Why are white and black milk mushrooms bitter?

Harvesting milk mushrooms for the winter, and this is especially true of the salting process, each housewife wants to delight her household with delicious, crispy and aromatic mushrooms. However, there are situations when the result is not at all what it was originally planned. The whole preparation comes down to one problem – the bitterness of the mushrooms. Many experienced mushroom pickers have learned to cope with such an unpleasant feature. However, their less experienced 'colleagues' may be intimidated to find that processed milk mushrooms taste bitter. Interestingly, a similar problem can also be observed in boiled, pickled and fried fruit bodies. If this happens in your kitchen, is it worth it to get upset and assume that the entire forest harvest is spoiled?

First you need to figure out why milk mushrooms are bitter after salting and other processing processes. Then, having figured out the possible causes, you should think about what you can do. I must say that the solution to this unpleasant feature will depend precisely on the reasons due to which it is observed. After all, then you can certainly say what to do if the milk mushrooms are bitter after salting, pickling, frying or boiling.

Why are boiled and pickled white milk mushrooms bitter?

Among the mushrooms, the white species are considered the most widespread. These mushrooms also received other names: real, peppery, wet. Mushroom pickers love them very much for their high taste, because they belong to the first category of edibility. However, despite such privileges in taste, many lovers of the 'quiet hunt' may find that mushrooms are bitter, why is this happening?

It turns out that everything is very simple: it is a natural bitterness, and it is inherent in almost all representatives of this species, among which are the white milk mushrooms, loved by hundreds of mushroom pickers. These fruiting bodies belong to the lactarius, because they contain a large amount of milky juice in their composition. In many varieties, this juice is very bitter, and white milk mushrooms are no exception. On a break or cut, a white bitter liquid immediately begins to stand out. This phenomenon does not pose a danger to human health, but it can completely ruin all the pleasure of eating mushrooms.

If boiled silt pickled white milk mushrooms are bitter, how to deal with it? When enough time is devoted to the preliminary preparation of mushrooms, the question of bitterness, as a rule, disappears by itself. Otherwise, there is a risk: without careful initial processing, you should not expect the desired result. Poor cleaning, improper steeping and heat treatment can play a cruel joke with impatient owners.

You need to soak white milk mushrooms from 3 to 5 days, longer – it makes no sense. In this case, you should change the water to fresh water every 5-6 hours. After soaking, you need to clean the fruit bodies from the remaining dirt, thoroughly scraping the caps, and cut off the lower part of the legs. This can be done before soaking with a knife and a regular kitchen sponge. After that, the mushrooms must be boiled in two waters for 20 minutes, and then proceed to the processing recipes.

Why are black milk mushrooms bitter after salting and what to do?

Black milk mushrooms are less popular in the mushroom 'kingdom' as they are considered conditionally edible fruiting bodies. However, their taste remains at a fairly high level. Fried black milk mushrooms are especially appreciated, because their bodies, even in finished form, retain their elasticity and crunch pleasantly.

Why are black milk mushrooms bitter after salting and other processing methods, and what methods are there to combat this problem? Like most other species, black milk mushrooms contain the so-called milky vessels. At the slightest damage, they release juice, which gives the mushrooms astringency and pronounced bitterness.

How to cook then black milk mushrooms so that they do not taste bitter and thereby spoil the taste of the dish? Unlike white mushrooms, these representatives require more careful initial processing. So, they need to be thoroughly scrubbed from the dark sticky skin, washed and soaked for 4 days in cold water, changing it every time to avoid fermentation processes. Then you should boil the fruit bodies in salted water 3-4 times for 15 minutes each. Important: it's better to salt or pickle black milk mushrooms separately from white ones, otherwise the workpiece may deteriorate.

Should salted milk mushrooms be bitter?

There are situations when milk mushrooms continue to taste bitter even after processing, for example, after salting. As a result, the taste of the dish deteriorates, because it is simply impossible to eat it, and along with it, the mood of all household members deteriorates. Should salted milk mushrooms taste bitter, let's figure it out.

First of all, you should turn to the possible reasons that can shed light on the situation that happened. So, fruit bodies must be soaked for about 3 days, constantly replacing water, because this is one of the main components of a quality snack. However, even thorough cleaning and soaking often does not relieve the product from bitterity, it also needs to be boiled.

However, the heat treatment, which must immediately follow the soaking, can also be poorly carried out. Milk mushrooms should be boiled in several waters for 15-20 minutes. But that's not all: it is not recommended to eat milk mushrooms for the first 35-40 days after the start of pickling, at this time they can still taste bitter.

What to do if black milk mushrooms are bitter: how to fix the situation

So, if salted milk mushrooms are bitter, then there are several reasons for this:

• improper cleaning;
• insufficient soaking;
• lack of heat treatment;
• violation of salting technology;
• excessive amount of spices;
• salting overripe specimens;
• improper storage (under sunlight, high temperature or humidity);
• tasting snacks ahead of schedule;

Also, one of the reasons for the possible bitterness of mushrooms is their collection in ecologically polluted places – near highways, factories and other industrial enterprises.

What to do if salted milk mushrooms are bitter? I must say that following the rules of primary processing, as well as the technology of salting and storing the workpiece, there should be no bitterness. But if you made a mistake somewhere, then you should not be upset. But don't be fooled: a snack that's been improperly stored is likely to pose a health hazard. Therefore, it is worthwhile to carefully check the storage conditions again in order to exclude the risk of contracting botulism. In other cases, the workpiece can be saved by performing a series of manipulations over it.

So, if salted milk mushrooms are bitter, then how to fix this unpleasant situation? Soaking salted mushrooms is useless, but you can try to improve their taste. To do this, rinse the product, let the excess liquid drain and season with vegetable oil, vinegar, chopped garlic or onions. You can use lemon juice for dressing, as well as apple cider or grape vinegar. These ingredients will remove the bitterness or make it less noticeable. How else to cook milk mushrooms so that they do not taste bitter in the dish? For example, they can be fried and then added to the filling for dough. And if you add onions to fried mushrooms, then you can cook delicious first and second courses. I must say that all these recommendations also relate to another question: why pickled milk mushrooms are bitter, and how can you help them?

The reasons why milk mushrooms are bitter after cooking

Some housewives are wondering why milk mushrooms are bitter even after boiling? In this case, there may also be several reasons:

• poor cleaning;
• improper soaking – at least 3 days, while you need to constantly change the water;
• picking overgrown mushrooms with 'rusty' spots visible on the caps;
• improper cooking, which should take place in at least 3 waters, preferably with the addition of salt and citric acid.

How to fry milk mushrooms so that they do not taste bitter?

The reasons for the bitterness in mushrooms described above can be attributed to the situation if you notice that the fried product also has this unpleasant feature. Having understood the reasons for this problem, you can probably know how to fry the milk mushrooms so that they do not taste bitter.

To begin with, it is important to clean each piece of dirt and skin. Some mushroom pickers advise completely removing the legs, which contain more bitterness than the caps.

Milk mushrooms are not mushrooms that can be peeled and immediately thrown into the pan. Therefore, the next step will be a mandatory soak for 3 days. It is necessary to change the water every 4-6 hours, otherwise the product will ferment. Then the mushrooms should be boiled in 2-3 waters, and only then fry. You can add onions or garlic, thanks to which you can probably already neutralize the bitterness, if it still remains after soaking and boiling.