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"Mushroom hunting" is always not only an exciting business, but also a very serious one. After all, this process must be approached with all responsibility. Even the collection of such well-known mushrooms as honey mushrooms requires a certain amount of knowledge. There are situations when lovers of "quiet hunting" may find that they have collected bitter honey agarics.

Can honey mushrooms be bitter?

Many inexperienced mushroom pickers believe that it is enough to know the description of only the most poisonous mushrooms - pale toadstool and fly agaric, but this is a very deceptive belief. In order to protect yourself from the growing poison in the forest and not to collect anything in your basket, you need to study a lot of information about the fruiting body that you are going to "hunt" for.

Sometimes you can really notice that the mushrooms you collect are bitter in taste. This is actually very upsetting for mushroom pickers, because there are big doubts about the edibility of these fruit bodies. Can honey mushrooms be bitter, and what should be done in this case so as not to expose yourself and loved ones to danger? Let's look at the possible reasons why honey mushrooms can be bitter.

What false bitter mushrooms look like:

One of the main reasons lies in the inexperience of the mushroom picker. The fact is that nature has generously awarded honey mushrooms with insidious doubles. Along with edible mushrooms in the forest, you can also find their false clones. Therefore, due to inexperience or carelessness, you can pick up such tasteless mushrooms. I must say that all false mushrooms are bitter. And even the presence of at least one such fruiting body in a basket can completely spoil the whole dish with impossible bitterness. Thus, you will have to throw all your efforts into the trash, so as not to risk your health.

Therefore, it is recommended to check the authenticity of a find right in the forest. As a rule, false mushrooms are more beautiful and expressive, worms do not start on them. In addition, they do not have a "ring-skirt" on the leg, which is an important factor when collecting. Try also to try with the tip of your tongue on the cut of the cap. Do not be afraid, poisonous mushrooms do not grow on our territory, so there is no risk of poisoning. False inedible mushrooms will taste bitter, so you will immediately understand which mushroom you are holding in your hands.

Why did boiled mushrooms become bitter?

Each type of fruiting body requires certain processing, and honey mushrooms are no exception. Improper handling is another reason mushrooms can taste bitter. So, for example, milk mushrooms need to be soaked for about 2 days, constantly changing the water, and then boiled. Otherwise, the dish will be very bitter and even impossible to eat. Some types of honey mushrooms are classified as conditionally edible, so they need to be boiled in salted water for 25-30 minutes. In addition, such mushrooms should be soaked for 1-1.5 hours in cold water, also adding salt.

It so happens that you brought home a basket of honey mushrooms, boiled them and cooked your favorite food. However, your meal is clouded because the fruiting bodies have begun to taste bitter. Why did honey mushrooms become bitter after cooking and what can be done in this case? It must be said right away that it is better to play it safe and refuse further eating mushrooms.

According to the aforementioned, the reason why boiled mushrooms are bitter may lie in the inexperience of the mushroom picker. In this case, one or more false doubles may fall into the basket. However, if the mushroom picker is confident in the edibility of honey mushrooms, then here their bitterness can be caused by other factors. For example, the gathering location and weather conditions can sometimes cause this unpleasant phenomenon. Many experienced mushroom pickers have noticed that mushrooms growing in coniferous forests absorb the taste of resin, which gives them a slight bitterness.In addition, too frequent and long rains also negatively affect the pulp of the mushroom.

I must say that the same representatives of the mushroom "kingdom" have different tastes and degrees of bitterness. So, in many respects it depends on the symbiosis of the trees around which they grow.

In addition, many housewives note that if you add a lot of bay leaves during cooking, then the mushrooms acquire a slight bitterness. However, this feature is not annoying for everyone.

Why did mushrooms become bitter after frying?

Honey mushrooms can become bitter after frying - why is this happening? All of the above factors can play a major role here. However, there is one more reason, and it concerns adult honey agarics. It happens that mature large individuals have a certain bitterness. It is known that all mushrooms absorb radiation and salts of heavy metals from the atmosphere. And the older the fruiting body, the more it absorbed harmful substances. In the absence of prolonged heat treatment, you can find bitterness in mushrooms. This, most likely, indicates an increased content of toxins, which means that eating such fruit bodies is very dangerous.

I must say that for all types of honey agarics, preliminary heat treatment is strongly recommended. If you, without boiling mushrooms, immediately after cleaning, throw them to fry in a pan, then the result may upset you.

Why did pickled honey mushrooms become bitter?

And if pickled mushrooms have become bitter, why is this happening? Let's remember all the same reasons mentioned above. The place where honey agarics are collected, their age, improper processing, unfavorable weather conditions, as well as the presence of false doubles - all these factors can give a dish a bitter taste. If you find a similar feature in pickled mushrooms, then do not regret throwing them away. If doubts arise, then it is better not to tempt fate.