In the European part of Russia, mushroom pickers are already actively searching for their favorite seasonal delicacy. However, they, for the most part, neglect russula. This is probably due to the fact that this species, if its classification is not understood, can be dangerous to human health. In addition, this mushroom is quite fragile - bringing it home safely can be problematic.

However, those who are practically savvy in choosing russula prepare delicious homemade dishes for themselves and their families, which even the most demanding guests are unlikely to refuse.

the site has collected five dishes that can be prepared using the undeservedly neglected mushroom.

Russula soup with cream

Mushroom soup, without a doubt, acquires the status of a real delicacy when cream is added during the cooking process. When choosing, pay no less attention to this dairy product than to a mushroom. Cream, if possible, should be fresh and natural.

What do you need?

- 600 grams of russula

- 1 onion

- Butter and olive oil

- 1 liter of milk

- 1 glass of cream

- 1 carrot

- 2 tablespoons flour

How to cook?

Boil the processed mushrooms in salted water for about 15 minutes, and then grind the russula in a blender or using a meat grinder. Next, melt the butter in a saucepan, add the mushrooms, as well as carrots and onions, cut into halves. Pour water over the food and simmer over low heat for about 40 minutes.

Separately, heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the flour. Dissolve this flour in a liter of fresh milk mixed with a glass of water. Place the mixture on the fire and bring to a boil. Afterwards, add only mushrooms to it - carrots and onions are no longer needed. Cook it all for 20 minutes.

The soup must be salted and a glass of heavy cream added. After five minutes, you can remove the dish from the heat and serve.

Mushroom soups are one of the most popular dishes in Russia. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Homemade roast with russula

A dish in pots that exudes warmth and comfort can easily be made from russula. The main thing in cooking roast is to feel the atmosphere yourself and imagine that you will be creating not using an ordinary oven, but a real Russian oven.

What do you need?

- 400 grams of pork

- 400 grams of russula

- 1 carrot

- Half an onion

- 800 grams of potatoes

- 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil

- Salt

- Black pepper

- 200 grams of hard salted cheese

- 3 cloves of garlic

- 600 ml meat or vegetable broth

How to cook?

Cut the potatoes into the same cube as the pork. Chop the carrots into circles and the onion into half rings. Wash the processed russula and boil them over moderate heat for at least 20 minutes. Drain the mushrooms in a colander, and then fry in a frying pan with a small amount of oil.

Take a large bowl and mix all the prepared ingredients. Next, place this in clay pots and pour 100-150 ml of pre-prepared meat or vegetable broth into each container. Add grated cheese on top.

Place the pots in a preheated oven. Bake the roast with russula for at least an hour at a temperature of 220 degrees. Readiness can be checked on the potatoes after the allotted time. If it is soft, try it and enjoy the dish. It is better to serve in the same pots.

Mushrooms in pots are a cozy and tasty dish. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Russula fried in sour cream

In addition to cream, sour cream gives russula, like many other mushrooms, a special taste.

What do you need?

- 400 grams of russula

- 4 cups sour cream

- 2 onions

- Greenery

- Salt

How to cook?

Peel and rinse the onion. Sort out the russula, peel and rinse thoroughly. Boil these mushrooms in boiling salted water for about five minutes, drain in a colander and let the water drain.

Cut the onion into small cubes. Fry it in hot oil until golden brown, remove from heat. Cut the russula into strips, fry in hot oil separately from the onion until cooked. Add previously fried onions to the mushrooms, pour in sour cream, salt and stir. Bring the dish to a boil and hold for two minutes, then remove from heat.

Finely chopped dill can be added to russula before serving.

Sour cream will give the russula a special taste. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Stewed russula

Mushrooms simply stewed in meat broth look very good. It turns out that stewing russula is also very tasty. However, this dish may not be to everyone's taste, so to begin with, you can prepare it quite a bit - for one or two servings.

What do you need?

- 500 grams of russula

- 300 ml meat broth

- 2 tbsp vegetable oil

- Salt

How to cook?

Sort, peel and wash the mushrooms. Place the russula in a saucepan, add water and put on fire, then bring to a boil. Then drain the russula in a colander and let the water drain. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan. Carefully place the prepared mushrooms into it. Pour the meat broth into the russula, add salt, stir and cover with a lid. Russulas need to be simmered for 30 minutes.

Russulas can be dangerous - understand the classification and pay special attention to processing the mushroom. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Russula baked with rice and ham

Many people like to serve mushrooms with as many different ingredients as possible. Sometimes such experiments are very successful. Russula, for example, can be cooked with rice, crackers and ham at the same time.

What do you need?

- 400 grams of russula

- 1 tomato

- 1 onion

- 1 carrot

- 150 grams of cheese

- 120 grams of ham

- Saltine cracker

- 3 tbsp. vegetable oil

- 2 tbsp. mayonnaise

How to cook?

Process the russula, free them from the stems. Sprinkle with herb seasoning, salt and pepper. For the filling, boil the rice until tender, then add fried carrots, onions, mushroom stems, finely chopped ham and a couple of chopped cloves of garlic. Mix the mixture and add grated hard cheese, diced tomato and crushed crackers. Add salt to taste.

Russula cap - ideal for a delicious filling. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Place the filling into the mushroom caps (ideally large ones). Brush with mayonnaise, sprinkle with oil and bake for 25 minutes in the oven at 190 degrees.

Russulas are one of the most common mushrooms that can be found in any forest. Unfortunately, in cooking they are considered third-rate, and many mushroom pickers do not collect them at all. But in vain, because you can prepare a large number of different dishes from russula. This type of mushroom is somewhat different from others in its cooking method, which is why it scares off many housewives. One of the most common technologies for preparing russula is frying.

Fried russula: recipe

Compound:

• Russula - 500 g
• Onions - 2 pcs.
• Garlic - 5 cloves
• Butter - 50 g
• Lemon juice - 1 tbsp.
• Salt and pepper - to taste
• Greens - to taste

Preparation:

1. Peel the onions and garlic. Finely chop the onion and pass the garlic through a press.
2. Sauté vegetables in a frying pan with butter.
3. Cut the russula into slices, add to the onion and garlic, pour in lemon juice.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste, mix well and fry over high heat.
5. Serve fried russula with potatoes, pasta or as a separate dish. In addition, they are recommended to be added to salads, soups, and pies.

Russula fried with potatoes

Compound:

• Russula - 500 g
• Potatoes - 7 pcs.
• Onions - 2 pcs.
• Salt and pepper - to taste
• Greens - to taste

Preparation:

1. Wash and peel the russula well. Cut them into strips and pour boiling water over them.
2. Peel the potatoes and onions. Cut the onion into cubes and potatoes into strips.
3. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan, add russula and fry for 5 - 7 minutes, then add potatoes.
4. Fry the ingredients without stirring until golden brown.
5. Add salt, pepper, stir and fry again until golden brown.
6. Add onion and cook for another 5 minutes.
7. Serve fried russula with potatoes along with tomatoes and cucumbers, sprinkled with chopped herbs.

Russula fried in sour cream

Compound:

• Russula - 1.5 kg
• Onions - 3 pcs.
• Garlic - 5 cloves
• Sour cream - 500 ml;
• Bay leaf - 4 pcs.
• Vegetable oil - for frying
• Salt and pepper - to taste
• Greens - to taste

Preparation:

1. Clean the russula by removing the colored film from the caps. Wash the mushrooms and chop coarsely.
2. Cut the onions into cubes or half rings, finely chop the greens, pass the garlic through a press.
3. Pour vegetable oil into a frying pan with a thick bottom and place on fire. When the oil is hot, add the onion and fry until golden brown.
4. Add russula to the onion and fry together for 10 minutes over medium heat. The mushrooms should be fried.
5. Lastly, add salt, pepper and bay leaf. Mix everything and add sour cream.
6. Simmer the russula in sour cream over low heat for about 10 - 15 minutes.
7. At the end of the stew, add chopped herbs and chopped garlic.

Russula chops: recipe

Compound:

• Russula caps - 30 pcs.
• Breadcrumbs - 100 g
• Eggs - 5 pcs.
• Flour - 6 tbsp.
• Sour cream - 5 tbsp.
• Salt and pepper - to taste
• Vegetable oil - for frying

Preparation:

1. Clean the russula, select wide and flat caps.
2. Place the caps in salted water and leave for a while, then drain in a colander.
3. In a clean, deep bowl, prepare the batter: mix eggs, flour, sour cream, salt and pepper.
4. Dip the russula caps into the prepared batter, then sprinkle with breadcrumbs and fry in sunflower oil until cooked.
5. Place the russula chops together, pour in the remaining batter and fry over low heat for 15 minutes.

Baked russula: recipe

Compound:

• Russula - 50 g
• Tomatoes - 1 pc.
• Onions - 1 pc.
• Garlic - 5 cloves
• Carrots - 1 pc.
• Cheese - 200 g
• Ham - 150 g
• Rice - 1 tbsp.
• Salty crackers - 7 pcs.
• Mayonnaise - 3 tbsp.
• Vegetable oil - for frying
• Salt and spices - to taste

Preparation:

1. Peel the russula from films and cut off the stems. Salt each cap and season with your favorite spices.
2. Cook the rice in salted water until tender. At this time, peel the vegetables.
3. Finely chop the onion, grate the carrots on a coarse grater, cut the mushroom stems into small cubes, and pass the garlic through a press.
4. Cut the tomato into cubes, grate the cheese on a medium grater, crumble the crackers into large crumbs, cut the ham into cubes.
5. Fry onions, carrots, garlic and ham in a frying pan.
6. Mix the prepared mass with rice and add a little grated cheese, chopped tomatoes and cracker crumbs. Salt the mixture to taste.
7. Fill the caps of the russula with the prepared mixture, grease with mayonnaise and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
8. Spray the caps with oil, place on a baking sheet and place in an oven preheated to 190 degrees for half an hour.
9. Baked russulas turn out very tasty and satisfying, served as a separate dish or snack.

How long to fry russula?

As a rule, russulas are fried for 15 - 20 minutes over medium heat without a lid. Before frying mushrooms, you can soak them in salted water for 1 hour, then peel and rinse thoroughly. This method will help get rid of the bitterness of russula, which can be after regular frying.

Russulas are tasty, healthy and nutritious mushrooms, which many unknowingly compare to toadstools. In fact, you can prepare any dish from these common mushrooms: pickle, bake, fry, stew, cook soups, make salads, etc. Many housewives who have learned to cook russula will say that they taste quite good, and are also healthier for the body, since they are easier to digest than ordinary mushrooms.

Russula mushrooms belong to the Russula family. The family includes more than 200 species, approximately 30 of them grow in Russia and Ukraine. Most of these mushrooms are suitable for human consumption, but some of them have a bitter taste, so they are subjected to prolonged heat treatment or soaking. These mushrooms can be found everywhere: deciduous forests, forest edges, young birch trees, and even on the side of roads. Many of them emerge from the ground in mid-June. The real season starts in August-September. If you are lucky enough to go for a walk in the forest and pick a lot of mushrooms, you will simply need recipes on how to cook russula for future use.

The best way to cook russula

In fact, there are many dishes where you can put these mushrooms, but first of all I would like to note that russula are not at all suitable for making soup. This is due to the fact that some of them are bitter. The best cooking solution is stewing or frying. They harmonize wonderfully with vegetables and sour cream sauces.

Russulas are good marinated and salted. Perhaps for this reason they are called “russula”. In fact, marinating occurs so quickly that the product is ready to eat within 24 hours. Salted russula can be prepared at home in the company of other mushrooms, mixed with spices, vegetables, and herbs.

Russulas in batter turn out well; they are delicious with cheese sauce, boiled potatoes and fresh salads.

In general, recipes for cooking mushrooms are so numerous that even the most avid gourmet will find something for themselves. In this article we will look at several options for pickling russula in jars for the winter.

Pickled russula (video)

Rules for cooking russula

1. First we sort the mushrooms. Strong, healthy, medium-sized mushrooms are suitable for cooking.
2. We thoroughly wash the raw materials in cool water 2-3 times and put them in a pan.
3. Pour clean water into the pan at the rate of 1 part mushrooms to 2 parts water.
4. Bring to a boil over medium heat, turn the heat down to low.
5. Lightly add salt, add laurel, allspice and bitter peppercorns.
6. The cooking time after boiling is half an hour.

Remove the foam that forms during cooking with a spoon.

1. Russulas are known to mushroom pickers for their fragility. To prevent them from breaking during cleaning, it is recommended to first pour boiling water over them.
2. When cleaning, it is recommended, but not at all necessary, to remove the film from the cap.
3. If the russula is caustic, that is, with a bitter aftertaste, sprinkle the mushrooms with salt before cooking and leave overnight in a cool place. Very often the culprit of bitterness is the film on the caps of red mushrooms; try peeling them.

How to cook russula: marinating in jars for the winter

Hot salting of russula

Components:

• 2 kg of mushrooms;
• 240 ml water;
• 120 gr. coarse salt;
• 5 carnation flowers;
• 14 black peppercorns;
• 6 cherry leaves;
• 6 black currants.

Salting process:

1. We put the cleaned and soaked raw materials in a saucepan, put it on the stove, and let it boil.
2. Then reduce the heat, add salt and all the spices. Cook for 20-30 minutes.
3. Place the boiled russula in a colander and let it cool. We put them in jars, fill them with marinade, and close them.
4. The workpiece is stored in a cool, dry place. The product is ready for use within 15-25 days.

It’s easy to check the readiness of russula. When they sink to the bottom and the broth becomes light, you can turn off the heat.

You cannot cover russula with a tin lid; give preference to a plastic one. Contact of these fungi with such a metal can provoke the appearance of the causative agent of botulism.

Cold salting of russula

Components:

• 2 kg of mushrooms;
• 80 gr. coarse salt;
• 8 bay leaves;
• 3 dill umbrellas;
• 14 peas of allspice;
• 4 cloves of garlic.

Salting process:

1. We clean the raw materials and rinse them twice with water. Before cooking, soak for 6 hours in lightly salted brine to eliminate possible bitterness.
2. Sprinkle a layer of salt on the bottom of the pickling dish, place thinly sliced ​​garlic and a few spices on top.
3. Add mushrooms. Place the russula caps down, sprinkle the layers with salt and spices.
4. Cover the final layer with a cotton cloth, place a suitable-sized round board or flat plate on top, and press down with a small weight.
5. In about 2-3 days, the mushrooms will begin to settle and release juice, then add the mushrooms on top using the same technology. We do this until the container is full. The juice/brine should eventually cover the workpiece a couple of centimeters on top. If there is not enough juice, you can pick up a heavier load.
6. Readiness for consumption occurs in 30-45 days. It is recommended to store in a cool place.

To prevent mold from appearing, it is necessary to periodically remove the weight, rinse it with water and change the fabric.

Dry salting of russula

Components:

• 2 kg russula;
• 100 gr. coarse salt;
• 4 tbsp. l. dill seeds.

Salting process:

1. In this case, the mushrooms are not washed. The roots are cut off, the stems are wiped with a damp cloth, and the caps are cleaned with a brush.
2. In a small bowl, thoroughly mix the salt and dill seeds.
3. Place the prepared raw materials in a salting container, caps down, in layers, sprinkle each layer with a mixture of dill and salt.
4. Cover the filled vessel with parchment, press it with a not too heavy load, and place it in the cellar or refrigerator.
5. 14 days after laying, the workpiece is ready for consumption.

Russula mushrooms: cooking with onions

Components:

• 1 kg of russula;
• 250 ml 9% acetic acid;
• 250 gr. onions;
• 3 laurels;
• 3 peas of allspice;
• 3 carnation flowers;
• 2 liters of water;
• 5 gr. (tsp) granulated sugar;
• 2.5 tsp. salt.

Salting process:

1. Wash half-liter jars, dry them, and sterilize them. We wash and sterilize the nylon covers.
2. We clean the mushrooms, wash them, and boil them in water with salt. Place in a colander to drain.
3. In a separate container, boil water, put onion heads cut into 4 parts into it, salt, sugar and add spices. Cook for 10 minutes, pour out the acetic acid, cook for another 2 minutes. turn it off.

Place the cooled mushrooms in containers and fill with marinade. Close with lids.

Russula mushrooms: cooking with bird cherry and juniper

Components:

• 1 kg of mushrooms;
• 20 gr. bird cherry berries;
• 10 gr. juniper;
• 1 tsp. allspice peas;
• 100 gr. salt;
• water.

Salting process:

1. We clean the russula, wash it, and soak it in weak brine for 5 hours.
2. Place the mushrooms in a prepared clean jar in layers, sprinkle each layer with juniper berries, bird cherry and salt. Berries can be purchased at the pharmacy.
3. Fill the filled jars with boiling water and close with a nylon lid. After complete cooling, put it away for storage in the cellar.

Recipe for making russula with cinnamon at home

Components:

• 6 kg of mushrooms;
• 500 ml 9% vinegar;
• 500 ml water;
• 6 tbsp. l. salt;
• 26 peas of allspice;
• 18 carnation flowers;
• 6 tsp. ground cinnamon;
• 6 tsp. Sahara;
• vegetable oil.

Salting process:

1. We clean and wash the raw materials.
2. Bring the water in the pan to a boil, add salt and vinegar to it. Place the mushrooms in the brine and cook until tender.
3. In 5 min. Before the end of cooking, add spices to the pan.
4. Place the finished mushrooms in jars, add vegetable oil to each jar at the rate of 3 tbsp. l. per half liter container.
5. We sterilize the nylon lids and seal the jars. We put it away for storage.

Salted russula (video)

As you can see, preparing russula for the winter is not so difficult, the main thing is desire. The blanks are stored in a cool place. In winter, they will delight you as a cold appetizer, an ingredient in a salad or pate.

Calories: Not specified
Cooking time: Not indicated

Do you want to cook russula fried with potatoes? We offer you a wonderful recipe. There is a little trick that will help make them very tasty and prevent them from crumbling. So, today I will tell you how to prepare fried russula with potatoes for lunch or a holiday feast according to my own recipe.



Ingredients:
- 1 onion;
- 800 grams of russula;
- 1 kilogram of potatoes;
- 3 tbsp. refined vegetable oil,
- 2 tbsp. butter,
- fine salt to taste.

Recipe with photos step by step:

Rinse the russula well in cool water and remove forest debris. Sort through the mushrooms and if there are any wormy ones, discard them. For frying, use only young, firm mushrooms. You can add a few porcini mushrooms to the russula. This will only make the fried potatoes taste better.




Pour boiling water and wait until the water cools down. This must be done so that the russula does not fall apart during frying.




Rinse the russulas well under running cool water and remove the skin from the russula caps. To do this, pick up the edge with a thin knife and pull.




Peel the onion and cut into small cubes. In a frying pan, heat 3 tablespoons of refined vegetable oil and 2 tablespoons of butter. When the butter melts, add the onions. Cook, stirring, until translucent. Make the heat a little lower than medium so that the onions don't burn.






Russula cut each mushroom into 4 pieces. You shouldn't cut them too finely. You can cut off the very bottom part from the stem if the russulas have been lying around for more than a day before you start cooking them. Add the russula to the onion and mix well. Season with fine salt. You can add just a little ground black pepper. Although, most likely, it will be redundant. Potatoes with russula are already very tasty and aromatic. Fry the mushrooms and onions for another 10 minutes, stirring. Be careful not to burn the onion. The mushrooms will release liquid. By the time you add the potatoes, they should be gone. It will boil away.




Peel the potatoes. It is better, of course, to take young potatoes. You can simply scrape it with a knife, or remove the peel using a metal dishwashing sponge. Cut the potatoes into cubes, place in a deep bowl, add salt and stir. Let it sit for a couple of minutes. Add potatoes to mushrooms. Fry covered for 10 minutes, then fry uncovered for another 10 minutes.




Serve with fresh herbs and fresh vegetables only when hot. They say it tastes much better if you eat it straight from the pan. Believe me, it's true. Bon appetit!

The name of the russula genus Russula is translated from Latin as “reddish”, and the genus includes more than sixty species of various colors - from red, brown, green to yellow and white. Mushrooms are elegant and undemanding - they grow on various soils in dry and damp cold weather. They have brittle white flesh and light-colored plates. Contrary to the sonorous name, the fruiting bodies are not eaten raw, and many of them have a bitter taste.

Young russulas are collected together with their stems and carefully placed in baskets on a layer of leaves or moss - fragile mushrooms are difficult to bring home intact. They are suitable for preparing various main courses and homemade pickles.

Types of Russula

This beautiful, strong mushroom is found in oak and birch forests, where it grows alone or forms small mushroom clearings. The cap is wide, first round, then spread out, up to 18 cm in diameter. The skin is greenish, pale, brownish-green in the center, easily removed.

The leg is dense, 8–10 cm high, light cream, smooth, without thickening at the base and without a ring on the leg. The pulp is white, brittle, with creamy thin plates attached to the stem, neutral taste, without bitterness.

A common species that grows in deciduous and coniferous forests, it is noticeable from afar thanks to the bright red tones of the glossy cap - red-burgundy in the center and slightly lighter at the edges. Depending on the place of growth, shades can vary - from lilac-red to crimson and pink.

The cap is hemispherical, up to 6–10 cm in diameter, in old mushrooms it is spread out, while the edges remain curved and slightly wavy. The plates are thin, frequent, milky white. The pulp is strong, slightly pink at the break from the cap, neutral in taste or slightly bitter. The leg has a regular cylindrical shape, creamy white color, and in dry weather it takes on a pink tint.

In pine forests on sandy soil you can find these tasty mushrooms with a rounded hemispherical cap, which later becomes slightly convex or flat, and then completely concave in the middle. The skin is light red, may have shades of purple, beige or pink, slightly puffy at the edges and is easily removed. The plates are numerous, milky white, then cream.

The leg is dense, thick, white, up to 7 cm high, brownish at the base, and in dry weather takes on the color of a cap. The pulp is pleasant to the taste, without bitterness, with a mild aroma of pine nuts.

Places of distribution and time of collection

The most delicious kind - food russula settles in deciduous or mixed lowland forests under beech, oak and birch trees. The collection time extends from the beginning of June until the end of August. The common type is valued above others for its pleasant taste, nutty aroma and dense pulp.

Russula wavy collected from late summer to mid-October, found in mixed and deciduous forests, on plains and in mountainous areas. The species forms fairly strong, dense fruiting bodies, and therefore is loved by mushroom pickers no less than the previous one.

It often grows under birch trees, forming mycorrhizae with these trees, as well as in light oak forests. The harvest season is in late summer and September. And even in warm October you can come across entire clearings of greenish mushrooms.

The fragile caps, not having time to emerge from the ground, quickly open, attracting hordes of insects to the appetizing pulp. Old specimens are especially fragile and, when collecting them, you can bring home a basket of mushroom crumbs.

Experienced mushroom pickers take only the tight fruiting bodies of young mushrooms, carefully placing them in a basket. They are cut off together with the leg, which is suitable for food, and at the same time checked for worms.

False russula

The flashy colored russulas are not considered the best mushrooms, but they are still collected en masse due to their availability and lucky ability to grow everywhere. Their disadvantages are not only fragility, blandness of taste, and the presence of some bitterness, but due to their external diversity they have very dangerous doubles.

One of the most dangerous mushrooms, the deadly poisonous toadstool, looks like green russula. A greenish glossy cap, up to 15 cm in diameter, frequent white plastics and a neutral taste - these are the main similarities of these species.

Characteristic differences between the pale grebe there is a wide and then fringed ring on the leg and a thickened cup-shaped base, a kind of “bag” near the ground. Often in old toadstools the ring disappears and therefore you need to remain vigilant, and if in any doubt, beware and not take a suspicious mushroom at all.

The convex caps of light red or pinkish color are easily confused with the also colored russula and wavy russula. The fragile pulp is white, turning pink closer to the skin, with a light fruity aroma and a pungent, unpleasant taste.

This species is not as dangerous as the previous one, and some mushroom pickers even use delicious-looking mushrooms for food, after boiling them for at least half an hour. At the same time, scientists discovered in the tissues the toxic substance muscarine, which is part of the fly agaric and causes severe poisoning. For this reason, this species cannot be considered edible.

An attractive mushroom with a dense, smooth cap of cherry or red-brown color and a purple tint, similar to wavy russula. The pulp is firm, yellowish, with a fruity aroma, becoming yellow closer to the skin. The taste is unpleasant, acrid. The peel is difficult to remove. Leg with violet or mauve tint.

It grows mostly in coniferous forests, forming mycorrhiza with pine. It is not considered edible due to its bitterness and, when eaten raw, causes digestive problems.

In coniferous and mixed forests, more often under pine trees, you can find these eye-catching blood-red mushrooms. The cap is up to 10 cm in diameter, at first convex, later widely spread, wine-red in color, sometimes with a lilac tint. The peel is difficult to remove.

The pulp is white, reddish near the skin, bitter or acrid to varying degrees, in the stem with a sweet aftertaste, fruity aroma. The species is inedible due to its bitterness and can cause indigestion when eaten raw.

Beneficial features

Russula is a storehouse of valuable substances, vitamins and microelements. More than 20% crude protein is found in the tissues, which is almost twice as much as in most vegetables. From the fleshy, dense pulp you can prepare nutritious lean dishes, partially replacing meat and fish products. The tissues of russula contain the most important mineral elements for the body - calcium and phosphorus, magnesium and iron.

Red and purple mushrooms have an antibacterial effect and are used in folk medicine to treat abscesses and pyoderma.

An enzyme was found in the red-colored species, which scientists named russulin, after the Latin name of this genus of mushrooms. The enzyme has powerful activity and, in small quantities, can quickly curdle milk, replacing rennet enzymes in cheese production.

Contraindications for use

Many species have some bitterness and, when raw or undercooked, can cause digestive disorders, and russula stinging, which is also called nauseating, provokes vomiting and severe irritation of the mucous membranes.

Mushrooms are not recommended for food for people with gastrointestinal diseases. Marinated mushroom preparations and fried foods in large quantities put a strain on the liver, especially with gallbladder pathologies. Therefore, such foods are eaten in moderation and with caution.

You should not include russula in the diet of children under six years of age - this is a heavy food for them, requiring the active work of enzymes, the production of which is still insufficient in the child’s body.

It would be useful to remind you of the enormous danger that threatens the unlucky mushroom picker, who can confuse russula with poisonous mushrooms, especially with toadstool.

Recipes for cooking dishes and preparations

Before cooking, wash the mushrooms thoroughly, then quickly peel them by lifting the skin from the edges and lightly cutting out the middle. The peeled fruiting bodies are immediately processed, preventing darkening. They are suitable for any preparations and dishes, except first courses.

Natural russula

They use species without bitterness - edible and green russula. After initial processing, they are boiled in acidified and salted water at the rate of 40 g of salt and 10 g of citric acid per 2 liters of water. It should be taken into account that during cooking they will shrink significantly, decreasing in volume, and at the end of cooking they will sink to the bottom.

After boiling the mushrooms for 20 minutes, they are placed in jars and filled with boiling broth, after which they are sterilized for at least an hour and a half. The product is then sealed, cooled and stored in a cold place.

Russula in hot salting

This healthy spicy pickle is one of the best mushroom preparations. For 2 kg of mushrooms you will need 4 tablespoons of salt, 2 bay leaves, 6 black peppercorns, 4 black currant leaves, a little cloves and dill seeds.

Pour 1 glass of water into a bowl, add salt and bring to a boil. Mushrooms are immersed in boiling brine, the foam is removed, after full boiling, spices are added and simmered over low heat for 15 minutes. Readiness can be determined by the settling of the pieces to the bottom and the lightening of the brine. The workpiece is cooled and placed in jars, filled with brine and closed. The pickle is ready in a month and a half.

Russulas fried in breadcrumbs

Large caps of species without bitterness are peeled, cut into halves, salted, dipped in egg, breaded in flour and sprinkled with breadcrumbs. The pieces are fried in a large amount of boiling vegetable oil.

Place the workpiece in half-liter jars 1 cm below the neck and sterilize for one hour. Then seal, cool and store in a cool place.

Mushroom caviar

Thoroughly washed and cleaned fruit bodies are boiled for 30 minutes, constantly skimming off the foam, then placed on a sieve and placed in a porous canvas bag under pressure for 4 hours to drain excess liquid.

The mushrooms pressed in this way are finely chopped or ground in a meat grinder with a large grid together with a small head of onion, add 50 g of salt per 1 kg of mushrooms and ground black pepper. The resulting caviar is placed in sterile jars, filled with boiled oil and covered with clean, dry lids. The food is stored for a short time, about one month, in the refrigerator.

Video about russula mushrooms

Elegant colored russula grow everywhere - in pine and deciduous forests, in clearings and forest edges, in the grass near white-trunked birches. Almost a third of all collected mushrooms belong to one or another species of Russolaceae. With their unpretentiousness, accessibility, bright colors and ease of preparation, they attract mushroom pickers who are in no hurry to bypass these wonderfully healthy and satisfying gifts of the forest.