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Even in the most lean years in the forest, it is not so difficult to find mushrooms with waves on their hats. Most often it is a pink and white wave, although its other colors are also found. Due to their burning milky juice, representatives of this variety are considered conditionally edible in many European countries, while in Our Country they are happy to use in a salty form, after preliminary preparation.
To get a tasty and healthy product, you need to know where they grow, when they collect white waves and how to distinguish them from pink ones and from false twins.
Are there white waves
The closest relatives of the volnushka are russula. In appearance, they resemble mushrooms, only their color is different, and the edges are wrapped and velvety. There are several subspecies that differ in color, but their taste is almost the same.
In addition to the white variety of waves, there are:
- pink, or volzhanka;
- yellow, or wave;
- gray, or milky gray.
The most popular are pink and white waves. The first are distributed throughout Our Country. Belyanka, or white mushroom, grows in large quantities in Siberia.
What does a whitewash look like
Mushroom volushka white refers to conditionally edible species. Belyanka is a milky, which secretes juice, bitter and caustic in taste, which does not change it in the air. In general, the flesh is not very hard, white, slightly pinkish under the skin, not crumbling, like russula. Salt volnushki according to the general rules for the species: useful and gustatory qualities are in no way inferior in their characteristics to pink, yellow and gray varieties.
According to the photo and description, the white wave has a less attractive appearance than the pink one – its leg is shorter, and the color is light fawn. This makes her look dirty. There is a light fluff on the edge of the cap. Such a surface is a distinctive feature of all types of waves. Mushroom pickers note that the whitefish emits a slight smell of geranium, grows next to birch trees, forming mycorrhiza with them.
Cap Description
As you can see in the photo, the white mushroom has a funnel-shaped hat, its diameter reaches 4 cm in young specimens, up to 12 cm in old ones. At first, it is convex, has dense pubescence, especially along the edges, which are strongly bent inward.
Later, the cap increases in size, a depression appears in its center, the edges gradually unfold. The skin does not have a pattern in the form of rings, as in other subspecies. The color is slightly darker in the center than at the edges. The pulp is white, brittle, with caustic milky juice and pungent taste, its smell is light, pleasant.
The cap plates are frequent, narrow, adherent, at first they are white, and in adult fruiting bodies they are yellowish. Spore powder – ocher color.
When it rains, the white wave becomes slimy and not very beautiful.
Description of the leg
Judging by the photo and description, the white mushroom in adulthood has a stem about 4 cm long and 2 cm in diameter. Its shape is cylindrical, the surface may be slightly pubescent, but most often with a smooth skin. Young fruiting bodies have a dense structure. Later, at a more mature age, their leg becomes hollow and very brittle. Its shades change over time from white and pinkish to a yellowish-dirty color.
From this part of the fungus, as well as from the cap, white caustic milky juice is also plentifully released, especially when broken.
The shape of the stem depends on the place where the fruiting bodies grow. In open spaces, it is very short – about 3 cm. In white waves grown in tall grass, it is long – 8 – 10 cm. Instances with short legs are most often narrowed towards the base.
Edible white wave or not
Opinions about the edibility of the white wave differ. Some mushroom pickers are happy to collect them, others consider them inedible and leave them in the forest. In the guides and reference books used in Western Europe, whites are classified as poisonous mushrooms that are forbidden to be collected and eaten because they lead to gastrointestinal disorders. In Our Country, white fluff is harvested and, after appropriate processing, used for food.
Raw mushrooms are bitter because of the milky juice. To get rid of bitterness, pink waves and whites are soaked, after which they are salted. These are conditionally edible mushrooms that require additional heat treatment, so they are classified in the second category.
According to a 10-point assessment of nutritional, taste and aesthetic qualities, white flakes received 6,2 points, and even in the USSR they were approved by GOST for harvesting.
How to process whites before cooking
White flakes are not suitable for making soups or frying, but they are great for pickling. Soaking helps to get rid of the bitterness of milky juice. To this end, the whites are dipped in cold salty water for several hours, having previously cleared them of leaves, earth and debris. After that, the water is drained, then the raw materials are placed in hot salt water and boiled for half an hour. The first water should be drained and boiled for 15 minutes in a new one. After such a heat treatment, you can start salting or pickling white waves strictly according to the recipe.
Where the whites grow
On the territory of Our Country, whites can be found in the Central and North-Western regions, in Siberia, in the Urals and the North Caucasus. Volnushki live only in symbiosis with birch, forming mycorrhiza with it. The fungus helps the tree to assimilate salts and minerals, and itself absorbs organic synthesized by birch. Thanks to this union, the white wave grows mainly in birch groves, but it can also be found in mixed forests. It is located not far from the mushrooms and aspen mushrooms. The white wave prefers sunny places, so most often it can be found on the edges or at the entrance to the forest.
Whites like to grow in families in wet, swampy areas, so in rainy years their maximum yield is observed, provided the weather is warm. The age of the birches, near which the mushrooms are located, does not play a role. They can also be found in a very young birch forest.
When the whites are harvested
The time for collecting white waves begins in August and continues until the end of September or mid-October, depending on when the frosts begin. In the first half of summer, it is very difficult to find a whitefish.
Most often, a rich harvest of white waves is divided into two stages. The first collection comes in August, the second – in September.
During the “silent hunt” you should carefully consider what goes into the basket. You can get advice from experienced mushroom pickers or look at a photo in the reference book of what a white wave looks like by reading about its distinctive features. And, although the whites do not have poisonous twins, it is worth abandoning the fungus if its origin is even the slightest doubt.
How to distinguish white waves from false
Mushrooms, similar to whites and volushki, are their counterparts and belong to the milkers, whose cap is pinkish and may have reddish rings. The edging is missing. The fruit body of the whitefish is small, its juiciness is small.
There are several edible milky-twins of volushki.
Ordinary
The hat of an ordinary representative is shiny. At first it is convex and gray, later it becomes flat, brown, purple or yellow. The edges of the mushroom are rounded, the leg is cylindrical. Milky juice is greenish.
Milky faded
The hat of this double is lilac, gray or white, has a bulge, is depressed in the center and is somewhat darker than at the edges. The leg is light, slightly curved.
brownish
This variety has a hat that is velvety to the touch, brown or chocolate-colored. Its shape gradually changes from convex to concave. At the break, the flesh turns pink and has a slight fruity aroma.
Brown
The cap of this species is convex, chestnut or brown, it can be almost black. Later, concavity appears on it. The leg is the same color as the hat. Milky juice is not caustic.
hygrophoric
The hat of this double is dry, brown with a brown tint. The hygrophoroid mushroom is distinguished by the fragility of white pulp.
Burning milky
This species has a wet cap covered with mucus. Its flesh is gray, dense, with a mushroom aroma, and tastes burning.
Thorny
The color of the cap varies from pink to brown, there are red scales. The flesh is white, yellow or green. There is no smell, the taste is characterized as spicy. Edible white mushrooms and false white mushrooms differ in size and external features. False mushrooms are no larger than a chicken egg, and they have a hollow in the center of the cap.
Sticky
The hat of this representative has a gray-green color with dark spots. Its leg is sticky, lighter than the cap. The flesh is odorless, white, on the break – green.
Hepatic
The mushroom has a smooth, funnel-shaped brown cap. Its flesh is acrid, light brown. The milky juice turns yellow in the air.
In order not to make a mistake in choosing while picking mushrooms, you should thoroughly study the photo and description of white and false waves, compare them and remember the main differences.
What is the difference between pink waves and whites
In order not to confuse white and pink waves, it is worth remembering that they have several differences:
- hats of different colors – white and pink;
- the whitefish does not have concentric circles;
- the white variety grows in damp places, the pink variety prefers dry ones;
- the whitefish is more squat in shape and has a dense structure.
Useful properties and contraindications
Due to the rich chemical composition of whites, they have a beneficial effect on the body: vitamin A is useful for people with vision problems, a rich composition of microelements helps prevent diseases of the cardiovascular system, strengthens blood vessels, and lowers cholesterol. The benefits of minerals in the composition of the waves also consist in improving the functions of the brain, strengthening the nervous system, and combating overwork.
Video story of mushroom pickers, what else are whites good for:
The use of whites should be limited to people with a removed gallbladder, because even in the absence of bitterness after processing, the composition of the milky juice does not change.
Mushrooms are contraindicated for use in pancreatitis, cholecystitis and low acidity, children under seven years old, pregnant and lactating women.
Conclusion
The white wave is quite caustic due to the milky juice present in it. But after processing, carried out in accordance with all the rules, it loses its bitterness, becomes tasty and fragrant. Belyanka is easy and interesting to collect. With a detailed study of its distinctive features, the mushroom is difficult to confuse with false twins, and problems never arise in the process of collecting.