Mushroom kings! Learn not only to recognize mushrooms, but also to enjoy them like true gourmets

Mushrooms have always been considered the king of mushrooms, the noblest, most attractive and tastiest for cooking.

Read our article, which is full of very important information, which species exist, which species to collect and which species to avoid!

No less important part are the recipes in which you can add these mushrooms and enjoy them like never before!

What is a mushroom?

There are about two hundred and fifty mushrooms in the whole world and only a handful are poisonous, but we can identify them very easily.

Almost all members of the mushroom family have pores or tubes in their caps instead of scales, which makes them relatively easy to identify.

They are usually large fleshy mushrooms that come in a variety of colors with a thick or bulbous leg and no ring.

There are often networks of dark lines or spots on the leg.

Pores from under the hat can be white, cream, yellow, orange or red.

What are the types of mushrooms?

Blacksmith mushroom

1. It is most often found in coniferous forests.
2. The hat has a brown to ocher color.
3. Under the hat you will find pores, not scales, which are yellow when young and later red.
4. You will find it growing out of the ground from soil not wood.
5. Cut the mushroom in half vertically, the flesh will turn dark blue.
6. In the kitchen, it is best used in sauces and with meat dishes, but first boil it for 15 minutes, for its firm flesh.

Satan mushroom

1. It is most often found under oaks and lindens.
2. He has a gray hat.
3. Its pores are first yellow and later red/orange.
4. The leg is also red, covered with yellow to orange netting.
5. It is blue in cross-section and has a sweet smell, but after drying it acquires a putrid odor.
6. We classify it between poisonous and inedible mushrooms, which causes poisoning and indigestion .

Gall bladder mushroom (bitter)

1. It is one of the most bitter things you will ever try. You can identify this mushroom by taste, but if you are worried about nibbling on an unknown mushroom, its leg and pores will tell you enough.
2. The leg is dark with thick brownish webbing and his pores are slightly pink in color.
3. When the mushroom is cut lengthwise, its color starts to turn slightly pink after a few minutes.
4. Due to its bitterness, it is unusable in the kitchen!

King mushroom (brown)

1. It is typical of the mushroom we all know, with a reddish-brown to chestnut hat, which everyone collects.
2. The pores are yellow and turn slightly blue when cut open.
3. The leg is lighter in color with the hat, yellow-brown sometimes reddish.
4. It has a higher protein and carbohydrate content than most mushrooms, and also contains many minerals and vitamin A and some B vitamins.
5. It is the most popular mushroom used in the kitchen. It can be used to make sauces, soups, prepare it for meat or dry it, pickle it or freeze it.

Boletus mushroom

1. This fungus can be found almost everywhere, but it is most often found under lindens, oaks and beeches.
2. His hat has an olive yellow-brown color, sometimes it turns ocher. The center of the hat is usually lighter than its edges.
3. The pores on the young hat are yellow, later they turn red, and when squeezed, they turn blue.
4. His leg is covered in reddish-brown veining.
5. When the mushroom is cut in half, its pith turns dark blue.
6. This type of mushroom must be heat treated for at least 15 minutes, after which it can be used in sauces or with meat.

Spruce mushroom (true)

1. This is an edible mushroom, for which it is characteristic that it does not turn blue or change color in any other way.
2. We can find it in both deciduous and coniferous forests.
3. His hat is light brown and later turns ocher.
4. Pores are yellow.
5. In the kitchen, it is most often used in sauces and soups. It can be dried and pickled.

Oak mushroom

1. This mushroom is typical for its slightly grayish color.
2. Its pores are white when young and turn yellow later.
3. The leg is voluminous and cylindrical with a light brown color and covered with a white network of veins.
4. The mushroom can be used in the kitchen in many ways, it has a delicate, pleasant aroma and taste.

Purple mushroom

1. It is most often found under conifers.
2. Its pores are grey, later turning grey-pink. When the mushroom is cut open, we can observe that it turns black.
3. The mushroom has a pungent taste, is edible, but not very sought after.

Mushroom christening

1. This is a bitter and inedible mushroom.
2. It is most often found under spruce trees.
3. His hat is grey, grey-green and grey-brown.
4. Pores are yellow and turn blue and brown when pressed.
5. His leg is red and covered with a light yellow and in some places red network of veins.
6. Due to its bitterness, it is unusable in the kitchen.

How to clean mushrooms?

It is important to wash the mushrooms so that the water does not get into the pores, because it absorbs it quickly.

Remove the dark parts of the mushroom and brush the caps.

Get rid of the slimy surface.

Check the mushroom for worms and other animals you don’t care about.

How to clean porcini mushrooms - cooking tutorial

How to cook with mushrooms?

How to prepare fresh mushrooms

• Fresh mushrooms are best sliced and quickly fried in oil or butter.
• The easiest way to prepare it is to fry the mushrooms in olive oil and butter, then add reduced beef or vegetable stock and serve the mixture as a side dish to steak, roast chicken or fish.
• Or pour the mushroom sauce over rice, baked potatoes or mashed potatoes.
• Another quick way to prepare porcini mushrooms is to cut them into thick slices, coat them in beaten eggs, then coat them in seasoned breadcrumbs and fry them.

How to prepare dried mushrooms

• First, the mushrooms need to be rehydrated in warm water for at least 15 minutes. The mushrooms must be completely submerged in the water and the heat will speed up this process.
• After that, squeeze the mushrooms dry, but keep the water from the mushrooms on hand and do not pour them out.
• After re-hydrating the mushrooms, cut them to the desired size. In general, the bigger the pieces, the more flavor.
• Some cooks prefer to quickly fry them in olive oil and butter before adding them to the prepared dish.
• Add the liquid you have kept, carefully pouring it through a strainer to get rid of any impurities, into the dish you are preparing.
• Dried mushrooms have a deep, rich flavor that perfectly complements soups and sauces with rice, polenta or pasta.

The best recipes with mushrooms

How to store mushrooms

Mushrooms spoil quickly and should be used or canned as soon as you get them home.

The most common method of preservation is drying:

1. Clean the mushrooms, cut them into thin slices and spread the slices on the trays in one layer
2. You can leave the mushrooms to air dry in this way, or place the trays in the oven
3. Turn on the oven at 65 degrees, put the trays with mushrooms in it and dry for about an hour
4. After an hour of drying, turn the mushrooms over and gently dry the water they released with a paper towel
5. Continue drying for another hour
6. When the mushrooms are completely dried, let them cool and then store them in an airtight container in a cool, dark place

Mushrooms can also be frozen. Cut them into slices, which you then put in a freezer bag and put in the freezer.