Before rushing to the kitchen to cook pigs, it's worth figuring out which ones they are. There are several kinds of these mushrooms. The first, the thin ones, used to be classed as conditionally poisonous and then moved into the category of poisonous mushrooms banned for use in the USSR. The second, the thick ones, can be cooked. But they too are classed as conditionally edible. That means they must be boiled before being added to any dish. It's also worth noting that in Western countries pigs are considered inedible mushrooms with toxic properties that have not yet been fully studied.
Pigs are most often found in recipes with these five ingredients:
| Product | Number of recipes with the combination | Calories per 100g | Protein g per 100g | Fats g per 100g | Carbohydrates g per 100g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloves | 2 | 323 | 6 | 20.1 | 27 |
| Peppercorns | 2 | 255 | 11 | 3.3 | 38.3 |
| Mint | 1 | 49 | 3.7 | 0.4 | 8 |
| Dill | 1 | 38 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 6.3 |
| Cherry leaves | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
A thick, or felt, pig is a fleshy mushroom with a convex, rounded cap up to 15–20 cm in diameter. Its center is slightly sunken and the edges are turned up. The velvety surface has a brown or tan tint to the touch. The flesh itself can be white or yellowish and darkens quickly in the air. The mushrooms have a bitter aftertaste and almost no smell. People also call them pigs, piggies, dunki and cowsheds. And despite the ban on preserving them, they are eaten quite actively in the countryside.
After gathering, thick pigs must be soaked in cold water with salt and lemon juice. And the water must be changed three or four times over the course of a day. Then rinse the mushrooms in running water and boil them for about five minutes with salt. Then pour off the liquid — do not use it under any circumstances. Fill the pot with water again and boil the pigs for half an hour. Drain the water and repeat the procedure once more. At the end, wash the mushrooms well and pat them dry.
Processed this way, felt pigs can go into any dish, including home preserves, salads, sauces, soups, stews, casseroles and pies. Pickled and salted mushrooms are considered especially tasty.
Boiled, the makeup of pigs is as follows: 30 kcal, with protein/fat/carbs of 3.7; 1.7; 1.1 respectively. These mushrooms contain a lot of telephoric acid and atromentin. The first is a blue pigment, the second brown, and it even has antibiotic properties. Atromentin is a derivative of polyporic acid, known for its antitumor qualities.