We collected honey mushrooms, what to do next?

Honey mushrooms are the most common of the forest mushrooms, also because they grow in groups and not one at a time. They are easy to collect, they are presented in regions with different climates, they contain the substance flammulin, which prevents sarcoma, a large amount of B vitamins, vitamin E, PP, ascorbic acid, the legs contain a lot of fiber, which is useful for digestion, so honey mushrooms are very popular among people and are an ingredient in many dishes. These mushrooms can be used to prepare soups, main courses, and snacks. They are also suitable for pickling and salting. Despite such great popularity, the question of how to properly clean and prepare honey mushrooms is very relevant.

It is better to collect honey mushrooms in a basket, since in a bag they can quickly get wet, losing their shape. When collecting, you must be able to distinguish them from false mushrooms: true mushrooms always have a ring or skirt on the upper part of the stem. This is a remnant of the covering protecting the fruiting body of the young mushroom. False mushrooms can grow on the same stump as real ones, and they are very easy to confuse. Sometimes only experienced mushroom pickers can correctly distinguish them. False honey mushrooms are either inedible or generally poisonous. This is why commercially grown mushrooms are considered the safest. Well, for those who go for the mushroom harvest on their own, an immutable rule should always apply: if you’re not sure, don’t pick it.

Cleaning mushrooms: why and how?

Collected fresh honey mushrooms tend to darken quickly, so they must be processed immediately upon bringing them home. Peeled, dried mushrooms can be stored in the freezer for a year. Before processing begins, the harvested crop must be sorted. Old, wrinkled, rotten, or eaten by worms or insects specimens must be mercilessly removed and cannot be cooked. If only the stem is affected, you can throw it away, leaving the cap. You also need to remove stuck debris - blades of grass, leaves, twigs.

The question often arises: why clean honey mushrooms, because due to their small size it is very troublesome. The fact is that even edible mushrooms may have damaged areas that need to be disposed of. In addition, small bugs can often be found under the cap. This does not indicate spoilage of the mushroom; they can be easily removed.

Before direct processing, you need to decide whether the honey mushrooms will be dried or not. The cleaning method depends on this. If you plan to dry them, it will be enough to cut off the damaged areas with a knife. It is also recommended to cut off the lower half of the leg, even if it is good, since the legs of honey mushrooms can be rather hard. Next, use a dry toothbrush with hard bristles to remove the film under the cap. If insects are observed, they can be easily removed with a knife. When processing mushrooms before drying, no water is used.

If you plan to cook honey mushrooms fresh or they are intended for pickling, then before directly cleaning it would be correct to soak them briefly in warm water. Soaking should not last more than an hour - mushrooms that are too saturated with moisture lose their taste. After soaking, you need to scrape off the film or skirt with a knife, rinse the mushrooms with water to get rid of insects under the cap. If the housewife is looking for a way to quickly clean honey mushrooms, then the skirt does not need to be removed; this will not affect the taste characteristics, and it will take less time to clean. Actually, this is the whole cleaning process - wild mushrooms do not require too careful processing.

How to cook honey mushrooms?

Now that the mushrooms have been cleaned, you can cook them. Before cooking, you need to make sure you have an enamel pan. The dishes must be free of chips. The water in the pan is brought to a boil, after which the mushrooms are placed there and cooked for 5 minutes. The resulting foam should be removed. Then you need to change the water, bring it to a boil again, and cook the mushrooms for half an hour. Boiled honey mushrooms settle to the bottom of the pan rather than remaining on the surface. After the mushrooms are cooked, they need to be placed in a colander to allow excess water to drain from them, and the water itself must be drained. Now you can prepare dishes. If the mushrooms are intended for frying, they still need to be pre-cooked. To protect against poisoning, before you start cooking, you need to additionally boil the honey mushrooms in salted water for 10 minutes, then pour out this water.

Honey mushrooms: how to properly clean and wash these mushrooms?

Every mushroom picker rejoices when he sees a clearing of honey mushrooms in the forest, pretty, yellowish, small... Honey mushrooms are very convenient mushrooms to prepare, they can be pickled, salted, and fried, of course, you can cook soup from them, make mushroom pates... A whole lot of everything ! But before you cook, of course, you need to “put them in order” - be sure to clean and wash them so that there are no sticking leaves or blades of grass, soil and other dirt, which obviously will not give a pleasant taste to our dishes. Why can sometimes difficulties arise with proper cleaning of honey mushrooms? They are small in size, that's their whole secret.

Dishes made from fresh mushrooms

You can make a wonderful mushroom soup from honey mushrooms. For this you will need one carrot, 1 onion and 4 medium-sized potatoes. Chop the onion, grate the carrots coarsely, and then fry everything and throw it into the mushroom broth along with diced potatoes. Add salt and seasonings to taste. This soup takes about 20 minutes to cook.

You can also make a salad from boiled mushrooms. To do this, honey mushrooms need to be cut, boiled potatoes in their skins, and prepared a boiled egg. Chop the peeled potatoes and eggs, add the tomato cut into half slices, mix everything, add salt, pepper, and season with oil. You can sprinkle fresh herbs on top.

Salted honey mushrooms

Honey mushrooms are delicious in any form - fresh, salted, pickled. In order to pickle mushrooms, you need to separate the caps from the stems and cut everything in half. If the mushrooms are very small, then you don’t have to chop them. Next, you need to peel and cut the garlic into halves, chop the onion into half rings, and chop the dill. Add all ingredients plus bay leaf with spices to the boiled mushrooms. Next, salt is added: about 2-2.5 tablespoons per kilogram of honey mushrooms will be enough. Everything is mixed and placed under pressure in a container for 5 days. Then the mushrooms should be transferred to a sterile jar and stored in the refrigerator. It takes 20 days.

There is a more complex way of salting. With it, spices and mushrooms are placed on the bottom of the vessel, sprinkled with salt on top and kept under pressure for a month and a half. The oppression must be washed periodically; if mold forms, it should be removed. After the specified time, the salted honey mushrooms are placed in jars and stored in a cool, dry place.

Picking mushrooms in the fall is a familiar activity to many. But you won’t be satisfied just by collecting the necessary mushrooms on a quiet hunt. Having returned home from the forest with a full basket of honey mushrooms, you still have to spend a lot of effort on their further processing and only then start cooking them. That’s why we’ll discuss what they do with it after collection. We'll tell you how to wash them, clean them, whether they need to be soaked, how long to cook them... Popular About Health has prepared detailed instructions on this matter. So let's start the conversation.

What do they do with honey mushrooms when collecting and already collected?

Cleaning, sorting, washing

The first stage of processing mushrooms after harvesting is cleaning, it begins with removing debris. Try to manually remove remaining leaves, grass and other large debris. This can be done in the forest. You can immediately begin sorting the mushrooms by size, putting large specimens in a separate container. Ruthlessly throw away specimens that are heavily worm-ridden, rotten, or old. A new sorting awaits you at home...

For example, honey mushrooms that are intended for drying are not recommended to be washed. Then place the harvest in a bowl of water. Soaking for a short time will help get rid of small debris that is stuck to the caps and stems of the mushrooms, and also stuck in the plate part. After 5-10 minutes, rinse the honey mushrooms under running water, paying attention specifically to the plates. Gently massage the area with your fingers to remove impurities. Using a knife, remove the pimples from the caps and clean the skirts from the legs. The edge of the leg must be cut off and the wormholes removed.

Is it necessary to soak honey mushrooms in water?

The soaking process removes the milky juice from the mushroom body. Many varieties of mushrooms must be soaked, and this process is quite lengthy. But armillaria do not contain milky juice in their pulp and do not have an unpleasant taste, so there is no need to soak them. In addition, after prolonged contact with water, their taste deteriorates.

Do I need to cook honey mushrooms and how much?

Some housewives boil honey mushrooms before frying and pickling, although this is not a mandatory requirement. They do this in order to neutralize the product. Although these mushrooms are edible, they can accumulate toxic substances from the environment. To protect yourself and your family from poisoning, mushrooms can be cooked.

Place the harvested crop in a saucepan with water and cover with a lid. There is no need to salt the first water. Bring to a boil and drain the water after five minutes. Fill the pan with clean water, boil the mushrooms, add salt (half a tablespoon of table salt per liter). You can also add spices and one whole onion head. Continue cooking for 15-20 minutes. Then we put the honey mushrooms in a colander and let them drain. Now the mushrooms are ready for frying, freezing, and pickling.

What dishes are prepared from honey mushrooms?

These mushrooms have a pleasant taste, they are suitable for preparing any dishes - honey mushrooms are good fried, salted, pickled, in soups, and salads. If you do not plan to cook them right away, then after cooking the product can be sent to the freezer, packaged in bags. At any time you can prepare some kind of treat from mushrooms.

Now, when you bring home a basket of honey mushrooms, you won’t be confused, because you know what all the mushroom pickers do with them after picking them. First, they need to be peeled, washed, and then boiled. After this, you can cook any mushroom snacks and dishes with them.

Honey mushrooms are considered autumn mushrooms. Although you can meet them in the summer. The highest yield occurs in early or mid-September. And it can last until frost. These mushrooms grow in small or large families. Mainly under stumps, trees, in places where several layers of old, fallen bark or leaves have accumulated.

Summer mushrooms look similar to many other mushrooms. They have a thin leg and a wide-open cap. Although they have their own special sign. There is a white film under the cap. It is this that is considered as a recognition sign for mushroom pickers. The color of summer honey mushrooms is red or brown.

Autumn honey mushrooms resemble carnations. There is a small hat on a sturdy base. The rim is also located at the top of the mushroom. The leg is grayish-white in color, the cap is dark brown. Autumn honey mushrooms have their own special feature for those who like to collect mushrooms - there is a small powder on the cap.

What can you do with honey mushrooms?

Having figured out what to do with honey mushrooms after collection, and having properly prepared them for further preparation, you can begin to follow recipes for delicious snacks or independent dishes. Popular versions of using honey mushrooms in cooking or preparing them for future use will help you use the product as efficiently as possible.

Recipes with honey mushrooms may involve boiling them, followed by stewing, frying, as well as storing them for future use in the form of a pickled appetizer or caviar.
Multi-component dishes with honey mushrooms, where mushrooms are combined with vegetables or meat, will delight you with excellent taste and nutritional characteristics, and an amazing rich aroma.
Recipes with honey mushrooms for the winter include long-term sterilization of the preparations, which can subsequently be hermetically sealed. Without sterilization, the vessels can be stored in the cold under loose lids.

How to pickle honey mushrooms for the winter with vinegar?

A simple recipe for pickled mushrooms with vinegar will allow you to preserve your favorite mushrooms until the next season and provide your family with a delicious snack. A set of spices can be compiled based on individual preferences, adding new savory ingredients to taste or replacing those proposed with them.

honey mushrooms – 1.5 kg;
water – 3 glasses;
granulated sugar – 4 teaspoons;
salt – 2 tbsp. spoons;
vinegar – 1/3 cup;
laurel, allspice, cloves, garlic, vegetable oil.

The honey mushrooms are boiled for 20 minutes, washed, and allowed to drain.
Boil water with the addition of salt, sugar, spices and spices.
Pour in vinegar, add mushrooms and cook for 30 minutes.
Place the mushroom mass with the marinade into jars, sterilize them for 20 minutes, seal them, and wrap them warmly until they cool.

How to dry honey mushrooms?

Dried honey mushrooms will be an excellent winter preparation. They can be used for cooking first courses, added to salads and other culinary compositions. You just need to soak the product for several hours, then boil until fully cooked for 30 minutes.

Before drying, it is not advisable to wash honey mushrooms, but only wipe them with napkins or paper towels.
Mushrooms can be strung on strings and dried in good weather in natural conditions in the attic or under a shed.
Such bundles are also dried in dry, ventilated, warm rooms.
A more modern way of drying honey mushrooms is to use an electric dryer. Mushroom specimens are laid out on trays and dried at a temperature of 50 degrees until the moisture evaporates.
You can dry the mushrooms in the oven: the mushrooms are laid out on a baking sheet and placed in a device preheated to 60 degrees for 4-7 hours. The door should be slightly open.

Interesting: How to Store Flour at Home

How to properly freeze honey mushrooms for the winter?

When studying what can be done with honey mushrooms after collection, many are attracted by recommendations for freezing the product. If you have free space in the refrigerator and a catastrophic lack of time, this preparation method is one of the highest priorities. For information on how to freeze fresh honey mushrooms for the winter, see the following points:

It is advisable not to wash the mushrooms, but simply wipe them with a towel or napkins, and brush off any debris or small amounts of sand.
Honey mushrooms are laid out in one layer in the chamber, frozen, and then poured into a bag for storage and final freezing.
You can also freeze already boiled or fried mushrooms by placing them in portioned bags or containers.

How to cook honey mushroom soup?

Soup with honey mushrooms, the recipe for which will be described below, can be cooked exclusively with vegetables or added to the composition with cereals and pasta. The hot dish will be tasty and nutritious if you take meat broth as a liquid component, and when serving it, put boiled meat cut into small slices into plates.

honey mushrooms – 0.5 kg;
water or broth - 2 l;
potatoes – 4-6 pcs.;
onions and carrots - 1 pc.;
laurel, peppercorns, salt, herbs - to taste;
butter – 40 g.

Boil the honey mushrooms for 20 minutes, drain on a sieve, and transfer to boiling broth.
Add potato cubes, and after 10 minutes of cooking, add the onion and carrot sauté.
Season the hot dish to taste, cook for 10 minutes, serve with herbs and, if desired, sour cream.

How to fry honey mushrooms with onions?

Recipes with fresh honey mushrooms can be made without preliminary boiling only if you are confident in the quality of the mushrooms and their environmental purity. If you have such a product, you can fry it with the addition of onions and sour cream. The amazing rich taste and stunning aroma of the dish deserve the highest praise.

honey mushrooms – 800 g;
onion – 1 pc.;
sour cream – 200 g;
butter – 70 g;
salt, pepper, herbs.

Place the prepared mushrooms in a frying pan, add a glass of water and simmer under the lid for 20 minutes.
Open the lid and evaporate the moisture.
Add oil, chopped onion, fry the ingredients until golden brown, stir in sour cream.
Season the honey mushrooms fried with onions and sour cream to taste with salt, pepper, herbs, heat for a minute and let it brew a little.

How to fry honey mushrooms with potatoes?

An unchanging classic that does not lose popularity over time is fried potatoes with mushrooms. The taste of the culinary composition, even without additional seasonings and spicy additives, pleases with its inimitable harmony. Often the composition is supplemented with onions, and for piquancy at the end of frying you can add finely chopped garlic.

honey mushrooms – 800 g;
onion – 1 pc.;
potatoes – 1.5 kg;
oil – 100 ml.

Boil honey mushrooms until tender, drain in a colander.
Fry the onion in oil, add mushrooms, and evaporate the moisture.
Add peeled and finely chopped potatoes and fry the ingredients, stirring.
Potatoes with honey mushrooms will be ready when the vegetable slices become soft.

Salad with fried mushrooms

If you want to make a salad with mushrooms, chicken with honey mushrooms is a win-win combination. By supplementing the ingredients with chopped or grated cheese, nuts, finely chopped garlic and dressing with mayonnaise, you will be able to get an excellent appetizer, which will also occupy a significant place in the holiday menu. If desired, the dish can be decorated in layers, covering each with a mayonnaise mesh, and then left for several hours to soak.

honey mushrooms – 700 g;
chicken fillet – 0.5 kg;
cheese – 200 g;
nuts - half a glass;
garlic – 2 cloves;
salt, pepper, mayonnaise, butter.

Boil until tender, and then fry honey mushrooms in oil.
Finely chop the boiled chicken and add to the mushrooms.
Cheese, nuts, and garlic are also sent there.
Season the salad with salt, pepper, mayonnaise, mix, and let it brew.

Pasta with honey mushrooms

Pasta with honey mushrooms in creamy sauce will be an exquisite dish for a home meal with or without any occasion. Dried or fresh basil and a pinch of Italian or Provençal herbs will give the dish an additional piquant taste. No less popular is the version with garlic, which is added at the final stage of cooking.

honey mushrooms – 0.5 kg;
paste – 0.5 kg;
chicken fillet – 250 g;
processed and hard cheese – 150 g each;
cream – 200 ml;
onion – 100 g;
curry, salt, pepper, oil, herbs.

Fry chopped chicken and pre-boiled honey mushrooms with onions separately.
Combine meat and fried mushrooms, add cream and melted cheese.
Season the sauce to taste, simmer for 5 minutes, stir in grated hard cheese and boiled pasta.
Serve the dish immediately, placing it on warm plates and seasoning with herbs.

Honey mushroom caviar with garlic – recipe

Caviar from honey mushrooms with garlic can be prepared from substandard specimens, trimmed legs or mature mushrooms, which are of little use for other dishes and preparations. The resulting snack is an excellent addition to a slice of fresh bread, a component for creating a filling for baked goods, or an addition to other dishes.

honey mushrooms – 0.5 kg;
carrots – 100 g;
onion – 200 g;
garlic – 3 cloves;
salt, pepper, oil.

The honey mushrooms are boiled for 20 minutes, after which they are fried in oil with the addition of onions.
Separately, simmer the grated carrots in oil.
Combine mushrooms with onions, carrots and garlic in a blender and chop.
Salt the caviar, pepper it, mix it, let it brew a little.

Julienne with honey mushrooms - recipe

Julienne with honey mushrooms is a dish for the holiday menu that you can pamper your family with on weekdays. The delicious rich taste of a delicacy with French roots cannot be spoiled, especially if you choose high-quality natural cheese and homemade sour cream to fulfill the recipe. When serving, decorate the dish with greens.

honey mushrooms – 1.2 kg;
onion – 300 g;
sour cream – 300 g;
cream cheese – 200 g;
butter – 70 g;
flour – 30 g;
salt, pepper, herbs.

Fry the onion in oil, add flour, sauté for 2 minutes.
Add honey mushrooms and sour cream, previously boiled until ready, mix and warm up a little.
Spread the mixture into oiled cocotte pans, sprinkle with cheese and bake at 180 degrees for 7-10 minutes.

Pie with honey mushrooms - recipe

The following recipe is for those who don’t mind pampering themselves with homemade cakes. In this case, boiled and then fried honey mushrooms are used as a filling. If desired, the mushroom mass can be supplemented with onions sautéed in oil, and instead of shortcrust pastry prepared from the indicated ingredients, take ready-made puff pastry.

flour - 3 cups;
butter – 200 g;
sour cream – 150 g;
eggs – 2 pcs.;
yolk – 1 pc.;
honey mushrooms – 1.5 kg;
salt, pepper, herbs.

Grind the flour with soft butter and a pinch of salt.
Add eggs and a couple of spoons of sour cream, knead the dough, divide into 2 unequal parts.
The honey mushrooms are boiled and then fried, seasoned and mixed with herbs.
Spread the mass onto a larger layer of dough, placed in a mold, cover it with a smaller layer, make several cuts on top, and grease the surface of the product with yolk.
Bake the pie with honey mushrooms at 180 degrees until golden brown.
Pour the remaining sour cream seasoned with salt and pepper into the cuts and bake the product for another 5 minutes.

Recipes with honey mushrooms may involve boiling them, followed by stewing, frying, as well as storing them for future use in the form of a pickled appetizer or caviar.
Multi-component dishes with honey mushrooms, where mushrooms are combined with vegetables or meat, will delight you with excellent taste and nutritional characteristics, and an amazing rich aroma.
Recipes with honey mushrooms for the winter include long-term sterilization of the preparations, which can subsequently be hermetically sealed. Without sterilization, the vessels can be stored in the cold under loose lids.

07 Jul 2020 foodhranenie 329
Share this post

How long does vodka last in a closed bottle?
Is it possible to freeze honey mushrooms fresh?
Can Honey Be Stored in a Plastic Bottle?
How to preserve fried chanterelles for the winter

How to clean honey mushrooms

To begin with, the mushrooms are sorted. They are cleared of debris and cut off the lower part of the stem, which may contain sand or soil. After this, soak in water for 20-30 minutes. To better clean the honey mushrooms from dirt, you can salt it. Then the mushrooms are washed with running water. Transfer to a bowl or large tray. It is advisable to let them stand for 7-10 minutes. During this time, the remaining water sinks to the bottom and needs to be drained.

When the honey mushrooms are completely ready for further processing, the third part of the process begins - cooking the honey mushrooms. This mushroom is tougher than others, so pre-boiling is necessary.

How to clean royal, scaly and birch honey mushrooms

This type of mushroom is classified as category 4, so in other countries it is not eaten as it is considered an inedible mushroom.
In Russia, royal honey mushrooms are prepared in the same way as other edible species. However, how to properly clean royal honey mushrooms, whose caps are covered with scales? The royal honey fungus is large in size, which corresponds to its name. This mushroom grows in large families on fallen trees or stumps. It is much easier to clean than ordinary mushrooms. But it must be said that for further preparation they take only the caps, because the legs of these honey mushrooms are very thick and fleshy. They are used to make caviar or marinated separately from the caps. How to quickly clean royal honey mushrooms, and what other processes can be done with them? You need to scrape off the scales from the caps of these mushrooms with a knife and remove the ring skirt. We have already said that royal honey mushrooms are large, so their scales and membranous ring are also large. In order not to spoil the attractive appearance of the future dish, all this must be removed. After that, the mushrooms need to be washed in a large amount of salt water so that sand and insect larvae come out of the plates. It is better to leave the honey mushrooms in water for 1.5-2 hours, and then boil for 30-40 minutes. Note that royal honey mushrooms can be consumed only after preliminary boiling.

This type of honey mushroom makes delicious soups, stews, pates and toppings for pizzas and pies. In addition, the caps of royal honey mushrooms (as well as the legs) can be pickled and salted.

In addition to the royal ones, there are other types of honey mushrooms, on the caps of which there is a large accumulation of hard scales. How to clean scaly honey mushrooms, and for what further cooking processes are they suitable? I would like to note that such mushrooms undergo the same purification as royal honey mushrooms. These species are much smaller in size and more similar to autumn species. However, after cleaning, they must also undergo heat treatment for 20-30 minutes, only then go for frying or stewing. Look at the photo on how to properly clean honey mushrooms for subsequent preparation:

How to clean birch mushrooms correctly and how quickly to do it? Birch mushrooms are summer mushrooms that prefer to grow only on birch trees and birch stumps. To avoid trimming mushroom stems at home, they are cut off in the forest. Take with you not a knife, as many do, but scissors. Large scissors are very convenient for cutting birch mushrooms, and if there are a lot of them, then you will reduce the collection time. If you find a tree lying on the ground, and there are a lot of birch mushrooms on it, then try to collect only young specimens. These mushrooms are perfect for pickling or pickling.

After the honey mushrooms have been cleared of remaining leaves and grass, they should be soaked in salt water for 10-15 minutes. Then rinse in running water and only then proceed to heat treatment. If you have collected large mushrooms, then it is better to wipe them with a damp kitchen sponge or cloth napkin.

During the initial processing of honey mushrooms, it is imperative to sort through and remove wormy and rotten ones, so as not to spoil the quality of the future dish. If you did not trim the lower part of the legs in the forest, then this should be done at home. Next, you should remove the skirt from the legs of the birch mushrooms. When marinated, it becomes soggy and the appetizer loses its aesthetic appearance. Therefore, use a thin knife to remove the skirt, and before marinating, rinse the mushrooms in water.

We suggest you look at a visual photo of how to clean honey mushrooms that were collected from birch trees:

How to cook honey mushrooms

It is better to use enameled dishes for cooking mushrooms. At the same time, take into account the amount of mushrooms that need to be boiled. They rise when boiling. Therefore, you need to take a pan with a suitable displacement. Here are the step-by-step instructions:

put a pot of water on the stove to boil;
put honey mushrooms in boiling water;
remove the formed foam;
cook for about 5-7 minutes;
Drain the mushrooms in a colander.

Since the amount of honey mushrooms decreases during cooking, for boiling in another water, you can take a smaller pan. This will reduce water consumption and boiling time. Dip the strained mushrooms into salted water. After boiling, cook them for at least an hour. And only then cook your favorite mushroom dishes with your heels.

In addition to all kinds of vegetables and fruits, autumn generously treats us with a unique gift of nature - mushrooms. Honey mushrooms are considered the most productive mushrooms - you can easily and quickly pick up a whole basket of them. Honey mushrooms usually grow in whole families on old stumps and trees, in windbreaks and at the foot of old trees. Meadow mushrooms grow in forest clearings and edges.

But in order to enjoy delicious mushrooms, you need not only to find and collect them, but also to properly clean and prepare them. Each real mushroom picker has his own cooking recipe, but we will now tell you in detail how to properly clean honey mushrooms.

The very first thing to do after the honey mushrooms have been brought home is to quickly sort the mushrooms. Spoiled and old mushrooms, as well as specimens affected by worms, are removed from the total mass of the cut. If the damage is minor, then the spoiled part of the mushroom can be cut off and thrown away, and the good part can be used for further processing. When collecting honey mushrooms, they are carefully cut off with a knife, but if this was not done, then when cleaning, the part of the mushroom that was in the ground should be completely removed. Honey mushrooms often have spoiled legs, and the unspoiled lower part of the leg usually tastes hard, so it can be easily removed.

Many people wonder whether it is worth removing the wavy collar from the mushroom stem.

? In fact, there is no practical need for this, it just wastes time and effort. The final taste of a mushroom dish does not depend in any way on the presence of this very collar. Therefore, whether to delete or not depends solely on personal preference.

How to clean honey mushrooms? Let's talk about processing and pickling these healthy mushrooms

Honey mushrooms are considered one of the most productive mushrooms - after all, you can easily and quickly collect a whole basket of them. They do not grow singly, but in large groups on old stumps and roots rising from the ground, in windfalls and on living trees. They can be distinguished from false mushrooms by their characteristic features.

Interesting: How to Keep Cabbage Fresh for the Winter

How to clean honey mushrooms at home?

After you collect and bring the mushrooms home, we advise you to process them promptly. And the sooner you do this, the better. Honey mushrooms are considered one of the easiest mushrooms to clean, because they practically do not require scraping. Usually, honey mushrooms are sorted out, sticky leaves, blades of grass and other existing debris are removed.

What to do with honey mushrooms and how to prepare them?

Honey mushrooms are delicious either pickled, fried or salted. We offer you an excellent recipe for pickling mushrooms - “autumn gray honey mushrooms”. For this cold appetizer you will need ingredients such as:

honey mushrooms - 5 kg;
salt - 250 g;
bay leaf - 10 g;
allspice peas - 60 pcs.;
green dill - 90g;
onion - 90 g.

Honey mushrooms are delicious either pickled, fried or salted. We offer you an excellent recipe for pickling mushrooms - “autumn gray honey mushrooms”. For this cold appetizer you will need ingredients such as:

To wash or not to wash?

After the mushrooms have been sorted and sorted, they need to be washed in running water or soaked - but only if they are not intended for drying. If you wash mushrooms intended for drying

, then it will no longer be possible to dry them efficiently. The fact is that this product absorbs water very strongly, so honey mushrooms can only be cleaned using the dry method. In addition, washed honey mushrooms will quickly darken and lose their appearance.

The dry method involves carefully removing from each mushroom everything that has stuck to it - leaves, needles, dirt, sand and other forest debris. This can be done with a soft, lint-free cloth, and some even manage to use a dry toothbrush. If it's convenient and effective, then why not? Honey mushrooms are quite clean mushrooms, so manual cleaning will not take much time.

For all other processing methods such as pickling, salting and frying

, mushrooms can be soaked for 20-30 minutes in lightly salted water. You should not keep mushrooms in water for too long - they will become heavily saturated with water and lose their unique taste.

For those who still prefer to remove the film under the hat, we recommend rinsing the mushrooms under a strong stream of water - this way, the delicate film will simply be washed off.

The washed honey mushrooms are boiled in salted water for about half an hour, and then you can start salting or pickling.

That, in fact, is all you need to know about cleaning mushrooms.

Honey mushrooms are mushrooms familiar to every Russian. You can prepare a wide variety of aromatic and tasty dishes from them, and the benefits of these mushrooms have been known for a long time. And collecting honey mushrooms is quite pleasant - they grow in groups, covering large areas, so you can even collect several buckets from one place.

The mushroom got its name due to the characteristics of its growth. It is no secret that honey mushrooms grow on tree stumps and around them, not singly, but in families. In this regard, there are two versions of the origin of such an interesting name.

The first is based on the fact that “honey agaric” is a word with the same root as the word “stump”, and the second says that one day mushroom pickers discovered this mushroom, and after cutting it off, they saw several more growing nearby and exclaimed: “There they are again!”, and so Thus, the word “honey agaric” follows from the word “again”.

In any case, this name has been assigned to the mushroom for a very long time and, despite its folklore origin, is official in Russia.

Honey mushrooms grow in whole families on stumps in forests, both coniferous and deciduous. They are found on absolutely all continents, except for permafrost regions. They prefer to grow on old rotten stumps and any rotten wood.

These mushrooms can be recognized by their long stem, which can reach 15 cm, and a round cap with pronounced plates on the underside. The color of the stem can vary from light to dark brown shades, and the cap from light cream and yellow to brown-red tones. More detailed characteristics of honey mushrooms depend on their type, age and place of growth.

Home cleaning technique

Immediately after a walk through the forest, the harvested crop is sorted. Fresh honey mushrooms, torn from the mycelium, begin to quickly darken. Processing cannot be delayed more than 3 hours after collection, because mushrooms spoil very quickly. You shouldn't leave them in the bag. It is correct to clean Honey mushrooms immediately upon arrival from the forest. If for some reason timely cleaning is not possible, the crop is immersed in cool water with the addition of a spoonful of citric acid and the same amount of table salt.

To properly clean Honey mushrooms, you will need a sharp knife, a colander and a sponge. The latter is needed for wiping the stem and cap. Dirt is cut off from the bottom with a knife, in some cases the entire bottom is cut off. Before cleaning, the stems are separated from the caps.

Interesting: Why the Mixture Cannot Be Stored for More than 3 Weeks

All damaged areas are eliminated. The headband under the hat is removed or washed off with a stream of water. Afterwards, all mushrooms are thoroughly washed (if not dried). Young mushrooms do not need to be cleaned.

The subsequent steps will vary depending on the cooking method. Cleaning will require a sharpened compact knife, a stiff-bristled toothbrush and a piece of soft cloth.

Honey mushrooms for drying. In this case, contact of the mushrooms with water is excluded - the absorbed moisture will not evaporate from them completely, so proper drying will not take place. Using a brush, carefully comb the plates under the hat - bugs may be sitting there. The remaining sand is removed with a soft cloth.
For marinating. You will need to pre-soak it in liquid for 40 minutes (but you can’t keep it for more than one hour - then the honey mushrooms will lose some of their taste). The specimens for this processing method are selected to be healthy and large. The skirt is removed. Then the products are washed under a cold stream for no more than 3-5 minutes. Newly grown honey mushrooms need to be soaked in water and salt for half an hour before washing. The next stage is cooking in salted water for about 40 minutes. After all procedures, you are allowed to begin processing.
For freezing. This processing method requires freshly collected specimens. Mushrooms for freezing are selected carefully; damage is unacceptable. Using a stiff brush, the mushroom is cleaned of dust particles, branches, etc. Small mushrooms do not need to be cut into small pieces. Mushrooms are not washed in water.

Types of mushrooms

There are a large number of types of edible honey mushrooms, and the following are widespread and loved by Russian mushroom pickers:

They are characterized by small cap sizes - 3...7 mm in diameter and a high stem, reaching 10 cm. At the same time, its thickness reaches 8 mm. Its color is yellowish with a white coating. The cap is also a light yellow shade, and in damp weather it changes color to yellowish-brown. The center of the cap is always darker in color than its edges. They bear fruit, like other types of honey mushrooms, in waves, starting in June and ending with autumn frosts;

This species of honey mushrooms is slightly darker in color than the previous representatives of these mushrooms. Their hat is brown, and after rain it becomes transparent. The diameter of the cap can be from 3 to 8 mm, and its center is lighter than the edges. The leg, up to 9 cm high, is characterized by the presence of a ring, which turns into a strip with age. To the bottom of the ring the leg has scales. The first summer honey mushrooms can be found as early as June, and their fruiting lasts until late autumn;

They are large in size. For example, the cap of the real honey mushroom can reach 17 mm in diameter. Both the cap and the leg of young representatives of this species are completely covered with scales. The color of the mushroom is a soft pastel, from light to dark brown shades. These honey mushrooms appear in the summer towards the end of August and bear fruit until October, until the first frost;

They bear fruit from autumn to spring, so you can even find them under the snow in thawed areas. The diameter of the mushroom cap reaches 10 cm in diameter, and the stem is 7 cm in height and does not have a skirt. The stem is dark brown, and the cap varies from dark yellow to orange-brown.

October mushrooms, autumn honey mushrooms: video

Benefits and harms

Eating honey mushrooms has a beneficial effect on human health, since they contain not only vitamins and minerals, but also special substances, for example, thiamine, which is responsible for reproductive function and the nervous system. Mushrooms are rich in protein and also contain zinc, copper, phosphorus, potassium, iron, etc. At the same time, honey mushrooms are low-calorie and suitable for consumption by people watching their weight and diabetics.

In folk medicine, the beneficial properties of honey mushrooms have long been appreciated, the main of which are antiviral and anticancer effects on the human body. These mushrooms perfectly cleanse the intestines, removing waste and toxins. The use of honey mushrooms also has a good effect on the processes of hematopoiesis.

In principle, honey mushrooms will not cause any harm to the human body if they undergo good preliminary preparation before preparing the dish: cleaning and cooking. But you should not overuse honey mushrooms, since they, like all mushrooms, are difficult food to digest. Therefore, you should not gorge yourself on honey mushrooms at night. In addition, the cleansing effect of honey mushrooms can turn into diarrhea with unlimited consumption of these mushrooms.

How to cook

Honey mushrooms, like most mushrooms, need to be processed as quickly as possible after harvesting or purchasing. Depending on how many of these mushrooms are available, you can use various ways to prepare honey mushrooms for lunch, for example, cook them into soup or simply fry them with onions, or process them for longer storage: freeze or pickle.

The fastest and easiest way to process honey mushrooms is to fry them. Moreover, absolutely any side dish will suit them, and the dish will turn out very tasty and aromatic. Fried honey mushrooms are suitable for consumption by people watching their weight, since 100 g of the finished product contains less than 50 kcal. In order to fry honey mushrooms you will need the following ingredients:

honey mushrooms – 0.5 kg;
onion (medium) – 2 pcs;
butter or vegetable oil;
salt, pepper - to taste.

After all the ingredients have been collected, begin washing the mushrooms. They need to be washed thoroughly under running water, paying special attention to the undersides of the caps, as the plates may contain grains of sand and other debris. Then you can dry them a little and cut them into large pieces. Small mushrooms are fried whole.
While the honey mushrooms are drying after washing, you can heat a frying pan with oil and fry the peeled onions and cut into half rings until transparent. Usually this takes no more than 2…3 minutes.
Then add honey mushrooms to the onion and fry, stirring constantly, until the liquid that comes out of the mushrooms during cooking has completely evaporated. Season with salt and pepper.
You can add sour cream to the already prepared dish and simmer under the lid for about 5 minutes, or add fresh dill.

Honey mushrooms make a very tasty winter snack for long-term storage, which is suitable for any holiday table. To prepare pickled mushrooms you will need:

honey mushrooms – 3 kg;
water – 1.5 l;
allspice peas – 8 pcs;
garlic – 2…3 cloves;
bay leaf – 2 pcs;
vinegar 9% concentration - 2/3 cup;
salt – 2 tbsp;
sugar – 1 tbsp.

After all the products have been collected, you can begin to prepare honey mushrooms. Small mushrooms are ideal for seaming. In some varieties of honey mushrooms, the legs can become harsh, so they are sometimes shortened, but not completely, by 1/3 of the length. Mushrooms must be thoroughly cleaned and washed. This is followed by a pre-cooking operation. Honey mushrooms need to be boiled in salted water for 15...20 minutes until cooked (they will sink to the bottom of the pan). Afterwards they are thrown into a colander and the water is drained.
To prepare the marinade, add all the spices except vinegar to the water and bring to a boil. Then add the prepared mushrooms and cook everything together for 5...10 minutes. Towards the end of cooking, add vinegar to the pan.
The mushrooms are placed in clean jars and the marinade is poured on top. The jars are rolled up and allowed to cool at room temperature. It is recommended to store the preparations in a cool place, and they can be eaten about a month after preparation.

This dish is lean and light, but very healthy and nutritious. In order to prepare honey mushroom soup, the first thing you need to do is stock up on a small amount of the necessary ingredients according to the list:

honey mushrooms – 0.3…0.4 kg;
potatoes – 0.5 kg;
onion (medium) – 1 piece;
carrots – 1 piece;
vegetable oil – 3…4 tbsp;
salt, pepper - to taste.

After all the ingredients have been collected, begin the preliminary preparation of honey mushrooms. They must be thoroughly washed and cut into small pieces.
The soup can then be prepared in different ways. For example, some people pre-boil honey mushrooms over low heat for half an hour, after which the water is drained, and the honey mushrooms are filled with new water and the soup is prepared. Others do things a little differently, dropping the mushrooms into boiling water and cooking them for 15 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients.
In any case, potatoes are added first to the honey mushrooms after the specified time. While it is boiling with the mushrooms, they prepare the frying. To do this, onions and carrots are peeled and chopped: onions - into small cubes, carrots - on a grater; after which they are fried in a small amount of vegetable oil.
When the potatoes are almost ready, add the fried potatoes to the soup, mix everything and season with salt and pepper. After this, cook the honey mushroom soup for another 5 minutes.
The finished soup is poured into plates; fresh herbs and sour cream can be added to each of them.

fresh;
with preliminary heat treatment.

The first freezing method will preserve the taste and aroma of freshly picked honey mushrooms, and if defrosted correctly, the mushrooms will be firm and suitable for preparing any dish. The second method is suitable for those housewives who are hesitant about freezing fresh honey mushrooms. Both of these methods allow you to preserve the crop in the freezer for quite a long time, so both will be considered separately.

If a decision has been made to keep the collected honey mushrooms frozen fresh, then you should pay special attention to their pre-processing - cleaning them from dirt. The fact is that honey mushrooms cannot be washed before freezing; all plant residues must be removed from small fungi manually, which requires patience from the housewife.

But first, the mushrooms are sorted into large and small ones and, at the same time, rejected - only healthy honey mushrooms without signs of rot and stains are considered suitable for freezing. Then they begin to clean them.

If the mushrooms are very dirty, they can be wiped with a clean damp towel and then dried. To preserve the aroma, it is best not to cut honey mushrooms, but to freeze them whole. Honey mushrooms can be packaged in flat containers, resealable freezer bags, or on trays.

It is important to lay them out in one layer. If you place them too tightly on top of each other, the mushrooms will simply stick together, and when defrosted they will lose their shape. Honey mushrooms can be stored frozen at a temperature of about -18 0 C for 6 months.

Here you can use one of three heat treatment methods before freezing mushrooms:

blanching.
This term means short-term scalding of fresh mushrooms with boiling water or steam. This method allows you to quickly get rid of dirt on mushrooms, but honey mushrooms prepared in this way after defrosting are not suitable for preparing all dishes. The fact is that after blanching, the mushrooms fall apart and their shape is deformed. Such honey mushrooms can be used in soup or for preparing mushroom caviar;
by boiling.
You can boil honey mushrooms. They are also pre-cleaned, then dipped in salted water and cooked for half an hour over low heat. After this, the mushrooms are placed in a colander, waiting for the water to drain, and then drying the mushrooms on a cloth or paper towels. When the mushrooms have dried and cooled, they can be placed in containers for freezing;
frying.
The mushrooms are pre-fried for 20...25 minutes, and then after cooling they are placed in containers in portions. In addition, you can extinguish honey mushrooms and also package them, and pour the liquid in which they were stewed on top. Fried and stewed honey mushrooms are stored twice as long when frozen as fresh ones - 3...4 months.

How to clean fresh hemp mushrooms before freezing

If you decide that part of your mushroom harvest will be frozen, then you will be interested in knowing how to clean fresh mushrooms before freezing.

Of course, it would be correct if the preliminary cleaning of the mushrooms took place in the forest. This saves time when you are doing honey mushrooms at home. For freezing, many mushroom pickers usually collect hemp mushrooms, not meadow mushrooms. They are purer, with a pronounced taste and aroma of wild mushrooms. How should hemp mushrooms be cleaned before the freezing process? Let us remind you that honey mushrooms are frozen fresh, boiled and fried. However, cleaning is the same in all cases.

First, honey mushrooms are sorted out, discarding damaged and broken ones. Cut off the ends of the legs on which the mycelium remains and quickly rinse under running water. After placing the honey mushrooms on a kitchen towel, leave them for a while to completely drain the liquid. Lay out in single layers and place in the freezer, turning it on at full power for quick freezing. Then the honey mushrooms are distributed into plastic bags and placed back in the freezer at normal temperature.

To freeze boiled or fried mushrooms, mushrooms undergo the same primary cleaning as fresh ones, but with other subsequent processing processes - boiling and frying.

In the forest, honey mushrooms are considered the most numerous mushrooms. They usually grow in large groups and are much easier to collect than other types of mushrooms. They are very healthy and are widely used both in food and medicine. The most popular way to prepare them is pickling and salting. Despite their popularity, not many people know how to collect honey mushrooms and then peel them for further preparation.

These “forest inhabitants” grow in almost all coniferous and deciduous forests. The most successful time for collecting them is September-October. They grow mainly on tree trunks and stumps, less often on the ground. As a result, they are not so heavily polluted.

The process of preparing honey mushrooms can be very diverse. At the same time, they retain all their vitamins and nutrients. In order for them to be most delicious after cooking, you need to know how to properly clean honey mushrooms. Every mushroom picker can tell you several ways, but we will focus on the most popular of them.