Rubella mushrooms: photo and description of how to cook for the winter

In forests of various types, the rubella mushroom, belonging to the Russula family, is quite common. The Latin name is lactarius subdulcis. It is also known as a companion, sweet breast, sweet lactic. Despite its prevalence, this species is not held in high esteem by most people due to its narrow use in cooking and the assigned category of conditionally edible mushrooms. However, this gift of the forest is quite nutritious, and with proper pre-treatment, you can get a delicious snack from it.

Where does rubella grow?

Rubella mushroom, the photo and description of which is presented below, grows almost everywhere. It can be found in forests of various types on moss deposits. In a deciduous forest belt, this species prefers to form mycorrhiza with birch, oak or beech. It bears fruit from mid-summer to late autumn, actively begins to grow after prolonged rains. Rubella (lactarius subdulcis) is one of the few mushrooms that endure short-term frosts and are found right up to the first snow. This species is quite common in large groups throughout almost all of Europe.

What do mushrooms look like

The pulp of this species secretes a plentiful whitish milky juice.

In this photo you can see that the fruiting body of the fungus is made up of a lamellar cap and a thin stem. The cap is convex or depressed with a small central tubercle and tucked edges inward. In diameter it reaches up to 8 cm, it is painted in a reddish-red color. The surface is smooth or slightly wrinkled to the touch. On the inside of the cap there are narrow, descending and frequent plates. Their color varies from whitish to light brown or pinkish. Spores are medium in size, spherical in shape with a mesh surface. Creamy-pink spore powder.

The leg is cylindrical, narrowed down, the thickness is 1,5 cm, and the length is 4-6 cm. It is characterized as straight, but in some specimens it may be slightly curved. Painted in lighter shades than the hat.

The flesh is dense and rather fragile, the color varies from white to hazel. When damaged, it releases abundant milky juice, which remains unchanged in the air. The taste is bitter, exudes an unpleasant odor, similar to the smell of rubber or bedbugs.

Is it possible to eat rubella mushroom

Most often this species is found in large groups.

Rubella has been assigned the 4th category of nutritional value, and therefore it is considered a conditionally edible mushroom. This specimen should not be consumed raw due to its inherent bitter taste. However, unpleasant bitterness can be eliminated through pre-treatment. Due to the special fiber content, the legs are not used for food, but the caps are suitable for pickling or pickling.

False twins of rubella

By external signs, rubella is similar to other gifts of the forest:

1. A sycophant – an edible mushroom that can be used as food even when raw. It differs from the specimen under consideration in the large size of the fruiting bodies, since the cap of the twin is from 5 to 16 cm in diameter, and the length of the stem can reach up to 10 cm. In addition, abundant white milky juice is released from the inside of the cap, which after some time becomes brown.

   

2. bitterness – is considered a conditionally edible mushroom, most often used in food in pickled or salted form after preliminary special processing. It can be distinguished from rubella by the dark red or burgundy color of the cap and the more caustic bitter milky juice.

   

How to cook rubella mushrooms

This species can be used for food, but only after pre-treatment. For this you need:

1. Clean mushrooms from forest debris.
2. Cut off the legs.
3. Transfer the hats into a deep container, fill with water, and put a heavy load on top. Soak for 24 hours. In this case, the water must be changed about 2 times a day.
4. Rinse, boil in salted water for about 10 minutes, after which you can start cooking this or that rubella mushroom dish.

There is another processing option, where instead of long soaking, boiling is required. When deciding how much rubella to cook in this case, you need to set aside at least two hours for this process. Then the mushrooms are also washed under running water, after which they can be used in further cooking.

rubella recipes

This specimen has found rather limited use in cooking. Rubella is not suitable for cooking soups and fried dishes, but when marinated or salted, it will become incredibly tasty and crispy.

How to cook rubella with potatoes

Sweet breast is a conditionally edible species

Suitable exclusively for pickling and salting. However, in this form, rubella goes well with fried or boiled potatoes. Below are recipes for pickled and salted mushrooms.

How to pickle rubella mushrooms

Sweet milky has a very fragile pulp

The process of preparing salty gifts of the forest is as follows:

1. Clean rubella from dirt, remove the legs.
2. Soak for a day.
3. Rinse after this time.
4. Arrange in containers with caps down.
5. Sprinkle with salt.
6. Put the garlic, cut into slices, in the next layer, then dill umbrellas and currant leaves.
7. Cover the workpiece with a wide sheet of horseradish and press down with oppression from above.
8. Send to the refrigerator for 3 days.
9. Transfer the mushrooms to pre-sterilized jars and roll up the lids.
10. Let this dish brew for 40 days, after which it is ready to eat.

How to pickle rubella

The sweetish mushroom has a fibrous and bitter leg, for these reasons it is not eaten

The process of pickling rubella is not much different from salting. However, in this case, instead of soaking, thermal treatment of forest gifts is provided. So, to cook hot pickled mushrooms, you will need the following products:

• rubella – 500 g;
• bay leaf – 1 pcs .;
• Garlic – 2 cloves;
• salt – to taste;
• 9% vinegar – 2 tbsp. l.

Method of preparation:

1. Rinse rubella, cut off the legs and put in a saucepan.
2. Boil over low heat in salted water for about 2-3 hours.
3. Transfer the still warm gifts of the forest into prepared jars.
4. Add spices, vinegar.
5. Roll up with sterilized lids.
6. Wrap up and send to a dark place.

Conclusion

Rubella mushrooms are bright representatives of the forest, growing in various regions with a temperate climate. They are distinguished by their unpretentiousness and can grow up to the first snow cover. But despite the many advantages, they also have several disadvantages, one of which is the bitter taste of the pulp. It is for this reason that many mushroom pickers pass by these specimens. However, there are those people who appreciated the taste of pickled and salted rubella. When cooked properly, they stop bitter, become crispy, and can even compete with other edible mushrooms.