Candy Cap: A Tiny Mushroom with a Big Surprise
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Mushrooms are generally thought to bring on the umami, and there are thousands of strains that are incredible at doing just that. However, did you know that there are mushrooms that bring on the sweetness as well? It’s true, and they’re appropriately called Candy Cap mushrooms.
What is the Candy Cap?
This small mushroom packs a punch of sweetness that is considered comparable to maple syrup, caramel, or even curry. There are several ways to go about enjoying the Candy Cap. It can be used fresh. It can also be dried and turned into a powder. If it’s dried, you can soak it in water to rehydrate it then use both the mushroom and the soaking water.
Where is Candy Cap Found?
This delectable mushroom is often found growing on moss or decomposing plant matter under hardwoods and conifers. It grows from mid to late winter in the Pacific Northwest, but several places dehydrate it to keep it available throughout the year.
Identification
There are three different known strains of Candy Cap mushrooms; Lactarius camphoratus, Lactarius fragilis, and Lactarius rubidus. While they each have their differences, they share the main identifying traits. Candy Cap mushrooms have a brittle stem that snaps easily instead of bending, which plays a key role in identifying them. They also have a milky white liquid that comes out when they’re damaged. Unlike other mushrooms, this liquid doesn’t change colors when it hits the air.
Look-Alikes
This is one of those mushrooms that you’ll want to be incredibly careful with as it has several poisonous look-alikes. It is recommended to harvest Candy Caps by hand instead of using a knife. The tell-tale snap of Candy Caps is caused by cells called sphaerocysts, which are exclusive to them.
Hearing about a mushroom that is sweet instead of savory is definitely a surprise. If you want to amp up the shock factor a bit, you may want to try out making mushroom ice cream. That’s a sentence I never figured I would write.
Spawn or LC available? I have been looking for these candy caps for a little while. Thanks
In my research for the post, I didn’t see anywhere that has spawn available. I did find a discussion thread about how it’s considerably difficult to cultivate. I think they mentioned there only being one or two known farms that cultivate instead of forage.
Hello everybody at MCM! Been binging on your blog posts and YouTube:-) I really appreciate all of the information you share with all of us in the mushroom kingdom.
My apologies if it’s not my place to comment on this, but I thought I would share a little clarification re: mushroom identification. Sphaerocysts are spherical cells in the tissues of mushrooms belonging to *both* the Russula and Lactarius genera, and are what causes the distinctive brittle flesh. But as correctly stated in the blog they are key in the identification of Lactarius when combined with having a milky latex exudate. Russula does not have the latex but does have the sphaerocysts.
Re: cultivation question above. Members of the Russulaceae, which includes both Lactarius and Russula, are ectomycorrhizal fungi. They require a root symbiosis with a suitable host tree species to fruit. I don’t think this precludes the candy cap from being cultivated, but it does mean that any successful cultivation attempts are likely outdoor seasonal operations.
You all are amazing at MCM! I’m working on building my own mushroom farm right now and it’s inspiring to watch your progress on YouTube from basement to full scale operation. Thank you so much!
Mr Lucas,
Can I purchase a culture of a candy-cap mushroom (Lactarius sp.)?
We do not have any Candy Cap cultures. I’m not sure where you’d be able to purchase some.
The first picture at the top of this post looks like a Galerina Marginata. This is quite concerning on a post about an edible mushroom.
Ouch. Good catch. It has been changed.
Great! It is also the thumbnail picture that appears next to the article when it’s searched for. I appreciate your quick action!
The thumbnail should update to the new image before long. Thank you for letting me know.