In our forests there are few such mushrooms to which mushroom pickers would be treated with slight neglect. But Russula is one of them. But this is very strange, because by their taste and nutritional properties these "outcasts" are very good, and in lean years they can even become a true salvation of mushroom pickers.
Unfortunately, even these homely, but very useful representatives of the mushroom tribe have a dark side. This is a false russula, which when eaten is capable of delivering a whole bunch of problems to consumers.
In our article we will list all the signs, focusing on which, you can easily identify these evil-minded doubles. We note right away that the false russula is extremely “multifaceted”, since several types are immediately hidden under this name. Moreover, the differences between some of them are so insignificant that only a mycologist with experience can distinguish them. And even then, if at hand he will have a laboratory with all the necessary equipment.
Note that russulas in principle make up 45% of the total mushroom mass of our forests, so the rules for their collection must be remembered very well. It is best to take those of them whose hat does not contain a trace of red and dark purple colors. If you saw such mushrooms, then almost certainly before you is a false russula.
So, the burning-caustic variety has just the same hat rich red. The mushroom pulp is extremely brittle and slightly reddish at break. Concerning the toxicity, the opinions of scientists were divided.
The separation of views was due to the fact that after a long digestion with several changes of water, this false russula becomes edible, and in other cases, you still can not eat it because of the extremely bitter taste.
The same can be said about their blood-red variety. Its appearance can be judged by the name. The pulp is white in color, on the hat itself a little reddish. The taste characteristics are almost similar to the above view.
The bile russula generally tastes similar to the substance that gave it its name. By the way, in the fall there are a lot of it in coniferous forests. Her color is ocher-red or ocher-yellow. It is easy to distinguish it if it has been raining recently in the forest: when moistened, its hat becomes mucous, which is not typical for russula.
The marshy species, however, fell into this “bad company” completely undeservedly. A distinctive feature is a blood-red hat, the skin of which is removed with great difficulty. You can meet it both in swamps and in pine forests covered with sphagnum. It is very often attributed to false varieties, but in vain, since it tastes simply incomparable in taste.
In a word, you may already have noticed that false russes do not belong to poisonous mushrooms in the full sense of the word. Their use in large quantities is simply impossible physically, and a small portion, which although spoils your mushroom dish, will not cause any harm to your health.
In the end, it’s difficult to make a mistake when choosing them: break off a small piece of mushroom pulp. If you have false russules in your hands (photos of which are in the article), then you will know about it right away.