How to properly and tasty pickle boletuses and boletuses (+18 photos)?

The most common and versatile mushrooms in our country are tubular (sponge) mushrooms. Aspen mushrooms and birch boletes, among others, can be pickled in both simple and unusual ways. Many chefs and home cooks have developed various marinades that not only enhance the flavor of the fruit but also add depth to it.

Features and benefits of mushrooms

The nutritional value of birch and aspen boletes is very high; they contain many microelements, carbohydrates, protein, and a minimum of fat, making them dietary and nutritious.

Aspen mushrooms

There are several varieties of aspen mushrooms. Their caps are most often reddish, but can also be brown, white, or crimson. When young, the cap is spherical; when mature, it straightens out and can grow up to 30 cm in diameter. The spongy inner layer is whitish or olive.

The stem can reach 5 cm in width and 15 cm in length. Its surface is white with a grayish tint and scales that darken with age. The shape thickens toward the bottom. When cut, the body turns blue and blackens with age. The scent is pleasant but very light. As the name suggests, it grows with aspen trees.

Boletus mushrooms

Boletus boletus typically forms mycorrhiza with birch, but also coexists quite successfully with aspen and poplar. It resembles the aspen boletus in appearance, particularly its scaly stem. The cap is a soft brown, but can also be reddish. The spongy underside is creamy, turning ocher with age. When cut, the body takes on a pinkish hue.

Both species belong to the second category of edible mushrooms, characterized by high taste and nutritional qualities.

Preparing mushrooms for pickling

Before any cooking method, birch and aspen boletuses undergo several preparatory steps. For pickling, they are as follows:

1. Cleaning. Clean the mushrooms quickly, as sometimes aspen and birch boletes start to spoil right in the basket. In these cases, they should be discarded to avoid ruining the flavor of the entire dish. The body should be cleaned of sand, leaves, and needles, and then soaked in water for an additional 10 minutes to loosen small particles.
2. Sorting. This is usually done in parallel with cleaning. The birch and aspen mushrooms are sorted by size: the larger ones are fried, while the prettiest, smallest, and firmest ones are pickled.
3. Slicing. It's recommended to cut the mushrooms into large pieces; too small pieces will be difficult to eat. Thick stems are cut into short "stumps," while thin stems are left in long "wooden" sections. The caps look attractive sliced ​​through the center, like a cake. Sometimes, only the caps are marinated, and the stems are set aside for another dish.
4. Primary boiling. Pour water over everything, bring to a boil, skim off any foam, and add salt. Boil for 20 minutes, then strain through a colander.

Methods for pickling aspen mushrooms

Aspen mushrooms are especially often prepared in a marinade, which is why there are so many different recipes. The cooking time for aspen mushrooms depends on the recipe.

For the winter with cooking

For the winter recipe, you need to make a brine. Add to half a liter of water:

• 1 tbsp each of salt and sugar;
• 1 bay leaf;
• 5 black peppercorns;
• 2 carnation flowers.

Let everything simmer for 5 minutes. Then, add the boiled aspen mushrooms (1 kg raw) to the liquid, adding half a glass of vinegar, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Place a dill flower and a chopped garlic clove in a sterile jar, top with the marinated aspen mushrooms, and then another dill umbel. Cover with a plastic lid and, once cooled, refrigerate.

With citric acid

This option will allow you to enjoy the very delicate flavor of aspen mushrooms. Boil 1 kg of the mushrooms after cleaning them, adding 2 g of citric acid. Next, prepare the marinade:

• Boil 500 ml of water with 3 tsp of salt and 1 g of citric acid;
• after boiling, add 4 teaspoons of sugar, 1 g of ground cinnamon, 2 cloves and bay leaves, 3 allspice peas, a quarter teaspoon of paprika;

  

• after 1 minute pour in 1.5 tbsp of vinegar;
• You can immediately pour the marinade into jars with aspen mushrooms, seal them, cool them and put them in the refrigerator for 10 days, after which they can be consumed.

Without sterilization

Aspen mushrooms prepared according to this recipe can be stored in the cellar for a long time. Brine: Bring 500 ml of water to a boil with 80 ml of vinegar, 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons of salt, 5 white and 5 black peppercorns, 1 tablespoon of dill seed, 3 cloves, and 2 bay leaves. Boil for 5 minutes, then add the mushrooms and simmer for another 40 minutes. Then arrange in jars, adding the remaining marinade, and seal with plastic lids.

Recipes for pickling boletus mushrooms

Let's look at several recipes for the best way to marinate boletus mushrooms to satisfy a variety of tastes.

With garlic and cinnamon

The following recipe will appeal to lovers of unusual flavors. Ingredients for the marinade, based on 1 kg of raw boletus mushrooms:

• spices: bay leaf - 3 pcs., cloves - 5 pcs., cinnamon - a third of a stick, black pepper - 10 peas;
• 15 ml of 70% vinegar essence;
• 40 g salt, 40 g sugar;
• 1 onion;
• 3 cloves of garlic.

There's a slight deviation from the preparation method described above: the initial boiling is done with the onion, for a piquant flavor. After straining, discard the onion; it won't be used in the marinade. Rinse the aspen mushrooms under running water.

Add spices, salt, and sugar to the brine water, bring to a boil, add the mushrooms, and simmer for another 10 minutes. Finely chop the garlic and add to the pot, simmering for another 5 minutes. Finally, add the essence and turn off the heat after another 5 minutes.

Place the mushrooms in sterilized jars, bring the marinade to a boil again, pour it in to the top, and seal. Cool and store as in the previous recipes. When serving, you can add vegetable oil for an incredibly flavorful dish.

Classic recipe

For this tried-and-true classic recipe, we'll need a marinade. It's prepared using the following ingredients per 1 kg of raw boletus mushrooms:

• 1 liter of water;
• 40 g each of sugar and salt;
• 125 ml vinegar;
• spices: 3 cloves, 10 allspice, 2 bay leaves.

Rinse the birch boletes after the initial cooking, pour 1 liter of water over them, and boil for 10 minutes. Add all the brine ingredients and simmer over low heat for another 15 minutes. While hot, arrange in sterilized jars, top up with marinade, and seal.

Place the jars upside down, covered, to cool slowly. After this, the jars of pickled boletus mushrooms can be stored in the pantry for the entire winter.

Without vinegar

For this recipe, we won't need lids, as the lack of vinegar, the main preservative, means they can't be stored in a regular pantry. They need to be kept at least 8 degrees Celsius (46 degrees Fahrenheit), so they should be kept in the refrigerator under plastic lids.

We will need:

• birch boletes – 1 kg;
• water – 1 l;
• sugar and salt – 10 g each;
• citric acid and ground cinnamon - 2 g each;
• bay leaf - 1 pc.;
• black pepper – 5 peas.

Make a brine from all the ingredients except citric acid. Add the boletus mushrooms and simmer for 15 minutes over low heat. Add the citric acid and turn off the heat. Place in jars, top up with the marinade, seal, cool, and store in a cool place.

We marinate a mixture of birch and aspen mushrooms

Birch boletes and aspen boletes are quite similar in appearance and flavor, so recipes for them don't differ much. Pickling a mixture of the two is also common. Interestingly, the birch bolete darkens when cooked, while the aspen boletus's cap remains red, creating a vibrant, appetizing appearance when combined.

Marinade: Add 2 tablespoons each of sugar and salt, 3 teaspoons of vinegar, 2 bay leaves, 10 black peppercorns, and 5 cloves to 1 liter of water. You can also experiment with cinnamon and garlic. Bring everything to a boil and add the cooked mushrooms. Simmer for half an hour. Place in sterilized jars along with the marinade and seal.

Answers to frequently asked questions

When cooking mushrooms, housewives have additional questions:

Mushrooms are a popular staple on our tables. Mushroom picking is called a "silent hunt," and the process itself is fascinating, and thanks to the recipes, it culminates in a delicious meal.