Suillus mushrooms: Foraging tips and tasty pickling ideas
Suillus mushrooms are tasty. It's worth learning the rules for collecting, cooking, and preparing them to fully enjoy their unique taste and nutritional value.
How to recognize Suillus mushrooms?
Suillus mushrooms can be easily recognized by their fleshy texture and cap covered with a thin, easily removable skin. The most commonly found species is the common Suillus, but, you can also find the larch Suillus, slender Suillus, yellow Suillus, granular Suillus, and chestnut Suillus.
Collecting Suillus mushrooms
The mushroom season is in full swing, and you can find plenty of Suillus mushrooms on the forest floor. When you find them on a forest path, collect them in your basket right away. Remember not to pick mushrooms in polluted areas or regions where collecting is prohibited.
Do you need to peel Suillus mushrooms?
Suillus mushrooms have a cap covered with a thin, easily removable skin. It is recommended to peel Suillus mushrooms before starting to process them—whether you are marinating, frying, stewing, or cooking them. The skin of the Suillus mushroom is bitter and hard to digest due to the dense and sticky mucus found on it. Eating mushrooms with the skin can lead to unpleasant digestive issues. Even dried Suillus mushrooms require peeling. The peeling process is time-consuming and requires a lot of patience, but it's worth engaging in to enjoy the full flavor of these mushrooms.
Recipe for Suillus mushrooms pickled in vinegar
Suillus mushrooms are excellent for pickling. Here's a simple recipe that will help bring out their flavor and preserve them in the pantry for longer.
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs of small Suillus mushrooms
- 1.5 cups of 10% vinegar
- 2 large onions
- 2 tablespoons of salt
- 0.5 cup of sugar
- 1 carrot
- 2 quarts of water
- Spices: mustard seed, whole peppercorns, allspice, bay leaves
Preparation method:
- Sort and clean the mushrooms, then boil in salted water for about 20 minutes. Drain and rinse with lukewarm water.
- In a pot, pour 2 quarts of water, add vinegar, 2 tablespoons of salt, spices, sliced carrot, and quartered onions.
- Boil for 15 minutes, add the Suillus mushrooms, and continue boiling for another 20 minutes.
- Transfer the mushrooms along with the marinade into sterilized jars, seal tightly, and let cool upside down.
