Euphorbia is a mushroom that grows alone or in small groups under a nut, beech, oak, often near rotten stumps. You can meet him from July to October. In our article we will consider what euphorbia mushroom is, a photo and description, how to cook, its unique properties and use in traditional medicine. Let us dwell in more detail on each question.
Euphorbia mushroom: photo and description
Euphorbia, bushwort, red-brown breast - these are the names of the same mushroom. It belongs to the genus Mlechnik and the family Russula. This is a mushroom with a red-brown hat with a diameter of 4-10 cm. In the young milkweed it is flat-convex, in the old - funnel-shaped with a touch.
On the inside, the hat is lamellar, yellow or brown. Milky juice is abundantly secreted from it, which, when it comes in contact with air, turns brown, like the flesh of a mushroom. Its leg has a thickness of about 2 cm and a length of not more than 10 cm. By these signs, people easily find euphorbia in the forest. A photo and a description of him fully confirm this.
Euphorbia can also be detected by smell. The milky juice secreted from the pulp of the fungus through the plates does not just turn brown, it also gives off a specific fishy smell. Mushroom pickers call it herring. The older the euphorbia, the sharper it will smell and taste unpleasant. The young mushroom has excellent taste. Unlike other representatives of the Milky genus, the submaxillus, or euphorbia, has a sweetish milky juice, and not bitter. To taste, the mushroom resembles russula.
Medicinal properties and application
A number of special active substances with unique healing properties have been found in the pulp and milky juice of the fungus.
Euphorbia mushroom is widely used in folk medicine. The milky juice secreted by him, which is used as an antitumor agent, is especially valued. An extract based on ethanol is prepared from fresh milk and is used in folk medicine as a means in the fight against cancer. It is proved that the substances contained in it, act as an active antioxidant and inhibit the growth of cancer cells in the body.
The hormone cortisone and other steroids were found in the milkweed fruit bodies. This determines the scope of use of the fungus - the manufacture of tools to combat inflammatory processes in the body and rheumatism.
Euphorbia mushroom: how to cook at home
Unlike other mushrooms of the Mlechnik genus, the red-brown breast is not at all bitter. Milkweed's peculiarity is a specific fishy smell, which is stronger the older the mushroom. During cooking, the smell becomes less pronounced, but still remains. Young mushrooms, unlike old ones, have a pleasant, full-bodied taste.
Euphorbia mushroom is recommended to salt and pickle, as well as fry, stew and dry. Moreover, before cooking, it does not require soaking, like other representatives of the syroezhkovye family. Euphorbia is never damaged by larvae, so some mushroom pickers prefer to eat it raw with salt.
The easiest and most delicious way to prepare the mushroom is cold salting. To do this, the euphorbia is washed several times under running water, and then placed in a container in layers, alternating with salt. For 3 kg of mushrooms, approximately 120-140 g of table salt will be needed. The container should be refrigerated for 30 days. After the specified time, euphorbia can be tasted. If it tastes too salty, then it is necessary to soak it in cold boiled water, after which it can be safely added to salads.
How to pickle euphorbia in a hot way
All mushroom pickers who do not want to wait a whole month for the mushrooms to pickle will like the hot way to cook them. In order to salt the euphorbia according to this recipe, it must first be boiled for 12 minutes. Then the mushrooms should be thrown onto a sieve and wait until the water drains completely. Boiled euphorbia stacked in layers at the rate of 80 g of salt per 2 kg of mushrooms. After this, the container must be placed in a cold place where the required temperature regime is maintained from 0 to 10 degrees.
Euphorbia mushroom prepared according to this recipe can be tasted after 6 days. Mushroom pickers recommend adding it to salads with pickled onions and other vegetables.