Ryzhiks can be salted for the winter. There are many ancient ways in which mushrooms taste differently depending on the method of salting (cold or hot) and on the spices. Although mushrooms are harvested in forests where spruce and pine grows, upland rather than spruce prefer salting.
Variations on the theme of salting saffron milk caps
Spruce mushrooms differ from pine mushrooms in color and size. Spruce mushrooms are dark in color; they also darken when salted. And they are smaller in size than upland. Some mushroom pickers generally choose only pine forest for pickling, because they do not like the taste of spruce.
In most of the old recipes and descriptions of salting saffron milk caps in the literary works of famous Russian writers, it is written that they are salted not only without spices, but also without having been rinsed with water first. One recipe says that you should only wipe the mushrooms with a cloth from dirt, but you don't even need to clean them of adhered needles and leaves.
Many mushroom pickers argue about how much to put salt and, of course, how to salt the mushrooms correctly. Some people generally put it "by eye", or even believe that if there is a lot of salt, it is enough to rinse the mushrooms with water before eating. However, having looked at many different recipes, you can draw a certain conclusion that the correct proportion is still emerging, which is found in many recipes. They indicate that salt should be put at the rate of 50 g per 1 kg of mushrooms.
If you choose dishes for pickling mushrooms, a wooden barrel is better, you can also salt in an enamel bucket or saucepan, glass jar or ceramic dishes.
Do not use a plastic or metal container for pickling mushrooms, or take iron or copper for oppression.
In old recipes, they prefer not to wash the mushrooms, even if there is dirt on them, but only to wipe them, modern mushroom pickers still wash first and then dry the mushrooms. After that, they begin to salt.
Mushrooms are chosen strong, without rot and mold. Before laying, cut off the layer that was in the ground from the legs.
An old recipe for salting saffron milk caps
The mushrooms should be placed in a tub closely with the plates up, sprinkling each layer with salt. Then cover the top layer with a rag, put a wooden circle, river or sea stone or a plate on top of it, and then load for weight. After a few days, the mushrooms will shrink and release juice. The tub can be filled with a new portion of mushrooms from the forest. And do this until all the dishes are full. Then keep the mushrooms in the cold until the first sample for 6 weeks. Salted mushrooms are good with vegetable oil or sour cream.
In this recipe, the mushroom picker cut off the caps of the mushrooms at the root and rubbed them thoroughly. He put them with the plates up, although usually the mushrooms are placed in the dishes with their caps up.
Spice lovers put spices between the layers, in addition to salt. To do this, use bay leaves, horseradish roots, dill seeds, dill, garlic. In addition, the spicy currant and cherry leaves will give their flavor. There are also opponents of garlic, who believe that garlic should not be put - it will spoil the taste. They also believe that cloves and cinnamon should not be put, but in some recipes these spices are used.
The hot method differs from the cold one in that, before salting, the mushrooms are boiled or scalded with boiling water. Needless to say, each method is good in its own way. Probably, every family that likes to pick mushrooms has its own traditional recipe, passed down from generation to generation. You can choose the method you like, and when winter comes, please your family and friends with fragrant mushrooms.
