Milkcap Surprise

At the end of day I decided to go and check one of spruce groves that I rarely visit. It is couple of acres of quite young spruce, obviously planted with rows still visible on the ground.

Entering the woods I did not see any mushrooms. It is not easy to move through young spruce. A lot of bending and pushing of the branches is involved. After advancing some 50 meters with no results I decided to leave. At the last moment I noticed lonely Safron Milkcap and ventured a little further. When I squatted down and looked along the ground I discovered a huge patch covered with mushrooms. A little further there was another one, and another one.  This is what guides call "growing gregariously".

It seemed that I missed "Mushrooming Window" a little bit. Most of the mushrooms were mature specimens of considerable size and already funnel shaped. When I checked even the mature specimens were totally bug free and in pristine shape. I estimate that within one hour it was possible to pick more than 20 pounds of exceptional quality mushrooms.

I did not come prepared for this type of find. Lactarius mushrooms are brittle and should be picked into the basket without piling up too many rows. I had only my net bags and it took me some 20 minutes to pick approximately 5 pounds of mushrooms, keeping them in two bags.

Unloading showed some breakage and damage, causing green discoloration. That is actually confirming that found species is Lactarius deliciousus.

I immediately cleaned and cut mushrooms into chunks, preparing them for pickling.

One hour later everything was done and my winter supply of pickled Safron Milkcap was ready. For pickling any milkcap I use recipe from my favorite chef Alan Bergo substituting white vinegar with apple cider vinegar.