Content
Oak milk mushroom is a mushroom from the Russula family, which is also found in descriptions under the name oak saffron milk cap. The fungus has a good taste and also has a lot of useful properties, it’s worth familiarizing yourself with them in a little more detail.
Where does oak milk mushroom grow?
The habitat of the oak milk mushroom is broad-leaved forests, mainly oak forests, which explains the name of the fungus. The fungus is found not only under oak trees, but also under hornbeams and beeches; it occurs quite often during the period of active fruiting.
The fungus has an interesting feature, which is reflected in its name - it most often grows in large groups.Moreover, the mushrooms are located very close to each other and more closely resemble a small bush or bunch.
What does an oak milk mushroom look like?
Photos and descriptions of the oak saffron milk cap demonstrate that it is easily distinguished from other varieties by its bright brick-orange or yellow-orange cap. The shape of the cap is funnel-shaped, the felt edges are slightly curled inward. The underside of the cap of the oak milk mushroom is covered with wide, frequent plates with a reddish or white-pink color.
Oak fungus has a dense and even stalk of pink or off-white color. The leg is hollow inside and slightly narrows at the bottom.
The flesh of the mushroom at the break is dense, white or soft cream with white milky juice. A recognizable feature of the oak milk mushroom is that its juice does not change color when exposed to air.
Is it possible to eat oak milk mushrooms?
Oak fungus is classified as conditionally edible. This means that it is allowed to be eaten, but the fungus requires careful processing. You cannot eat mushrooms raw - the milky juice gives them a bitter taste and a special pungency.
Taste qualities of mushroom
Oak camelina is classified in the 2nd category of edible mushrooms - the taste characteristics are quite high, but inferior to the taste of “noble” mushrooms. When fresh, oak saffron milk caps are very bitter and acrid; they can only be cooked after a long soaking - water rids the mushrooms of the unpleasant acrid taste.
Benefits and harm to the body
In cooking, the fungus is valued not only for the pleasant taste that appears after long soaking and heat treatment. Breast milk brings great benefits to the body.
- The mushroom contains a huge amount of protein - 100 g of product contains more amino acids and protein compounds than beef. Therefore, consumption of milk mushrooms is highly recommended for vegetarians and people with an increased need for protein foods.
- Oak saffron milk caps have a positive effect on the metabolic system, they help remove toxins from the body, reduce cholesterol in the blood and help regulate sugar levels.
- Milk mushrooms can be used for inflammatory diseases, ailments of the gallbladder and liver. The mushroom effectively fights infections, and also prevents kidney and liver diseases, regulates the secretion of bile.
- Milk mushrooms contain many vitamins from group B, so they can be eaten for diseases of the muscular and nervous systems, for neuroses and problems with sleep.
- Oak camelina contains substances that are beneficial for tuberculosis and emphysema - the mushroom helps fight severe lung diseases.
Eating fungi is good for preserving beauty and youth. They contain vitamin D, which is responsible, among other things, for cell renewal and maintaining healthy hair and skin.
Of course, despite its unconditional benefits, oak camelina has some contraindications. It is not recommended to eat it:
- for chronic diseases of the stomach and intestines - the mushroom is difficult to digest and can aggravate the condition of ulcers and gastritis;
- if you are allergic to mushrooms or individual components in their composition;
- with a tendency to diarrhea or chronic constipation.
False doubles
The oak milk mushroom has no toxic counterparts - all mushrooms that can be confused with it are edible in one way or another. Most often, the mushroom is confused with several varieties of saffron milk caps, and they can even be eaten without prior soaking.
Japanese saffron milk cap
This mushroom resembles an oak mushroom with its outline, the structure of the stem and cap and color; it can be not only light pink, but also orange or reddish. On the cap of the Japanese camelina, diverging circles of the color of salmon or terracotta are noticeable; the leg also has a similar structure.
The easiest way to tell mushrooms apart is to break them open and look at the flesh. The Japanese camelina produces not white, but rich red milky juice.
Blue milk mushroom
Blue and oak milk mushrooms belong to the same genus, so they are easy to confuse with each other; they are similar in size, structure and color. In the blue variety, the cap is usually yellowish and brittle at the edges, and the flesh is firm and white.
However, you can recognize a false double by its characteristic feature, reflected in the name. If you press on the stem of a blue milk mushroom, it will acquire a bluish tint. At the break, the mushroom secretes a white milky juice, and upon contact with air it acquires a light purple tint.
Spruce saffron milk cap
Like the oak milk cap, the spruce milk cap may have a reddish coloration. Mushrooms are similar in shape and size.But the difference between them is that spruce saffron milk cap quickly turns green from contact with air - the flesh at the break, as well as the stem and lower plates when pressed, acquire a green tint.
Another difference is the milky sap, which in spruce saffron milk cap is not white, but red. Raw saffron milk cap tastes quite pleasant, but milk mushroom has a noticeable bitterness.
Pine saffron
Oak milk mushroom is often confused with common saffron milk cap; the mushrooms have almost the same bright color and are very similar in structure. Despite the fact that camelina grows mainly under pine trees, and milk mushroom - mainly under oaks, sometimes the latter can also be found in coniferous forests.
However, the difference is easy to see. Pine camelina quickly turns green at the cut sites, its milky sap is orange and also turns green from contact with air.
Collection rules
The oak milk mushroom begins to ripen in July, but it can rarely be seen during this period - the mushroom develops mainly underground. Only closer to autumn do oak saffron milk caps come to the surface en masse, and the peak occurs in September and October, at which time they need to be collected.
You should look for oak milk mushrooms in deciduous forests with a predominance of beeches, oaks and hornbeams. Sometimes milk mushrooms are even found in pine forests. Since the harvest takes place in the fall, it can be difficult to see the orange caps of the mushrooms in the fallen leaves; you need to carefully look at your feet.
In order not to harm the mycelium of the milk mushroom, it is recommended to remove the fungus from the ground by gently “unscrewing” the stem. You can also use a sharp knife to cut away the fungus above the surface of the soil. For collection, you should choose clean forests located away from large cities and big roads.
Cooking oak milk mushrooms
You cannot eat oak saffron milk caps raw; they have too bitter a taste and require long soaking. Before cooking, cleaned milk mushrooms are placed in cold water for several days, which is replaced periodically. During this time, all the milky juice comes out of the pulp, and the mushrooms become suitable for food.
Oak milk mushrooms cannot be dried, but all other cooking methods are suitable for them. Mushrooms are marinated and salted with garlic and spices, boiled and fried, stewed and baked in the oven. Mushrooms go well with meat and vegetable dishes, and are suitable for adding to salads and soups, and the nutritional value of dishes is greatly increased when using milk mushrooms.
Conclusion
Oak milk mushroom is a healthy edible mushroom that is very often found in deciduous forests in the fall. Before use, it must be properly processed and soaked, but after this the mushroom becomes suitable for any method of preparation and decorates many culinary dishes.
