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Real saffron milk cap is a very pleasant-tasting edible mushroom, widespread in Russia. To evaluate the beneficial qualities of the fungus, you need to familiarize yourself with its characteristics and find out what it looks like.
Where do bog mushrooms grow?
You can find real camelina mainly in coniferous forests, but sometimes fungi are also found in mixed forest plantations, the main thing is that there are pine trees growing nearby. Typically, the fruiting bodies of real saffron milk caps appear in forest clearings and edges, in clearings, and are found geographically in the Urals, Siberia, and in the northern regions of the middle zone.
True saffron milk caps practically do not grow alone; usually a whole group of mushrooms can be found in one place. However, the search is greatly complicated by the coloring - the fungi merge with pine bark and fallen pine needles, and mushroom pickers have to look very carefully at their feet.
What real saffron milk caps look like
Pine mushroom, or true camelina, is a low fungus that rises on average 5-7 cm above the ground surface. The photo of the pine saffron milk cap shows that its cap at a young age is flat and slightly convex, but later it becomes wider, up to 15 cm in diameter, and takes on the shape of a funnel. There are light stripes on the edges of the cap, and the edges of young fungi themselves are slightly turned inward. The lower surface of the hat is covered with orange plates.
As you can see in the photo of a real saffron milk cap, its leg is cylindrical in shape and hollow from the inside. Both the cap and the stem have the same orange-red hue, but if you touch the stem of the mushroom, it will quickly turn green. When exposed to air, both the orange flesh when broken and the reddish milky juice released by the broken camelina acquire a green tint. Real camelina is characterized by a pleasant fruity smell emanating from fresh fungus.
Is it possible to eat pine saffron milk caps?
Pine saffron mushrooms are classified as edible fungi of the 1st category.This means that you can not only eat them, they are very tasty and bring significant benefits to the body. It should be noted that real fungi require minimal processing - they don’t even need to be soaked, but can be immediately salted, fried or boiled.
Taste qualities of mushroom
In terms of taste, real saffron milk caps are second only to porcini mushrooms, which is why they are considered a delicacy. Fresh mushrooms have a noticeable bitter taste, but after processing it becomes soft and pleasant.
Most often, real orange mushroom is salted and pickled, and it can also be fried. Saffron milk caps are not suitable for drying, but when salted and pickled, they retain a dense structure and bright color, do not break or crumble. The beauty of cooked real saffron milk caps is another reason for their high popularity.
Benefits and harm to the body
Eating real saffron milk caps is not only tasty, but also very healthy.
- The bright red-orange color indicates a high content of vitamin A in the pulp. Carotene has powerful antioxidant properties, strengthens the immune system and lowers cholesterol, and helps fight inflammatory processes.
- Real saffron milk caps contain riboflavin and thiamine; these substances are beneficial for the nervous and muscular systems, so consuming real saffron milk caps has a beneficial effect on endurance, vigor and emotional state.
- Fungi contain an antibiotic called lactarioviolin - it inhibits the growth of many pathogenic bacteria, including tubercle bacilli. Due to the presence of lactarioviolin in the composition, real camelina is considered practically harmless and requires minimal temperature treatment before consumption.
Mushrooms also contain iron, calcium, potassium and phosphorus, as well as a large amount of amino acids and proteins. A real mushroom has a good effect on digestion, and can also be safely consumed on a regular or vegetarian diet; it saturates well, but does not contribute to excess weight gain.
Despite all the beneficial properties, this fungus also has certain contraindications. It is not recommended to eat it if:
- gastritis with low acidity;
- pancreatitis and cholecystitis;
- problems with the gallbladder;
- tendency to constipation;
- chronic kidney diseases.
False doubles
Real saffron milk mushrooms have a fairly recognizable appearance - it is very difficult to confuse them with others. However, some fungi have slight similarities to pine mushrooms.
True saffron milk caps do not have any overtly poisonous counterparts, but mistakes during collection can still lead to serious consequences. Some specimens, similar to real camelina, can be consumed only after long-term processing and in minimal quantities.
Amber milky
The inedible yellowish-red or reddish-ochre mushroom resembles the real one in structure, although it is quite different in color. If you break the cap of an amber milkweed, it releases a watery milk that quickly dries in the air.
It is quite easy to recognize the amber milkweed by its characteristic unpleasant odor; it emits a spicy aroma of chicory.Its pulp tastes very bitter, so the fungus is not used for food purposes.
Pink wave
This fungus is also similar to a young true saffron milk cap in its size and shape; the similarity can be seen in the structure of the cap - the fringed edges of the upper part of the mushroom are also turned down.
At the same time, the pink wave is painted in a soft pink color. There are other differences - volnushki grow not in coniferous, but in deciduous forests and form a symbiosis with birch trees. If you break the flesh of a trumpet, it will release white milky juice, but this juice will not darken in air.
Large milkweed
The conditionally edible mushroom can resemble a young real saffron milk cap in its shape and, moreover, prefers similar places for growth. But this mushroom has a grayish-brown cap and, when broken, emits a faint coconut aroma, and the milky white juice does not begin to darken when exposed to air.
You can use large milkweed for food, but it takes a long time to soak and salt it. Therefore, it is better not to confuse the mushroom with real saffron milk cap, which requires minimal processing.
Milky fragrant
The small fungus with a beige or ocher-brown cap smells strongly of coconut, and the white juice released from the broken flesh retains its color when exposed to air. It is quite difficult to confuse a mushroom with a young real saffron milk cap, but caution is still necessary. The aromatic milkweed is used in food only as a spicy seasoning or it is subjected to very long salting.
Collection rules
The first real saffron milk caps appear in coniferous and mixed forests already in July, but during this period there are quite a few of them. The main peak of fruiting occurs in August and September, when orange fungi are found near pine trees in large groups. You can find saffron milk caps in the forest until frost, for this reason the fungus is classified as a late fungus.
Especially a lot of real fungi grow after rains, it is at this time that it is recommended to go searching. When collecting, you need to look especially carefully at your feet to notice the bright orange caps of real mushrooms in the fallen brownish needles.
To collect autumn saffron mushrooms, you should use a sharpened knife. It is impossible to pull mushrooms out of the ground along with the “roots” - this destroys the mycelium, and subsequently tasty and healthy fruiting bodies no longer grow in the same place.
How to cook saffron milk cap
Theoretically, real mushrooms can be eaten even raw, after first clearing them of debris, washing them and sprinkling them thoroughly with salt. However, more often fungi are still subjected to treatment.
- Boiled orange caps are often added to vegetable salads. The dish not only acquires interesting shades of taste, but also pleases with its appearance - bright red mushrooms decorate the salad.
- Pine saffron milk caps can be prepared by frying; they are often served along with potatoes, porridge, fish or meat dishes.
- You can use boiled mushrooms as a filling for pies or pancakes - the products are very tasty and nutritious.
- You can pickle mushrooms for the winter or pickle them - this allows you to preserve the mushrooms for all the winter months. Before salting, it is recommended to scald the mushrooms with boiling water; this procedure allows you to preserve the bright color of the pulp.
Application in medicine
Since real fungi have a rich vitamin composition, they are used not only in cooking, but also in medicine.
- Fungi have strong strengthening properties, so eating their pulp is useful when you have a cold or in the process of recovery from a serious illness.
- Saffron milk caps are of great benefit for respiratory diseases. You can eat them for coughs, bronchitis and even tuberculosis - fungi fight infections, bacteria and viruses, heal and renew the body.
- Real saffron milk caps contain a substance that alleviates joint ailments. You can use fungi for rheumatism, arthritis and other inflammatory diseases of bone tissue.
- Fungi effectively treat dermatological ailments; they not only improve the appearance of the skin, but also help cope with vitiligo.
The anti-inflammatory properties of saffron milk caps are highly valued in folk medicine. For cuts and insect bites in the forest, you can simply apply a piece of mushroom to the fresh injury.The beneficial substances contained in its pulp will help disinfect the wound, relieve pain and speed up healing.
Conclusion
Real saffron milk cap is a very tasty mushroom from the delicacy category. It is actively used in cooking in almost any form, consumed boiled or salted for the winter. Eating saffron milk caps is good for health - fungi have a beneficial effect on all body systems.
