seente abcL
Kuldriisikas
[ Lactarius volemus.]
Kuldpruun, suur ja lihakas kuldriisikas on harva esinev, mis on suurepärane söögiseen.
Kübar on matt, punakaspruun ja servadest sisserullunud.
Tihedad eoselehed on koltunud ja jala külge kasvanud. Kübarast heledam jalg on jändrik ja allpool paksenev ja õõnes. Viljaliha on paks ja valkjas, lõikepindadel pruuniks värvuv. Seene lõhn meenutab heeringasoolvett, mis kaob toiduks valmistamisel.
Maitse on mahe, hea ning ei nõua eelnevalt kupatamist. Kõva viljaliha tõttu säilib see värskena veel mitu päeva pärast korjamist.
Kui neid hõrke seeni õnnestub rohkem korjata, tasub nende maitset nautida teistest seentest eraldi.
by Michael Kuo
For the life of me, I can't figure out why this mushroom is listed as a "choice" edible in field guides. For example, David Arora: "This species . . . ranks among the best edible mushrooms of eastern North America" (78). Well, first of all, Lactarius volemus reeks, producing a dead-fish smell that the very same field guides mention as a means of identification. Then there is the brown-staining milk. White when exuded, it stains the mushroom's tissues sordid brown--but it also stains your hands sordid brown, and your clothes, and your kitchen counter. Finally, there's the fact that when cooked up, Lactarius volemus is insipid and slimy, and still smells bad!
However, if you're not thinking of eating it or handling it, Lactarius volemus is an attractive mushroom, fairly easily recognized by its brownish orange colorations, the above-mentioned white milk that stains everything in sight brown, and its tendency to develop a fishy odor that increases in fishiness over time after the mushroom has been picked. Its cap is smooth or only slightly wrinkled, separating it from the similar Lactarius corrugis (which lacks the fishy odor). Lactarius hygrophoroides is similar in appearance, but has distant gills and non-staining milk (see the linked page for a photo comparison of the two species).
At least one reader disagrees with me on the palatability of Lactarius volemus; see Richard Kramer's comments below, in the right-hand column.
Description:
Ecology: Mycorrhizal with hardwoods and perhaps with conifers; growing alone or scattered; summer and fall; widely distributed in eastern North America.
Cap: 5-13 cm; at first convex, with an inrolled margin; becoming flat, with a central depression, shallowly vase-shaped, or (rarely) with a slight bump over the disc, the margin even; smooth or slightly wrinkled; brownish orange, orangish brown, or sometimes lighter (see note below); typically without distinct zones of color, but often darker towards the center.
Gills: Attached to the stem or running slightly down it; close; creamy white; discoloring brown when injured; often forking near the margin.
Stem: 5-10 cm long; .5-2 cm thick; colored like the cap or paler; equal or tapering to base; smooth; sometimes vaguely "ribbed" longitudinally; solid or hollowing somewhat.
Flesh: White; eventually staining brown when cut.
Milk: White; copious; sometimes becoming brownish on exposure to air, but always staining tissues brown.
Taste: Mild; odor rather fishy (like a dead shad, which anglers will tell you is probably the most malodorous freshwater fish).
Spore Print: White.
Microscopic Features: Spores 7.5-9.5 x 7.5-8.5 µ; more or less round; ornamentation with prominences 0.4-1.0 µ high.
The description above applies to Lactarius volemus var. volemus. Hesler and Smith (1979; links below) describe var. flavus as a southern variety with a yellow cap and slightly smaller spores. They also indicate the likelihood that Lactarius volemus intergrades with Lactarius corrugis; mushrooms may be collected that combine the features of these two species.
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.