Candy caps (Lactatius rubidus) are fruiting abundantly on the Northern California coast right now. My family and I picked about 2 pounds today. For those unfamiliar, these mushrooms develop a strong maple flavor and odor when dried.

I’ve never had so many before, so I’m interested if anyone has made anything interesting with these. I’ve made ice cream in the past which was excellent but it might be good to mix things up a bit.

I’m particularly interested to see how they would work in more savory dishes and if anyone has eaten them fresh. Is it worth doing or do they need to be dried to be appreciated properly?

  • @Peasley
    2•8 days ago

    I think they would be good in cookies, but i havent tried that yet.

    Re: fresh The maple syrup smell is pretty faint when fresh, i wonder how much sweetness would be present. Do they need to be cooked if eaten fresh?

    Congrats! I haven’t seen them yet this year in the Bay Area, but last year i found them a few times in Sonoma County.

    • @[email protected]OP
      2•7 days ago

      Yeah I fried a few up and they kinda just tasted like mushrooms with an underwhelming texture. There was a little bit of that interesting flavor but it was subtle. I’m going to try a few in some dishes but I think probably I’ll dry most of them. That may be the best thing to do with them no matter what I end up making.

      I’m surprised they aren’t starting in the Bay Area yet. It’s been pretty rainy so far, right? At least where I am it has been, though I’m a bit further north.

    • @[email protected]English
      2•7 days ago

      It’s generally unsafe to eat mushrooms raw and raw candy caps don’t have much flavor so you need to cook them.