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Polish boletus is an edible mushroom from the Boletov family. Many connoisseurs of quiet hunting consider it a cheap delicacy available to everyone. It is very popular in Western Europe, but the inhabitants of the post-Soviet space have a slightly different opinion about it. Officially, it is not even included in the first category of edibility: it is believed that its taste can only be compared with mushrooms, but it is very far from white mushrooms. This species owes its name to enterprising Polish merchants who sold it almost throughout Europe, although it is found not only in Poland. Next will be a photo and description of the Polish boletus.
What does the Polish boletus mushroom look like?
This is a fairly large representative of the mushroom kingdom, the appearance of which is the best fit for the classic description of the fungus, as it is depicted in children’s books. The round hat has the correct shape, its diameter can reach up to 15 cm.
The hat is convex, covered with thin skin, which is practically not removed. It is dry to the touch, smooth, without mucus. After a light rain, the hat may have adhesive properties. Young fruiting bodies have a white-matte skin, adults are brown and shiny. The color of the hat itself is dark yellow or chocolate brown.
The hymenophore has a tubular structure. It either grows to the leg, or does not reach 5-7 mm to it. In the latter case, a noticeable recess is formed, such a hat becomes thinner.
The pulp contained in it is fleshy and dense. Its color is predominantly white or yellow-white. On the cut, the flesh may turn blue, and after a while (up to 1 hour) the color changes to its original color.
The height of the leg reaches 12 cm, the thickness is no more than 4 cm. The leg most often has a cylindrical shape. In relatively rare cases, it may be slightly thickened above or below. The flesh at the stem is fibrous, slightly tougher than that of the cap. The color is light brown or brown.
The spores of the Polish boletus are ellipsoid in shape, they are honey-yellow in color, smooth. In this case, the color of the spore powder has an olive tint. The spore size is no more than 16 and 5 microns in length and width, respectively.
Where do Polish mushrooms grow?
Mostly Polish boletus is found in temperate coniferous forests. But, since it is able to form mycorrhiza not only with coniferous trees, but also with oak, beech, horse chestnut, etc., it can also be found in deciduous forests. It is guaranteed to be found in any spruce forest in Western and Central Europe.
It prefers sandy soils, although it can also tolerate loamy soil. On sandstones it occurs in the form of small colonies, on loams – mainly singly or 1-2 specimens. With great reluctance, it “settles” near dead trees and near stumps. It is almost impossible to meet a Polish boletus near a stump.
The homeland of the species is considered to be the east of Poland and the west of Belarus, but this is just one of the versions of its origin, which has a “commercial” background. In fact, it is very widespread in Europe, the North Caucasus, Western Siberia and the Far East. Representatives of the species can be found even in Azerbaijan and in the vicinity of Tyumen.
Polish boletus edible or not
The mushroom belongs to the second category of edibility, it can be consumed in any form: boiled, fried, dried, salted, pickled. A feature of the fungus is its rather long period of ripening. In late autumn, when almost all Boletovye are already running out, the Polish Boletus is still quite common.
Taste qualities of the mushroom Polish boletus
The “hat” pulp has a very strong mushroom smell, spreading over several meters, however, it does not repel, on the contrary, the Polish mushroom smells quite pleasantly. Unfortunately, even with a slight heat treatment, the smell of the Polish mushroom almost completely disappears.
Subjective assessment of taste qualities can vary greatly in different sources. And the point here is not only in the personal taste sensations of this or that expert. The beautiful and large Polish boletus looks like it is able to compete with the “absolute top” in the world of mycology – porcini mushrooms. In reality, of course, this is not the case.
According to the classification, the Polish boletus belongs to the mossiness mushrooms and fully corresponds to this taste niche. Cooked in a special way, in some dishes it sounds like an ordinary mushroom, sometimes approaching the taste of a porcini mushroom, but never reaching it.
As for the taste and aroma of dried mushrooms (the main way to use them), then the Polish boletus will not compete with both white and common boletus. In him, unlike these representatives, the aroma almost completely disappears during drying.
As for the usual dishes – fried mushrooms, mushroom soup or pickles, we can say that the Polish mushroom in these dishes deserves a rating of 4,5 on a five-point scale. It retains the elastic properties of the pulp, and its taste is considered very good. The change in color of the stem and cap on the cut completely disappears during heat treatment. That is, you should not be afraid that the dish will turn red or blue when you add Polish boletus to it.
The benefits and harms of the mushroom Polish boletus
Like all mushrooms, the benefit of the Polish mushroom is that it contains a large amount of protein. Its energy value is quite high, and it is able to quickly satisfy hunger.
Polish boletus has its own contraindications. First of all, they relate not so much to the mushrooms themselves, but to the places of their collection. The property of mushrooms to accumulate harmful substances and toxins is well known, so you should not collect Polish mushrooms in the immediate vicinity of industrial enterprises, pipelines, power lines, railways and roads and other similar objects.
Standard restrictions on the use of Polish mushrooms apply to children (under 5 years old) and pregnant women. These categories are not recommended to use mushrooms in any form. This also includes people suffering from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
False doubles
The following types can be attributed to false twins of the Polish boletus:
- motley flywheel. Its cap has a yellowish-brown tint, but as it grows, it becomes covered with cracks, while red flesh is visible in them, which the Polish boletus does not possess. It is an edible mushroom, but many do not like it because it turns the dish bright blue.
- brown flywheel. The cap has a yellow-brown or dark brown hue, but it is somewhat smaller than that of the Polish boletus. In addition, with growth, cracking of the skin is observed, similar to the variegated flywheel. At the same time, the flesh of a white-yellow or white-green color is visible in the cracks. It is also an edible mushroom, but its taste is not very expressive. Only freshly prepared dishes have good taste. It is believed that the brown mushroom is good only when fried.
Collection rules
As such, there are no rules for collecting Polish boletus. It can be collected at any time of the year, from the end of July to the first days of November. The ripening time for fruit trees is about 2-4 weeks. Preference is given to young specimens, since very often fruiting bodies, having not yet managed to gain even 50% of their “adult weight”, are attacked by insects and their larvae.
How to cook Polish Boletus
Polish boletus can be prepared in any way suitable for mushrooms.
It can be used:
- fresh (cooking soups, roasts, side dishes and snacks, while it is necessary to boil the mushroom for 10-15 minutes);
- salted and pickled;
- dried;
- frozen.
There are no restrictions on cooking (except for a 10-15 minute heat treatment). The blue color of the pulp goes away in the first minutes of its boiling.
Conclusion
The Polish Boletus is a typical inhabitant of temperate forests. It can be found almost everywhere in Eurasia. The mushroom has good taste and can be used to prepare any mushroom dish. The doubles of the fungus are not dangerous to humans, so a mistake if they accidentally get into the basket will not have serious consequences.
