And among ordinary lovers of "quiet hunting" and among experienced mushroom pickers, boletus is one of the most popular mushrooms. They are fairly easy to assemble and taste quite good. Many dishes are prepared from butter, and they are also dried and canned for the winter.
The appearance of boletus and their habitat
Butterlets grow in many places, in Russia they are most often found in its European part. These mushrooms bear fruit from summer to late autumn, especially after rains.
There are boletus in different forests, but most of them are in the forest under coniferous trees. It is noteworthy that boletus is easy to collect, since outwardly they are strikingly different from other mushrooms. There are also false boletus. They can be easily distinguished from real ones by their cap, which has a purple hue; in edible oil, it varies from yellowish orange to brownish brown.
Butterlets are "herd mushrooms"; they grow in large families. The mushroom cap grows up to 10-12 centimeters in diameter. A distinctive feature is that the top of the butter is covered with a shiny film, and in damp weather the cap becomes covered with mucus. The higher the air humidity, the more mucus is formed on the cap of the oil.
There is a tubular light yellow cover on the bottom of the cap that can be easily peeled off the base. The pulp of butter is white and has a pleasant mushroom aroma.
Collection time
A small amount of boletus can be found in coniferous forests at the beginning of summer, but the mass growth of these mushrooms begins from August to mid-October.
Experienced mushroom pickers know that it is better to “hunt” for butter oil a few days after a good rain has passed.
The mushrooms themselves are not very whimsical. They can grow both in young pine plantations, and between several pines with a bare trunk.
If you have correctly determined the time for harvesting the mushroom harvest, you can find a lot of boletus in grassy pine edges or in the forest.
It is worth mentioning separately the artificial pine plantations, where you can also find these delicious mushrooms.
An important point: in an artificial forest, mushrooms are harvested only if the trees have grown to 3-8 meters in height. This is due to the fact that naturally fallen needles near young trees are not yet enough to cover the soil and retain the necessary amount of moisture for the growth and development of the mycelium.
One of the main rules for the successful collection of butter oil is to have time to collect the mushroom harvest. Fresh strong boletus appears within 7-10 days after rain, later they become dry, old and overripe.
A large amount of boletus can be found in places where tall grass grows or there is thick moss, which maintains the temperature of the mycelium at the level necessary for fruiting.
An important condition: mushrooms must not be picked along roads and near industrial enterprises.
Varieties of butter
The most common is an ordinary or real (standard) oiler. It is also called late, but in addition to this species, there are larch, granular and other boletus. All of these varieties have a good taste and a pleasant mushroom smell.
An ordinary classic oiler is a typical type of butter, which has a characteristic appearance. Their main distinguishing feature is the imposing cover-ring located directly under the cap.
Standard boletuses bear fruit in large groups. The downside of this type is that worms "love" them very much. Among a dozen strong butter, you will find only half of the pure ones, the rest will already be affected by worms.
They bear fruit from June to October, but most massively - from late summer to October.
In terms of their taste, ordinary boletus is the best among other varieties and is most suitable for preparing various dishes and preserving.
Granular butterflies are very similar to real ones, but have several differences. The main ones are the absence of stickiness and a ring on the leg and a much smaller amount of mucus on the cap.
In addition, on the stem of this type of butter oil, there are original grains, which is why the mushrooms got their name - granular.
Deciduous boletus is much less common than other species, but at the same time they grow in fairly large quantities. Their cap can be yellow or reddish, while the leg has a color similar to the cap, but slightly lighter in its upper part. The white ring in such mushrooms disappears within a short time.
Cooking butter (homemade meals)
There are a number of rules for the preparation of butter. It is highly recommended to remove the sticky skin from the cap, otherwise the dish will darken and thicken. A little homemade trick: to facilitate the process of cleaning mushrooms, they need to be soaked in water for 15-20 minutes, but not longer, otherwise the mushrooms will absorb water like a sponge and lose some of their taste.
Small and young mushrooms can be cooked whole, but large specimens are best cut into several pieces.
A huge number of dishes are prepared from butter. They are boiled, fried, stewed, baked with vegetables, canned and dried for the winter.
Mushroom goulash
Ingredients:
- butter - 500 grams;
- smoked loin - 50 grams;
- large onion - 1 piece;
- sweet bell pepper - 1 piece;
- tomatoes - 2 pieces;
- salt, ground black and red pepper, thyme - to taste;
- vegetable oil for frying - 2 tablespoons;
- sour cream - 100 grams.
Preparation
Fry the loin until tender. In another bowl, fry chopped onions, mushrooms and bell peppers in vegetable oil for 5 minutes. Add sour cream, spices and chopped tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes, mix with the loin and let it simmer for another 5-7 minutes.
Serve garnished with chopped herbs.
Pickled butter (easy recipe)
Ingredients:
- mushrooms - 1 kg;
- water - 0.5 cups;
- salt - 1, 5 tablespoons;
- table vinegar 9% - 0.5 cups;
- bay leaf, peppercorns, dill, cloves and cinnamon - to taste.
Preparation
For pickling, you need to use strong young mushrooms. Rinse the oil thoroughly and separate the sticky skin from the caps. Be sure to check that the mushrooms are not wormy.
All mushrooms should be about the same size, cut large boletus into several parts.
Pour water into a saucepan and add mushrooms, add vinegar and spices and cook until boiling. Then remove the resulting foam and cook for another 25-30 minutes, stirring gently.
Remove the mushrooms from heat, let them cool slightly and transfer to clean, sterilized jars. Roll up with iron lids, store in a cellar or refrigerator.
Butterflies, like other mushrooms, have a high calorie content and are heavy food for the stomach. Therefore, for people with problems with the gastrointestinal tract, it is better to stop using them or eat boletus in small portions.
