it does not turn black. Long soaking removes the milky juice and preserves the pleasant white color of the pulp, as well as eliminates the bitter taste.

In the process of soaking, the water must be regularly replaced with fresh water. Otherwise, the pulp will continue to contact with its own milky juice and, accordingly, will most likely turn black and remain bitter.

If the soaked milk mushrooms darken right in the water, there may be several reasons:

1. The specimens collected in the forest have been without water for too long in the air and have already begun to change their color.
2. When soaking, the water was not changed for a long time, so both the mushrooms and the liquid itself darkened.
3. There was not enough water in the container with mushroom caps, and they partially came into contact with air.

So that mushroom caps do not turn black, they must be soaked immediately.

Also, a problem may appear if the container with soaked mushroom caps was in the light, and exposure to ultraviolet rays led to the fact that they darkened even under water.

Why do milk mushrooms darken when cooked

Sometimes you may encounter the fact that light hats have darkened not during soaking, but already during boiling. Most often, there is only one reason – there is not enough water in the pan to cover the entire fruiting bodies.

Milky juice, due to which an unpleasant situation arises with a change in color, soaks all the pulp. Accordingly, even with a long soak, it does not go away completely and remains in the pulp in a small amount. If the fruiting bodies were boiled in a small saucepan and partially protruded above the water, then from contact with air, the remnants of the milky juice could well lead to the coloring of the pulp in a dark color.

It is recommended to pour more water when boiling

Why milk mushrooms darken when salted

Another popular cooking option for long-term storage is salting. Sometimes fruiting bodies are pre-boiled, sometimes they are only soaked and immediately placed in a jar, sprinkled with plenty of salt and spices.

In both cases, you may encounter the fact that salted milk mushrooms turned blue in a jar just a few hours after salting. There are 2 reasons why milk mushrooms in banks darken:

1. The fruiting bodies were old and overripe. There is more milky juice and bitterness in mature hats, therefore, during processing, you can often encounter the fact that they have darkened and remained not very pleasant in taste.
2. Not enough salt was poured into the jar, and as a result, there was little brine, it could not completely cover the mushroom pulp. In this case, it can be argued that the product has darkened from contact with air.

If the fruiting bodies have darkened after salting, then it is recommended to remove them from the jar and carry out the procedure again, with fresh mushrooms or a large amount of brine.

In the process of salting, it is better not to spare salt

Why did the brine darken when salting milk mushrooms

Sometimes it happens that during the cold processing of fresh mushrooms, it was not the milk mushrooms in the jar that darkened, but the brine itself in which they lie. The reasons remain the same – a change in color means that the fruiting bodies turned out to be overripe, or not enough salt was put in the jar to produce the required amount of brine.

If the brine has darkened, then in any case this indicates a violation of the mushroom salting technology. It is better to pour the salty liquid from the jar, rinse the mushroom caps thoroughly and salt them again, already in compliance with all the rules, carefully monitoring the volume of the brine.

Darkened mushroom caps are still edible, but may be less tasty.

Is it possible to eat milk mushrooms if they have darkened

The question is very relevant, is it possible to eat the darkened mushroom pulp, or is it better to throw it away. The answer depends on the situation – in most cases, the mushrooms remain usable, but sometimes they really need to be replaced:

1. It sometimes happens that the fruiting bodies have darkened even before processing, right in the basket on the way home or on the table, before they were immersed in water for soaking. In the first case, this indicates overripeness, in the second, that they were left in the air for a long time. Such milk mushrooms can be thrown away, even if they have not had time to really deteriorate, it will be difficult to remove bitterness from them and return the pulp to a light color.
2. If the fruiting bodies have darkened already in cold water, during boiling or during the salting process, then it is not necessary to dispose of them. Mushrooms can usually still regain their white color and good flavor.

In general, if milk mushrooms turn blue after salting, boiling or soaking, this does not mean that they are unsuitable for food. Blackened hats can be less beautiful and less palatable, so it is recommended that you take steps to bring them back to a lighter shade.

Darkened milk mushrooms can be bleached

What to do so that the milk mushrooms do not darken

If the mushroom bodies have darkened, then they can be bleached, but this will require some effort. It is easier to prevent discoloration and try to make sure that the mushrooms do not darken at all.

You can save a light shade of white mushrooms if you follow a few recommendations:

1. You need to collect young and fresh specimens in the forest, the younger the breast, the less bitter milky juice in its pulp.
2. Immediately upon arrival home, milk mushrooms must be immersed in water for soaking so that they do not darken, the water should cover them entirely. Fruiting bodies should not be left in the air for a long time, otherwise a change in color will become almost inevitable.
3. During the soaking process, the water must be regularly drained and replaced with fresh water every few hours, otherwise the meaning of the treatment will be lost, and a situation will arise when the milk mushrooms not only darken, but also remain bitter.
4. When boiling, the mushroom bodies must also be filled with water as a whole so that the liquid covers the milk mushrooms by about 1 cm from above. Then, during the cooking process, they will not come into contact with oxygen, and you will not have to deal with the fact that the mushrooms have darkened.
5. When salting, it is necessary to follow the classical processing technologies and sprinkle each layer of mushroom pulp with a sufficient amount of salt. A couple of days after conservation, the brine should cover the entire fruiting bodies, there should not be “pockets” with air in the jar.

In order to better remove the milky juice from the pulp of mushrooms, they must be soaked before salting according to the standard algorithm. It is also recommended to boil the mushrooms, in which case, during conservation, they will contain a minimum of milky juice.

When soaking hats, the water must be changed more often.

How to whiten milk mushrooms

If an unpleasant situation nevertheless arose, and the fruiting bodies darkened, you can try to bleach the mushrooms. Do it like this:

• fruit bodies that have darkened are placed in a saucepan and completely filled with water – the liquid should cover the entire mushrooms;
• a few large spoons of salt and a little citric acid are added to the water – the water should become slightly sour;
• darkened mushrooms are boiled in sour-salty liquid for 15 minutes.

After that, the solution is drained, and the mushrooms are again poured with clean water and boiled for another quarter of an hour without adding citric acid and salt. Usually, already at the first stage of processing, the original light color returns to the mushrooms.

If the salted milk mushrooms have darkened, then the brine from the jar must be drained, and the fruiting bodies should be immersed in cold water for several hours. After that, they are boiled according to the algorithm given above, and then salted again, carefully controlling the amount of salt.

Useful Tips

There are secrets to ensure that milk mushrooms do not darken even before processing begins. First of all, immediately upon arrival from the forest, it is recommended to put them in cold water. It is best to clean and cut the fruiting bodies right in the water.

If fruiting bodies in a container of water constantly float to the surface, they can be pressed down with a load so that they do not darken. Mushroom caps protruding above the water, one way or another, come into contact with air.

Since the color of the mushroom pulp is affected not only by the air, but also by the light of the sun, it is necessary to soak the fruiting bodies in a shaded place. Do not leave a bowl on a lighted windowsill.

Citric acid will help return the white color to the mushrooms

Conclusion

If the milk mushrooms have darkened, they can be bleached in simple ways – a color change most often does not mean that the mushroom bodies have deteriorated. But it is easier to process the mushroom pulp correctly from the very beginning, in which case it will not change color.