Ryzhiki - popular mushrooms that are appreciated by cooks for taste and versatility in cooking. They are fried, stewed, pickled and salted. Today we will talk about ways of salting a useful product for the winter.
About appearance and taste
The mushroom has a bright dark orange or reddish-orange color, sometimes there is a greenish tint on the cap. The lamella cap in mature specimens can reach 15 cm in diameter, and the leg up to 9 cm in height. The shape of the cap is round, with slightly bent edges and a depressed center. The skin is sticky and smooth to the touch.
The flesh contains a milky sap that, when cut, gives a greenish-blue color to mushroom plates. The most popular are mushrooms, growing in coniferous forests. The milky juice adds a unique sharpness to the rich mushroom taste, with some sourness. 
In the classic recipe without the use of spices to the aroma of the product is added a subtle smell of pine needles.
Features of product selection
Experienced mushroom pickers advise gathering mushrooms on their own, rather than buying at the store. First, the product may be old and wormy, and secondly, collected in contaminated areas.
Mushrooms have a feature to absorb everything that is in the atmosphere, including the exhaust gases of cars. Therefore, they must be collected away from industrial areas and highways.
Mushrooms are a unique natural product with a large number of vitamins and amino acids, but a number of mushrooms contain poisons, salts of heavy metals and are dangerous for human life. That is why read the list of edible and poisonous mushrooms, as well as learn how to check the mushrooms for edibility by folk methods.
Pine hides have a more brown shade in the color of the cap, spruce can be greenish.
In order not to be mistaken in the choice, it is necessary to know that the cap of the mushroom is lamellar, with a milky orange juice at the cut, with a characteristic smell of resin. It is better to collect small copies. 
Of all the mushroom abundance, it is these mushrooms that are considered the easiest to digest, despite the calorie content. First of all, it is a source of protein that can replace meat if it cannot be consumed for some reason (fasting, moral and ethical beliefs).
Ryzhiki also rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals, amino acids. Even after salting, they retain the bittersweet aroma and peculiar sharp taste.
Did you know? From the surviving records of the Vikings it is known that the most valiant warriors of the berserks used a decoction of hallucinogenic mushrooms before the battle. In a trance, they heard the voice of the god Odin, did not feel pain when they were wounded, and did not feel fear.
Step-by-step recipe with photo
The hot method is preferred by many housewives, as it allows the use of large and standing mushrooms. Heat treatment takes longer time, but does not require such careful selection as the cold method.
Kitchen tools
You will need the following items for cooking:
- knife;
- pan - 2 pcs .;
- colander;
- plate;
- can 3-liter.
Ingredient list
For salting, it is advisable to choose small mushrooms, but if you have large ones, they can be cut into several pieces. So, the following ingredients will be needed:
- mushrooms - 5 kg;
- salt - 250 g;
- allspice (peas) - 15 pcs .;
- black pepper (peas) - 15 pcs .;
- bay leaf - 15 pcs.
Mushroom preparation
Preparation of raw materials for salting is to clean the adhered debris, it is also necessary to remove the specimens damaged by worms. For cleaning and cutting mushrooms, you need a sharply sharpened knife, so it will be exactly cut, and not crumb a fragile mushroom body.
Having cut the lowest hard part of the leg, you can see if the camelite is eaten away by worms. After dry cleaning, the raw materials are soaked in water for half an hour, this is necessary in order to clean the sand grains from the plates of the caps. Then large caps and legs cut into two or more parts, small bodies are left intact. After it is washed again with cold water.
Did you know? The lovers of salted mushrooms were Peter I, Tchaikovsky, Chaliapin, Belinsky.
Salting process
- Once again we inspect the washed and cleaned mushrooms: small ones are left as is, large ones are cut in half or into four parts.
- We put the pot of water on the fire when it boils, put the mushrooms in the tank.
- At the same time, the water cools down a bit, so we wait until it boils again, let the mushrooms boil for two or three minutes. During this time, you need to carefully monitor the foam and remove it.
- After the time we throw the mushrooms in a colander over the pan and decant the broth, it will be needed later. Then thoroughly rinse with running cold water to cool slightly and wash off the remnants of dirty foam.
- Then we place bay leaf on the bottom of the pickle pot (about 5-8 pieces), pour 1 tablespoon of salt.
- We put the mushrooms with their heads up, in a dense layer. Sprinkle with peas of black and allspice, sprinkle salt in a thick layer so that all the mushrooms are covered with it.
- Then in the same way lay out all the mushrooms in layers, alternating them with seasonings.
- When all layers are laid and salted, it is necessary to add a decoction to them, because when blanching the mushrooms lost most of the moisture. Fill so much liquid so that it does not reach the topmost layer by about two centimeters.
- Place a plate on the surface of the pickle, and a jar filled with water on top of it.
- We remove for three or four days in the cold.
After this time, the product is salted and ready for use.
Video: how to pickle mushrooms for the winter
Unusual old recipe: how to pickle mushrooms in a bottle
In France, mushrooms were more expensive than champagne wines, salted in bottles. The cost of the product was due to the size of the mushrooms: small, not larger than 2 cm in diameter of the cap, looked much more attractive than those that have grown to the size of burdocks. In addition, young mushrooms are cleaner and juicier than old specimens.
Read more about pickles, pickling, drying and freezing mushrooms.
The literature has preserved old recipes describing pickling in bottles. Here is one of them:
Ingredients:
- mushrooms - up to 300 g per container;
- salt - up to 40 g
Cooking:
- We select the raw materials of the right size, thoroughly clean, wash off small grains of sand.
- For convenience, salt is poured into a flat bottom plate, each mushroom is dipped into it and pushed into the bottle throat.
- The remaining salt is sent there too.
How to pickle mushrooms in a cold way
Before the process itself, the raw material is thoroughly cleaned of dirt and foliage.
Dry way
For the dry method, the absence of moisture is important, so clean the mushrooms with a damp sponge and an old toothbrush. If, however, you washed them, then thoroughly dry them before salting. Further sequence of actions:
- For dry salting use any capacity other than metal.
- The cleaned raw material is cut into pieces (if necessary) and layered with salt with the caps upwards in layers, so that each specimen is well covered with it.
- Spices here can not be added using only salt - 40 g per 1 kg of raw material.
- Next, the surface of the salted raw materials covered with gauze, put under pressure in a cool place.
Important! Consider that mushrooms can grow mainly on sandy or sandy soils, therefore there may be small grains of sand in the caps.
Wet method
Wet salting steps:
- Peeled and washed in several waters, mushrooms for an hour soaked in salted water.
- Then it is also laid with layers of salt down with the caps.
- Cover with gauze or any thick cloth and put under pressure in a cool place.
- From time to time they check the condition of the product, at the slightest signs of mold on the surface, the fabric is changed and the pressure is washed.
The wet method involves a longer period of preparation - you can lay out the banks in 30-40 days.Important! With the dry method, spices are not added, only salt. When wet as an extra spice they use cherry or currant leaves, allspice and black pepper, cloves, garlic.
Where and how to store billets correctly
A small stock can be stored in the refrigerator, in the mode from 0 to +6 ° C, and the cellar will do. For long-term storage (both hot and cold salting can be fresh up to two years), the product is rolled into sterile jars with the same lids.
Many housewives, to extend the shelf life without conservation under the lid, increase the rate of salt during cooking by half. 
Mushrooms should be stored in a dark room, where there are no conditions for the development of mold, at a temperature not higher than +10 ° C. From time to time you need to pay attention to the color of the brine: fresh product has a brown color, if the liquid is black, the product becomes dangerous, it can not be eaten.
What is useful mushrooms
Mushrooms are not only tasty, but also useful due to their composition. The product is used in combination with medical preparations for the treatment of many diseases.
Find out what useful properties mushrooms such as: morels, flake, veselka, shiitake mushrooms, reishi mushrooms, white loaders, pigs, ceps, boletus, milk mushrooms, boletus, chanterelles, boletus mushrooms, boletus and champignons.
Composition and calorie
Mushrooms contain organic acids that are beneficial for the body, and in terms of the content of vitamins and minerals they are not inferior to fresh vegetables and fruits. In the composition there are:
- vitamins: beta-carotene, B1, B2, C, PP, niacin;
- minerals: potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron;
- lactarioviolin (antibiotic);
- proteins - 2.9 g;
- fats - 0.8 g;
- carbohydrates - 1 g;
- fiber - 2.2 g
Calorie salted mushrooms is 23 kcal per 100 g of product. 
Beneficial features
Lactarioviolin is a natural antibiotic that can destroy many pathogenic bacteria, including the tubercle bacillus. Beta-carotene in the composition of the product supports visual acuity, together with ascorbic acid and riboflavin strengthens the immune system. Thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and minerals have a beneficial effect on the entire body:
- increase appetite;
- regulate metabolic processes;
- normalize the work of the heart muscle and brain;
- strengthen the nervous system, bone and muscle tissue;
- improve blood circulation;
- protect against toxins (tobacco, alcohol);
- slow down the aging of the body at the cellular level;
- reduce cholesterol levels;
- reduce the risk of atherosclerosis;
- dilate blood vessels;
- promote the health of the digestive tract.
Contribute to the reduction of "bad" cholesterol consumption: apple or beet juice, tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, ginger, iceberg lettuce, plums, corn, dried kelp, grapefruit, watermelon and cashews.
Is there any harm and contraindications
Ryzhiki is considered a delicacy for an amazing taste and aroma, a salty snack is a constant dish of many festive events, but the product can be harmful.
It is undesirable to use mushrooms in large quantities, because they can cause weakness, indigestion, constipation. 
The product is contraindicated in the following diseases:
- pancreatitis;
- gastritis;
- cholecystitis;
- and after removal of the gallbladder.
In conclusion: mushrooms are a tasty and healthy product, but if you go on your own for the forest, if you are not sure about your knowledge, it’s better to take a familiar expert with you or show them your trophies after returning home from a "quiet hunt". Collect mushrooms, cook delicious dishes from them and treat them to your family and guests.
