Porcini(boletus) - the real king of mushrooms and perhaps the most desirable prey during the "quiet hunt". Know where porcini mushrooms grow and when exactly myceliums give the most big harvest- the cherished dream and goal of any avid mushroom picker.

White mushroom is considered the most valuable, tasty, fragrant and nutritious.

Huge popularity and even love of many admirers of one of the most "natural" types of leisure boletus won not only appearance, regal posture and rich taste. It is very practical in cooking and preparations in a variety of forms - dried, salted and pickled. In addition, his search in the forest is an exciting activity in itself, developing in a person the healthy qualities of a real seeker.

But before going to the places of the most massive, traditional habitat of this spore plant, let's briefly get acquainted with their varieties and their distinctive features.

White mushroom and its main types

There are several versions of why this mushroom was popularly called white (although it also has another, more official, name - boletus). But despite the variety of all versions, most likely, the etymology of the familiar name is associated with the unique property of this handsome forest- it is the only one among the vast kingdom of various tubular mushrooms that retains its pleasant white color during drying, heat treatment, and also in cut places.

By tradition, experienced mushroom pickers easily distinguish porcini mushrooms in a special way. color scheme and the shape of the cap and stem, as well as the density of its pulp and excellent taste.

Moreover, in size and shape different parts you can determine whether a mushroom is young or old in front of us.

Yes, in his early age boletus has an almost spherical cap. The legs of the noble mushroom "young growth" are usually characterized by a pronounced barrel-shaped, the usual color of the leg is either light gray or light brown.

Over time, in a maturing boletus, the hat straightens out more and more, often so much that it becomes almost flat. At its maximum, the cap of this plant sometimes reaches a size of 20-30 cm. Noticeable metamorphoses also occur with the stem. With growth, it is more and more stretched in height and therefore from a barrel-shaped one it gradually turns into a rather slender cylinder. On average, the stem of the porcini fungus reaches a height of up to 10-15 cm in height, and up to 5-7 cm in diameter.

Usually its strong fleshy flesh is white in color and has a pleasant, pronounced mushroom aroma.

White mushrooms with their "colonies" form in woodland mycorrhiza is a symbiosis of fungal mycelium with tree roots, mainly spruce, pine, oak and birch. Due to the fact that the mycelium penetrates the roots of higher plants, both "cohabitants" receive mutual benefit.

Most often, white birch fungus can be found on the edges and along roads.

By the way, the color of its cap, the spectrum of which ranges from light brown to brown and dark brown, depends on which tree the boletus forms a close relationship with. In total, there are 3 main varieties of porcini mushrooms:

1. Birch. Most often grows in small groups or singly. His hat is usually either white or light yellow. The pale brown stem of the birch porcini mushroom has characteristic difference from the legs of other porcini mushrooms - a light mesh on it can be distinguished only near the cap.
2. Oak. characteristic feature this kind are its enough large sizes, light tones of the legs of a brownish, ocher or coffee color, the presence of a velvety skin. White (brown) mesh completely covers the entire leg of a cylindrical shape.
3. Pine. The most brightly colored type among all described varieties. In adulthood, his hat grows up to 20 cm in diameter and acquires the color of dark red wine. The tubular layer of the cap is painted in olive color, and a reddish mesh covers the leg from top to bottom.

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When and where do mushrooms grow?

Oak porcini grows in deciduous forests: under oaks, hornbeams, beeches, lindens and chestnuts.

The porcini mushroom as a whole is a rather capricious creature. The fact is that it is extremely sensitive to the features temperature regime the area in which it grows, to the level of humidity and other climatic parameters. This is the main reason why boletus usually does not yield too much.

However, if climatic conditions fits him, he grows quite quickly. The period of growth and full maturation takes only a few days, and after a week (maximum after 10 days) aging begins with all negative consequences— loss of unique palatability, enhanced worminess and the accumulation in the body of the fungus of toxic waste products of microorganisms, which, like people, love this plant.

Therefore, the mushroom picker should prepare in advance for an active "quiet hunt" and try to catch the period when this can be done with the maximum result. Of course, you need to know exactly where exactly to look for the "mushroom king".

If we talk about the area of ​​​​distribution of boletus, then it can be noted that almost the whole world is “mastered” by it. The only exceptions are Australia and the polar (Arctic) zone. True, in Russia this fungus is occasionally found in the southern regions of the tundra on the peninsulas of Chukotka and Kamchatka, in the Khibiny tundra.

Mostly pine white fungus grows in coniferous forests during the summer-autumn period.

The colonies of this noble plant grow quite actively in the Siberian taiga. But the richest in the Russian Federation for crops of porcini mushrooms is traditionally European part countries where vast mixed forests they feel especially good. The most unloved for boletus are the steppe regions.

Boletus can grow in both old and young forests. However, he loves the former more. It is in them that abundant mosses and lichens are often found. At the same time, this mushroom feels good both on loamy and sandy soils that predominate in coniferous forests.

Wherein different types mushrooms demonstrate individual preferences regarding the place of their settlement. So, birch whites grow mainly along forest roads and paths to forest edges. The oak species, in addition to oak forests, also gravitates towards lindens, chestnuts and hornbeams. The pine boletus coexists equally well both in fairly light and warm glades, and in the shade of dense tree crowns. In doing so, it must always be borne in mind that this mushroom never grows in a completely open area.

Our forest delicacies can be found from June to September inclusive. However, the second half of August is traditionally considered the most fruitful period, when almost ideal conditions for development with short but heavy rains and warm nights with fogs. However, if the spring turned out to be warm and rainy enough, the appearance of young mushroom growth is possible in May.

The most necessary things for every mushroom picker are a mushroom picker's calendar and a mushroom guide. After checking with mushroom calendar, you can easily understand which mushrooms to collect at this particular time. Despite the fact that the timing of the appearance of a particular type of fungus is not constant and depends on weather conditions, each fungus has its own certain deadlines beginning and end of the season. Here they are contained in the mushroom picker calendar for 2017. If you forgot the main differences poisonous mushrooms from edible, be sure to refresh your memory by looking at the guide to mushrooms.

Mushroom picker calendar for summer

• Mushrooms in June According to the mushroom picker's calendar, in the first decade of June, lovers of mushroom picking should look for boletus in the pine forest, and boletus in birch groves. In the second half of June comes mushroom season at the white loaders. Loaders are fruitful mushrooms, they are harvested all summer and until late autumn.
• Mushrooms in July In the first days of July, the season of mushrooms begins, and at the end of the first decade of July, the most desirable mushrooms for the mushroom picker are porcini mushrooms. At the same time, according to the calendar, the first russula appear - the most fruitful mushrooms. They can be found in almost any forest from July to late autumn frosts. In the second half of July, in coniferous and mixed forests, milk mushrooms begin to come across, black loads, and on the edges and forest clearings mushroom pickers are pleased with chanterelles and pigs.
• Mushrooms in August August is considered the most mushroom month. In harvest years, mushroom pickers in August collect porcini mushrooms, milk mushrooms, saffron mushrooms, boletus mushrooms, porcini mushrooms, russula, boletus and other mushrooms in baskets. At the beginning of August, the first mushrooms appear, and in the middle of the month - waves and whites. The second half of August and the first ten days of September are the best time for picking mushrooms.

Mushroom picker calendar for autumn

• Gibs in September. In September, mushroom pickers have joy. As the mushroom picker's calendar says: many summer mushrooms, at the same time appear in large numbers autumn mushrooms. In the second half of September, part of the mushroom species disappears, but honey agaric, volnushki, whites, boletus, pigs, and white mushrooms are still plentiful.
• Mushrooms in October At the end of October, you can postpone the mushroom picker calendar until next year, because the mushroom season ends. In the second decade of October, when the average daily air temperature drops to 4-5 degrees Celsius and night frosts begin, the mushroom picking season will end. However, you can still find young mushrooms, preserved under the foliage and grass of saffron mushrooms, volnushki and whites.

Mushroom calendar 2017

for the Moscow region and central Russia

Mushroom calendar 2017

for the Leningrad region and the northern places of Russia

Mushroom season in the forests Leningrad region- time from August to November. mushroom places in the Leningrad region you can’t count, the main thing is to know when to pick this or that mushroom. This will help the mushroom picker calendar for the Leningrad region. Edible mushrooms in the Leningrad region are diverse: bright aspen mushrooms, appetizing boletus mushrooms, valuable porcini mushrooms and mushrooms, red chanterelles, slippery butterflies and mossiness mushrooms, as well as volnushki, milk mushrooms and mushrooms. If you check the mushroom picker's calendar, you can pick up delicious morels, and raincoats, and russula. Do not be lazy, in the right weather after the rain, look at the mushroom calendar and get ready for a mushroom picking trip. Focus on the mushroom picker calendar for the Leningrad Region below.

Mushroom guide

There are no reliable methods to distinguish between edible and poisonous mushrooms by eye, so the only way out is to know each of the mushrooms. If the species affiliation of mushrooms is in doubt, it is by no means worth eating them. Fortunately, among the hundreds of species found in nature, many differ in such clearly defined characters that it is difficult to confuse them with others. However, it is best to always have a mushroom guide handy.

Mushroom guide - How to distinguish edible mushrooms
1 - breast; 2 - camelina; 3 - cone mushroom; 4 - greenish russula; 5 - food russula; 6 - fox.	7 - oiler; 8 - morel; 9 - white mushroom; 10 - large umbrella; 11 - row; 12 - field champignon.
Mushroom guide - How to distinguish poisonous mushrooms
1 - paneolus; 2 - gray float; 3 - luminous talker; 4 - ordinary veselka; 5 - death cap; 6 - white fly agaric (spring).	7 - fly agaric red; 8 - motley champignon; 9 - russula vomit; 10 - value; 11 - entoloma

Taking with you a guide to mushrooms and a mushroom picker's calendar, making your way through the forest in search of mushrooms, you can entertain yourself with a conversation about mushrooms. Share with friends interesting facts about mushrooms.

The most poisonous mushrooms

Certainly poisonous species of mushrooms in Europe, there are about a hundred. Of these, only eight are deadly poisonous.

• The most poisonous mushroom is Galerina sulciceps growing in Java and Sri Lanka. Even one eaten fruit leads to death in half an hour or an hour.
• In Europe and North America, the most poisonous are white fly agaric (spring) and smelly fly agaric.
• The most poisonous, deadly to humans is the pale grebe, for which no antidote has yet been found.

The largest edible mushrooms

The largest mushroom in the world grows in national park Mahler in the Blue Mountains (Oregon, USA). This mushroom covers an area of ​​890 hectares. However, we are interested in edible mushrooms.

• The largest edible mushroom was discovered in Canada by Jean Guy Richard. The unique raincoat (Calvatia gigantean) had a circumference of 2.64 meters and a weight of 22 kilograms.
• The largest mushroom was found in Italy by Francesco Quito in the province of Bari. The mushroom weighed 14 kilograms.
• The largest of the found truffles weighed even less - only 7 kilograms.

The most expensive mushrooms

• Of course, the most expensive mushrooms are truffles, white and black. Incredibly expensive white truffles grow mainly in Italy, in the Piedmont region. Also, the Perigord black truffle or Tuber melanosporum is considered a real masterpiece of nature.
• Matsutake mushroom competes with truffles for the title of the most expensive mushroom. This mushroom is often called the king of mushrooms due to its rich mushroom aroma and excellent taste. So far, no one has succeeded in artificially growing matsutake, which is why the price for them has increased significantly, unlike truffles, which the Chinese have learned to successfully cultivate.

Now, thanks to the mushroom picker's calendar, you know which mushrooms and when to pick in the Moscow and Leningrad regions. Distinguish edible and recognize poisonous mushrooms A short guide to mushrooms will help you. Happy silent hunting.

The mushroom season begins in mid-April - early May. On the northern slopes of the ravines, in the forest thickets, where the sun rarely looks, porous snow still lies, and on the edges of broad-leaved and deciduous forests, warmed by the sun, morels appear on clearings and along forest roads. The mass growth of morels is observed from the first to the third decade of May. At the same time, you can collect lines. These mushrooms love pine forests, settle in clearings and roadsides on sandy soil.

Morels and lines are poisonous when fresh. Before eating, they are carefully processed: boiled 2-3 times, draining the broth, or dried.

In early June, the mushroom picker will meet the first russula. There are many varieties of cheesecakes. These are the most fruitful mushrooms and you can collect them until late autumn. Russula are easy prey, in other places of the forest there are a lot of them, and it seems that unusual flowers of a wide variety of colors and shades have grown in the emerald green.

In June, you need to look into the birch forests if you want the basket to be filled with the first boletus boletus, and in the sparse, light pine forests, you can collect butterflies. At this time in the forest, mossiness mushrooms are often green. From the second half of June, the growth of mushrooms noticeably increases: more than 15 species of cap mushrooms can already be found in the forest.

AT pine forests, overgrown with heather, aspen and often birch forests, very conspicuous mushrooms appear - aspen mushrooms. Their red hat is visible from a distance on a green carpet. These mushrooms grow until late autumn, but most of all they happen from the first decade of August to the second decade of October. In June, when the first warm rains, chanterelles will appear in abundance, settling in cheerful flocks on grassy and mossy forest glades. At this time, you can look in the bright pine forest for the king of mushrooms - boletus, and in early July, white mushrooms appear in birch forests.

In June, pigs are found, champignons are found in forest glades and edges, and in July families of milk mushrooms begin to come across in coniferous with birch and birch forests. It is necessary to take a closer look at the bumps, because under a layer of last year's needles and leaves, the mushroom often hides from the eyes of the mushroom picker.

Of course, August is considered the most mushroom month, and mushrooms are its best gift. From the first days of the month they pour out in young growth of spruce and pine forests. The second half of August and the first decade of September - Golden time for the mushroom picker: just have time to collect abundant harvests of mushrooms valuable for drying, pickling and pickling. At this time, there are a lot of boletus, boletus, boletus, mushrooms, milk mushrooms. Less valuable mushrooms also grow - volnushki, rows, podgruzdki. In August, you can meet autumn mushrooms, but their time has not yet come. There are many mushrooms in September, when other mushrooms begin to disappear. The sky frowns more and more often, watering the thinned forest with fine cold rain. Fallen leaves are everywhere - a flowery outfit of autumn, among which it is already difficult to find a mushroom, but honey agarics are in plain sight. Surrounding the stump, they climb up in a crowd, as if they were damp and cold on the ground. Until the first snow, you can carry these tasty and clean mushrooms from the forest with full baskets.

The mushroom calendar is capricious. No year coincides with another in terms of the number of mushroom species and their yield. Only the order of appearance of mushrooms is almost constant.

A real mushroom picker meets the sun in the forest with trophies in a basket. Early in the morning, when there are still no oblique sun rays, the mushroom is more visible. Those who are late can only get overgrown mushrooms and cut off mushroom legs. Walk slowly through the forest, some will run around it and return home with an empty basket, and mushrooms like to play hide and seek. Under a thick branch, in moss, among a pile of leaves, they often hide from the eyes of mushroom pickers, especially after a summer dry wind. In rainy summer, mushrooms settle in clearings and along the edges. If you find a mushroom, then circle around: mushrooms often grow in groups. No need to pull the mushroom out of the ground with the root, it is better to cut it with a knife without scattering forest floor. Save the mycelium - you will get a good harvest in the future.

The Russian writer S. T. Aksakov wrote that mushrooms have favorite places where they will certainly be born every year in greater or lesser numbers. And he had such places in mind, he did not come from the forest without mushrooms. “I always have a lot of noticed mushrooms, mostly porcini,” Aksakov said, “and I take them at the age I need, or leave them to reach their full development and beauty”

(S. T. Aksakov. Collected works, vol. 4. M., ed. art. lit., 1956, pp. 594-595.)

It is best to collect mushrooms in wicker baskets, stacking them with their caps down or sideways if the mushrooms are long-stalked. In buckets due to lack of inflow fresh air mushrooms can "burn" and deteriorate. You can not collect mushrooms in backpacks and bags - in this container they crumple and crumble.

Fresh mushrooms brought home must be sorted, cleaned and processed immediately, they cannot be stored.

Who, in an exciting mushroom hunt, did not have to wander in an unfamiliar forest, finding the way to the house! Of course, it is good to have a compass with you, but it is not always at hand. Therefore, when picking mushrooms, you need to pay more attention to the features of the area: a conspicuous tree, clearings, bends in the road, etc. It is useful to occasionally look back to remember the way back from the forest.

At night, it is easy to navigate by the moon. Full moon opposes the sun, which means that at 7 o'clock. it is in the west, at midnight - in the south and at 19 o'clock. - in the east. A straight line drawn through the two extreme stars of the Big Dipper, which has the shape of a bucket, will pass to the bright Polaris, which is always in our hemisphere in the north.

Do lonely standing tree the crown is always thicker and more magnificent on the south side. On sections of stumps, the thickness of annual rings is wider to the south. Resin protrudes from the pine trunks on the south side, and moss and lichens grow on stones and trees from the north. Anthills are usually located on the south side of a tree or stump.

The sides of the horizon can be easily determined with the help of a watch. For this hour hand point to the sun.

A line from the center of the clock through the middle of the angle formed by the hour hand and the direction of the number 1 will indicate where north and south are. Before lunch, south will be to the right of the clock hand, and after lunch, to the left. Exactly at 13:00. the sun is in the south. The minute hand is ignored. The watch should be kept in a horizontal position.

Nature can help the mushroom picker determine the weather for the coming days. Before a bad weather, oxalis and forest grains droop, meadow clover folds its leaves, sweet clover smells strongly, and dandelion, thistle and coltsfoot flowers close. Yellow acacia flowers usually smell strongly in the evening. If their aroma is felt on a sunny morning, this is a thunderstorm.

Going to the forest for mushrooms, pay attention to your flower garden. Ipomoea, mallow, marigolds folded their petals and seemed to fade - it means it will rain and you need to put on rubber boots and take your coat with you.

White mushroom (lat. Boletus edulis) is a type of fungus that belongs to the department Basidiomycetes, the class Agaricomycetes, the order Boletaceae, the family Boletaceae,. This is the most colorful representative of the mushroom kingdom. The abbreviated name of the mushroom is simply “white”, some call it boletus. Even inexperienced mushroom pickers easily recognize the "forest celebrity" and fill their baskets with it.

Why is white mushroom called white?

The porcini mushroom got its name from old times when mushrooms were more often dried than fried or stewed. The marble pulp of the porcini fungus remains perfectly white even after heat treatment and drying. People noticed this feature and called the mushroom with a dark hat white. Another version of the name is associated with the opposition of the white fungus to the less tasty and not so valuable "black" butternut squash, the flesh of which darkens on the cut.

White mushroom - description and photo, characteristics and properties

Hat

All mushrooms of the boletus genus have a strikingly delicate aroma and spicy taste.
The brownish-brown cap of a mature porcini mushroom grows on average in diameter up to 7-30 centimeters. But in certain latitudes, subject to heavy rains and mild temperatures, porcini mushrooms with a cap diameter of 50 centimeters also appear.

Determining the age of a mushroom is quite simple: in a young porcini mushroom, the cap has an almost artistically deduced convex shape, overripe mushrooms are flatter, sometimes even prostrate in appearance. The surface of the white mushroom cap in most cases has a pleasant to the touch, slightly velvety texture, the upper skin is tightly connected with the pulp, so it is difficult to separate from it. In dry and windy weather, the cap becomes covered with a network of small but deep wrinkles or cracks, which leads to damage to the internal pores of the fungus. In rainy weather, a thin film of mucus can be seen on the top of the cap. The color of the cap of the porcini mushroom can be varied - from reddish brown to almost milky white. How older mushroom, the darker and denser the hat becomes, and the skin acquires a characteristic roughness.

pulp

The pulp of a ripe porcini mushroom is dense, juicy and mostly fleshy, attractive white color. In old mushrooms, it turns into a fibrous structure, the shade of the pulp acquires a slightly yellow or light beige tone.

Leg

The height of the stem of the porcini fungus is small, on average it reaches 12 centimeters, but you can also meet more “tall” representatives, the stem of which reaches 25 centimeters in height. The diameter of the stem is 7 cm, less often - 10 cm. hallmark white fungus is the shape of its stem: it is barrel-shaped or club-shaped, over time, in old mushrooms it becomes cylindrical, slightly elongated in the center and thick at the base and cap. Its color varies from white to deep brown, sometimes with dark red spots. There are porcini mushrooms, the color scheme of the cap and legs of which are almost completely identical. Often, at the base of the cap, the stem has a network of light thin veins, sometimes almost indistinguishable against the main background of the skin.

Bedspread and spore powder

There are no remains of the veil in the porcini fungus - the base of the leg is perfectly clean.
spore powder juicy olive-brown hue, the porcini spores themselves resemble a spindle in shape, their dimensions are amazingly tiny: 15.5 x 5.5 microns. The tubular layer is light, then turns yellow, acquiring an olive-green hue.

Where do white mushrooms grow?

White mushrooms grow on all continents, with the exception of Australia, which is too dry and cold Antarctica. It is found throughout Europe, North and South America, in Mexico, in the territories of China, Japan and in the northern regions of Mongolia, in North Africa, in the British Isles, in the Caucasus, Kamchatka, Far East, in the middle and southern latitudes of Russia. Very often, white mushrooms can be found in the northern taiga, in the European part of Russia and in the Far East.

When and in what forests do porcini mushrooms grow?

The growth cycle of porcini mushrooms is very unstable and depends on the place of growth. White mushrooms begin to grow in May or June, and the abundant appearance of mushroom islands ends late autumn- in October-November (in warm regions). In the northern regions, the white fungus grows from June to September, and the mass collection begins in the second half of August. growth phase white boletus quite long: only in a full week does it reach adulthood. Mushrooms grow in families or colonies-rings, so meeting in the forest with even one white mushroom often promises indispensable success for the mushroom picker.

White mushrooms grow in both coniferous and deciduous or mixed forests under trees such as spruce, pine, oak, birch, hornbeam, and fir. Collection of white mushrooms can be carried out in places covered with moss and lichen, on sandy, sandy and loamy soils, but these mushrooms rarely grow on swampy soils and peat bogs. White fungus loves sunlight, but it can also grow in dark areas. The fungus grows poorly when the soil is waterlogged and low daily air temperatures. Whites rarely grow in the tundra and forest-tundra, forest-steppe, and in the steppe regions, whites are not found at all.

Types of white mushrooms, names and photos

Among porcini mushrooms, the following varieties are considered to be the most famous:

• White mushroom mesh (boletus mesh) (lat.Boletus reticulatus )

Edible mushroom. Outwardly similar to, it has a hat of brown or ocher color, sometimes with an orange tint, located on a short cylindrical stalk. The mesh on the stem of the mushroom is white or brown. The cap has a diameter of 6-30 cm. The flesh is white.

There is a white fungus reticulated in beech, oak, hornbeam, chestnut forests of Europe, North America and Africa, in the Caucasus. It occurs in June-September, but not too often.

• White mushroom dark bronze (copper, hornbeam) (bronze boletus) (lat. Boletus aereus)

An edible type of porcini mushroom, it is distinguished by a very dark brown color of the cap and legs - sometimes they are almost black. On the leg there is a mesh, first white, then walnut. The leg has a cylindrical shape. The flesh of the bronze white fungus is white, does not change color when cut, dense, with a pleasant smell and taste.

The dark bronze white fungus can be found in oak, beech, oak-hornbeam forests from July to October, it is common in western and southern countries Europe, often found in the United States.

• Birch porcini mushroom (spikelet) (lat. Boletus betulicol a )

A feature of the species is a very light, almost white color of the cap, which reaches 5-15 cm in diameter. Less often, its color has a slightly creamy or light yellow tint. The stem of the mushroom is barrel-shaped, white-brown in color, has a white mesh in its upper part. On the cut, the mushroom does not turn blue, the pulp of the mushroom is white.

It grows exclusively under birches, occurs throughout its habitat, where there are birch forests and groves, along roads and on the edges. Fruits from June to October singly or in groups. It often grows throughout Russia, as well as in Western Europe.

• White mushroom pine (upland, boletus dine-loving) (lat. Boletus pinophilus)

A type of porcini mushroom with a large dark-colored hat, sometimes with a purple hue. The cap has a diameter of 6-30 cm. The pulp of the mushroom under the thin skin of the cap has a brownish-red color, it is white in the stem, does not turn blue on the cut. The stem of the mushroom is thick, short, white or brown in color, has a mesh of light brown or reddish hue.

White pine fungus grows in pine forests on sandy soils and in the mountains, less often in spruce forests and deciduous forests, is found everywhere: in Europe, Central America, Russia (in the northern regions of the European part, in Siberia).

• White oak mushroom (lat. Boletus edulis f. quercicola)

A mushroom with a brown hat, but not with a brownish, but with a gray tint, sometimes light spots are “scattered” on the hat. The pulp of this species is loose and less dense than that of other varieties of white.

Oak white fungus can be found in the oak forests of the Caucasus and Primorsky Krai, it is often found in middle lane Russia and its southern territories.

• Spruce porcini mushroom (lat. Boletus edulis f. edulis)

The type of the most common white fungus. The leg is elongated and has a thickening at the bottom. The mesh reaches a third or half of the leg. The hat has a brown, reddish or chestnut color.

Spruce white fungus grows in fir and spruce forests in Russia and Europe, except for Iceland. White mushroom appears in June and bears fruit until autumn.

Useful properties of white mushrooms, vitamins and minerals

Due to the high content of minerals, white fungus is one of the most popular and useful mushrooms. What is useful white mushroom?

• First of all, the pulp of the porcini mushroom contains the optimal amount Selene capable of curing cancer in the early stages.
• Vitamin C, which is contained in white, is necessary for the normal functioning of all organs.
• The fragrant gourmet white pulp contains calcium vital to the human body iron, as well as phytohormones to reduce inflammation in the body.
• Riboflavin, which is part of the porcini fungus, contributes to the normalization of work thyroid gland and also improves hair and nail growth.
• B vitamins contained in white, have a beneficial effect on nervous system, energy metabolism, memory and brain function, protect the skin and mucous membranes from infections, are responsible for sound sleep, good mood and appetite.
• Lecithin white fungus is beneficial for atherosclerosis and anemia, helps to clean blood vessels from cholesterol.
• The value of the porcini mushroom also lies in the presence B-glucan, an antioxidant that protects immune system human and fights fungi, viruses and bacteria.
• Ergotionein as part of the porcini fungus, it stimulates the renewal of body cells, and is also useful for the kidneys, liver, eyes, and bone marrow.
• Also white fungus perfectly stimulates the secretion of digestive juices.

Porcini mushroom is low-calorie, 90% consists of water, perfect for drying, it is fried and stewed, pickled for the future for the winter. The taste of the cooked pulp is unusually soft, immediately after cleaning it gives off an attractive mushroom smell, which only intensifies after heat treatment. The porcini mushroom has the strongest aroma after proper drying when the pulp gradually loses moisture.

Any mushroom is quite difficult for human digestion. But it is dried porcini mushrooms that are most accessible for digestion, since in dried form human body up to 80% of white fungus proteins are digested. It is this form of fungus recommended by nutritionists.

Harm of white fungus

White fungus is an edible mushroom, but it can also be poisoned in several cases:

1. The porcini mushroom contains chitin, which is difficult to digest by the child's body, pregnant women, people with diseases digestive system and kidneys. Even porcini mushroom broth can lead to exacerbations.
2. White mushrooms, like any other mushrooms, accumulate toxic heavy metals contained in the earth. That is why you need to be careful and in no case pick up mushrooms growing in the city or near industrial enterprises, landfills, waste, next to freeways.
3. The third reason for feeling unwell when eating porcini mushrooms is the occurrence allergic reaction for fungal spores.
4. And, of course, consumption can lead to poisoning. dangerous double white fungus called gall fungus or mustard.

The simplest advice for people who do not understand mushrooms and can confuse white mushroom with bile mushroom is not to pick mushrooms that turn blue (turn pink, redden) when cut and have a bitter taste!

False white fungus (gall fungus). How to distinguish a white mushroom from a false one?

• pulp

One of the main differences between the white fungus and the false gall fungus is the color of the cut. When cut, the pulp of the gall fungus darkens and becomes pinkish-brown. The pulp of the white fungus does not change color and remains white.

• Leg

The gall fungus on the stem has a rather bright pattern in the form of a mesh, which the edible porcini mushroom does not have.

• Hymenophore

The tubular layer of the false white fungus is pinkish in color, while the true white fungus is white or yellow.

• Taste

The false porcini mushroom is bitter, unlike the edible porcini. Moreover, the bitter taste of the gall fungus does not change during cooking or frying, but may decrease during pickling due to the addition of vinegar.

Read about the inedible false white fungus.

false porcini mushroom

The mushroom season in the forests near St. Petersburg is from August to November, but edible mushrooms can be found in the Leningrad region almost all year round.

And so - you gathered your courage, stocked up on a tool, got acquainted with and even found out! Let's figure out whether you are going to the forest in time. We look at the mushroom picker calendar by the most popular edible mushrooms known in the forests of the Leningrad region.

Let your quiet hunting be successful, and dinner in good company and at home or at the recreation center will be a good reminder of our northern nature.