What is it the Orange Milk Cap?
The Orange Milk Cap is in one of the few families of Milk Caps that are acceptable to eat. Whenever one is going to eat wild, edible, foraged food, it goes without saying that he or she must be 100 % sure on the identification of species. This is especially true for Milk Caps.
There are a lot of milk caps out there that will not make you happy if you eat them. And even more important, there are a lot of gilled mushroom poisonous lookalikes out there. So please be very careful when eating milkcaps.
The three families are the fish caps, the candy caps, and the orange caps. There is several different species within each family, but they are all close enough alike in appearance and taste, that they can be safely grouped into the three categories.
Identification of Orange Milk Caps.
Walking around the woods come early Autumn in Stowe,VT, I will sometimes catch what appears to be that familiar Chanterelle glow coming from the corner of my eye. However upon closer inspection, I realize that these are actually Orange Milk Caps! There are a few general characteristics that will clue you into the orange milk cap. Here in the Green Mountains of Vermont I look for this:
- They are orange. At least partly. It may be just a light shade, but it has to have some orange in it.
- Like all milk caps, the gills exude a latex from them when cut or broken. In most species this is a white ooze, here it will be bright orange.
- Look for concentric rings on the caps surface. Darker and lighter rings emanating out from the caps center.
- Cream colored spore print.
- Scientific Name: Lactarius deliciosus
Eating the Orange Milk Cap
This mushroom is never bitter, and can be used in anyway you would use a traditional store bought mushroom. Try roasting or sauteing for tried and true mushroom deliciousness. Remember, when it comes to eating the food you forage for, it is always better to be safe than sorry!
