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Water-zoned breast is an edible agaric mushroom. Included in the Russula family, genus Milky. In different regions, the fungus has its own names: mistress, gruzel, lip, water zoned mushroom.
Mycologists call the species Lactarius aquizonatus.
Description of the watery zone lump
Although the mushrooms hide in the grass and under the leaves, a conspicuous hat gives away their location. Distinctive features will allow you to determine the type of representative of the mushroom kingdom.
Cap Description
In old mushrooms, the hat is quite large – 8-20 cm. In young mushrooms, the hat is round, compact, the edges are tucked up. Then flat, with a gentle depression towards the center. In older specimens, the edges are curved upward. The skin is slightly slimy. The border is shaggy, fringed. If dry, old specimens have no edging. The top is white or with an ocher-yellow tint in the center and on the border. Yellowness appears due to shaggy edges, which turn yellow and darken slightly with age. The name of the species is due to faintly visible circles on the cap – areas where liquid accumulates.
From below, wide, whitish-cream plates are attached to the leg. The white pulp is dense, elastic. The color of the pulp does not change at the break, it produces a pleasant mushroom aroma with some fruity notes. A milky juice is released, caustic, turning yellow in the air.
Description of the leg
The leg of the water-zoned milk mushroom is low, from 2 to 8 cm, it is extended in mosses.
Other features:
- thickness 0,5-4 cm;
- strong, cylindrical, even;
- the pulp is whole in young specimens;
- hollow with age;
- yellowish depressed spots on a light white surface.
Where and how to grow
The water-zoned species grows under deciduous species and in mixed forests – in wet birch, aspen forests, under alder or willow, in groves with moist soil. The favorite places of experienced mushroom pickers who collect water-zone milk mushrooms are areas between pine forests and swampy birch forests in the northern regions of the temperate zone of Our Country, in the Moscow region, Belarusian forests, in the Volga region, in the Urals and in Siberia. Grow in groups, from 3-10 pieces. Sometimes mushrooms are quite difficult to find: they are completely hidden under last year’s litter. Milk mushrooms are harvested from July to the end of September.
Is the mushroom edible or not?
Aquatic zone representatives are conditionally edible. They belong to the fourth category in terms of nutritional value. Mushroom lovers appreciate their salty for good taste.
How to cook watery zone milk mushrooms
Mushrooms filled with liquid are only recommended to be salted. Procurement rules:
- fruiting bodies are soaked or boiled so that the bitter juice disappears;
- soak for 12-24 hours, sometimes recommended up to 3-7 days;
- change the water daily;
- who likes a special bitter taste, mushrooms are soaked for no more than a day.
Young milk mushrooms pickle.
Twins and their differences
For inexperienced mushroom pickers, the water-zoned mushroom is similar to the following types:
- with a white wave;
- loading white;
- violinist;
- cargo real.
There are no poisonous twins.
Feature of the species in question:
- hat zones;
- wet fringe hem;
- sunken spots on the leg.
Twin Differences:
- the wave is smaller, the milky juice is bitter;
- the loader has no juice on the cut;
- the violinist is larger, with a felt cap surface and white milky juice;
- a real mushroom has no pubescence, or it is small.
Conclusion
The water-zoned breast is highly valued as a pickling raw material. The species thrives on warm foggy nights but does not particularly like rainy weather. Hats covered with decaying foliage rot due to excess moisture.