Fungus Fact Friday

Tagged: lactarius

mushrooms in the agaric genus Lactarius

Mycena leaiana 4

Fungus Fact

#027: Gilled Mushrooms (Agarics)

The gilled mushrooms, informally referred to as ‘agarics,’ are the type of mushroom with which we are most familiar. The most common edible mushrooms (white/button/portabella mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms), Amanita muscaria – the most recognizable mushroom in the world and the inspiration for almost all mushroom art – and the ‘magic mushrooms’ are all gilled mushrooms. All these mushrooms share one feature: vertical plates of spore-producing tissue stacked under a sterile cap.

Lactarius corrugis 2

Fungus Fact

#176: The Genus Lactarius

Lactarius species are among the most easily-recognized mushrooms. Often called “Milk Caps” (the ‘lact-’ part of the genus name refers to ‘milk’), these distinctive mushrooms release a watery latex when injured. Lactarius mushrooms look a lot like russulas (FFF#175), which are very close relatives.

#123: The Candy Caps 1

Fungus Fact

#123: The Candy Caps

Mushrooms come in some surprising flavors. Probably the most unusual flavors are found in the group of mushrooms known as “Candy Caps.”  These mushrooms taste/smell like maple syrup, butterscotch, camphor, burnt sugar, or curry.  Thanks to their pleasant odors, these edible mushrooms are usually used in dessert dishes!  I recently had the opportunity to taste some Candy Cap ice cream and was astounded by the intense maple syrup flavor provided by the mushrooms!

#052: The Indigo Milk Mushroom, Lactarius indigo 1

Fungus Fact

#052: The Indigo Milk Mushroom, Lactarius indigo

After discussing a few mushrooms you should avoid, I thought you deserved to hear about one of my favorite edible mushrooms. Lactarius indigo has a good flavor, but what really makes this mushroom enjoyable is its color.  As you can guess from its name, indigo is blue.  Blue mushrooms are fairly rare, so they are always fun to find.  This beautiful mushroom is also edible, making it one of the few naturally blue foods.  Most bluish foods – such as blueberries – are actually reddish-purple.  I have enjoyed this mushroom grilled with some seasoning, but there are other ways prepare it.  One of the more festive options is to cook it with scrambled eggs.  This, as you may guess, gives you green eggs (without needing any food coloring*)!