Saffron milk caps

Lactarius spp.

mushroom

An orange mushroom with a cap ringed by darker circles and a short stem pitted with dimples, which grows only under pines. It provides beta-glucans.

Origin

Pine forests of Europe

Season (United States)

September to November

Preparation

It is sliced and pan-fried or grilled for about ten minutes; it is eaten cooked. It can turn urine orange-red: this is harmless. If you pick it yourself, have the mushroom checked by a pharmacist or a mycological society before eating it.

Molecules

Mushroom beta-glucansIn small amounts, not counted Ergothioneine

Did you know?

All its parts ooze a bright orange, mild-tasting latex that hardly turns green in the air — this milk, and the pines, tell it apart from its relatives.