One of the valuable trophies in the mushroom picker’s basket is a white breast, one of the varieties of the mushrooms of the russula family, the genus lactarius. Distinguish between white, black, yellow, blue, pepper, oak, aspen and other types of loaves. The mushroom got its name due to its massiveness, one might say, weightiness. The breast belongs to the conditionally edible mushrooms of the first category.
The white breast has an almost flat hat with a dimple in the center, with the edges bent down. The edges of a young plant are strongly twisted, while the old mushroom has the shape of a funnel. The maximum diameter of the cap is 50 cm, but more often 10–20 cm. The color of the mushroom is not pure white, has various shades: milk, cream, beige. Yellow spots or concentric circles of a different shade may be present on the hat. Leg is short, thick, with a cavity inside the mature mushroom. The pulp of the plant is white, with a pungent spicy smell, rather brittle. On the cut and scrape, milky juice stands out, turning yellow after a while. The juice gives bitterness to the fungus, so before eating it is soaked in cold water. The inside of the hat is lamellar. But in order not to make a mistake during the “silent hunt” and not to pluck some poisonous mushroom, it is better to study the white breast in advance (photo). They look like this mushroom: a white load, a yellow pile, a blue and pepper pile .
You can meet a white breast from the end of July until October. The search for this plant is a rather complicated enterprise, because the mushroom loves to disguise itself, and at first glance it is difficult to notice, it seems that it is just a mound or a hummock covered with leaves. For the best result of “silent hunting” it is better to arm yourself with a stick with a fork at the end. Breast grows in birch or mixed pine-birch forests on gentle slopes. But if there is at least one mushroom, you should not go far from this place - the mushrooms love to grow whole families, so you can collect a whole "crop".
The habitat of the white breast is Belarus, the Upper and Middle Volga, the Urals, the north of Russia, and Western Siberia. It has other names: whitewash, raw breast, pravsky.
White breast is good in pickling, while it has one distinguishing feature - a slightly bluish color. Before use, the mushrooms must be thoroughly cleaned of dirt and other forest litter, then soaked and salted. Soaking lasts one to two days in periodically replaced cold water. It is better to pickle in a barrel with spices. Mushrooms are ready for use after 40 days. Less often, pickles are pickled. Culinary processing helps to completely remove poisons from the plant. As an ingredient in a dish, lard is used only after salting.
White bread is very rich in protein, contains more than 30%, and surpasses meat in calories. This mushroom is widely used in medicine due to its antibacterial properties. It is used in the manufacture of anti-TB drugs. It is good to use lactation during the cold season, as it strengthens the bronchi and lungs. It has been proven that white breasts can lower blood sugar. Compresses from mushrooms can remove warts.