#lactarius

[troll-skogur]

A bunch of Lactarius deliciosus among the snowy ferns.

Cooked lovely meals with those, yummy !

[lindagoesmushrooming]

[mushroomgay]

Epping, UK, October 2022

Mild milkcap (Lactarius subdulcis) 

This common and beautiful milkcap has a mild tasting ‘milk’ (the latex that is produced when the gills are damaged), which gives it its common name. It is edible, but not particularly sought after. 

[sentientmosshroom]

Some of my mushroom embroidery! Red waxcaps, Amanita muscaria (also in a patch!), Lactarius indigo, inky cap, a spore print, morels, Amanita jacksonii, and parrot waxcaps.

[memoriesofthepark]

Golden milkcap 》 Lactarius alnicola

Love finding a nice milkcap! This was another from my excursion around campus this week. I'm quite fond of the lactarius genus - milkcaps are so cute!

Southeast Texas, 13 Nov. 2023

[convexly]

Mycological Rainbow by Jillian Kern

[tartapng]

Indigo Milk Cap (Lactarius Indigo) [ko-fi]

[mushrooms-switzerland]

Milchbrätling, Lactifluus volemus 16.07.22

[aphermion]

8/23/23

[shadsasaur]

Woods Foods have become omelette

[its-kayyyy]

indigo milk cap (lactarius indigo)

note!! please do not pick and eat mushrooms by yourself! it is very easy to pick up the wrong mushroom and I could be poisonous!

the indigo milk cap is a bright blue colored mushroom that grows throughout north america, east asia, france, and central america.

this mushroom is edible. it has a bitter almost peppery taste to it, and the flesh of this mushroom is also very firm.

common places for this mushroom can be found are: gulf of mexico's coast, mexico, guatemala, along the appalachian mountain range, arizona, california, virginia, (one county in) texas, china, india, costa rica, and south france.

the indigo milk cap has a depressed cap, pretty tightly pack gills, and a square shaped stem. the flesh is also blue and once exposed to air for awhile will turn a greenish color. and the milk of the indigo milk cap tried a greenish color.

in early stages of life the indigo milk cap is wet and slimy but grow dry and brittle once the mushroom is established and older.

[pickeatdraw]

Saffron Milk Cap Recipe Suggestion

Garlicky Milk Caps with Onion Rice and Asparagus

If you’re lucky, you’ll get a decent haul of specimens of the same mushroom on a good year. The problem is deciding what to do with them all!

This is not so much a recipe as a suggestion. One of the problems I find with wild food recipes, aside from trawling through hundreds of variations of the same meal, is that quite often the ‘recipe’ is more of a manner of cooking. I love all my foraging guides, but there’s only so many time I can “fry in butter with bacon and salt” before I die of boredom…

I want to know what spices people are using, and what they’re serving on the side! I want to know who thinks it’s a breakfast food and who thinks it’s a decorative garnish.

So, here’s a recipe suggestion for saffron milk caps. They’re fried Spanish style (as suggested by Roger Philips), but as a pile of mushrooms isn’t a whole meal to me, they go with some tasty and complimentary sides.

I’ve actually used false saffron milk caps in this recipe. Though the use of the word ‘false’ in front of a delicious edible mushroom usually triggers panic in a forager, this one is thankfully not a poisonous imposter trying to pull off a very mean trick. In fact, it’s a very similar mushroom- apparently so similar that until recently, both were thought to be one species. The differentiating characteristic is that saffron milk caps (Lactarius Deliciosus) are found under pine, while false saffron milk caps (Lactarius Deterrimus) are found under spruce. The differentiating characteristics of pine and spruce are for another post!

Most foragers seem to recount true saffron milk caps as delicious and their false counterparts as only slightly less so. I’ve not been lucky enough to fine the pine species yet, so I can’t confirm that, but I will say the specimens I used in the recipe below were lacking in flavour but had a very pleasant texture. Luckily, some well seasoned side dishes make this a well rounded meal. Two warnings before the recipe begins; first, never eat a mushroom if you’re not 100% sure what it is; second, if you’re not a fan of garlic, this isn’t for you.

Garlicky Milk Caps with Onion Rice and Asparagus Recipe

Serves 2

Ingredients

5-6 large saffron milk caps, chopped, or more smaller specimens, intact

1 bunch asparagus

1 small onion

1 cup long grain rice

1 bulb garlic

1/2 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp sweet paprika

Handful chopped fresh parsley, or 1 tbsp dried

1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

Butter, for cooking

Salt to taste

Method:

Dice the onion and add to a saucepan over a medium heat, with a knob of butter, and fry until beginning to brown. Then add 3 cloves diced garlic, paprika, coriander seeds, and a pinch of salt. Throw the rice in the pot and stir through, toasting slightly.

Pour the stock into the rice and cover with a lid. Turn the heat to low and allow to simmer for 15 minutes, then turn off the heat. Don't open the lid at any point until you're ready to serve.

While the rice is cooking, place your milk caps into a pan and set to a medium heat with no fat. Allow them to sweat out any liquid, sprinkling over a pinch of salt to aid the process. Continue to dry fry the mushrooms and allow them to brown slightly, turning the heat a little higher if you need to.

Meanwhile, prepare your asparagus however you prefer. I used a griddle pan to fry the stalks in salted butter over a medium-high heat, turning after a few minutes or once griddle marks appear. For thick stalks, add a spoonful of water to the pan, cover with a loose lid and allow to steam for a minute or until tender.

Once all your components are ready, dice another 3 cloves of garlic and add them to the milkcaps with the parsley. Stir a few times, then serve hot with the rice, asparagus, and a slice of crusty bread.

[lindagoesmushrooming]

care for more mushrooms?

Oh yes, absolutely!

[mushroomgay]

Lincolnshire, UK, October 2022

Mild milkcap (Lactarius subdulcis)

These lovely milkcaps are found in abundant association with conifer trees in the late summer and autumn. The milk they produce when their gills are damaged has a mild, earthy taste, distinguishing it from the hot, peppery taste of the poisonous milkcaps. This mushroom is edible, but not widely sought after.

[killythirsk]

Slide for additional pictures and info #midjourney #lactarius #indigo #mushroom #digital #art #fractal #vivid #otherworldly #ethereal #synesthesia #nature #moss #macro #photography https://www.instagram.com/p/ClpPz6KPTV3/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[memoriesofthepark]

Silver-blue milkcap 》 Lactarius paradoxus

I thought this may have been an indigo milkcap from a distance. I've been wanting to find one for a while now. But silver-blues are cool too!!

Southeast Texas, 5 Dec. 2023