I found a good flush of Lactarius alnicola up the street the other day.
As usual when I find a good quantity of
mushrooms, they are not considered edible. But in this case that's based on the taste, not toxicity, so I thought I'd play with them.
First I soaked them overnight to loosen and scrub off any dirt & leaves. They had dried a bit since the last rain, so it took a while; much of the detritus was strongly adhered. I used a toothbrush for some spots.
Once they were clean I tasted them. Yes, they were bitter and hot, but not terribly so. I was wondering whether people who like their food spicy might like them, but I found them more bitter than spicy.
I cut up the bigger ones to make them pack into jars more easily, and to get the dirt out of crevices.
I boiled them for twenty minutes in salted
water.
I tasted them again. Not so bitter.
I sauteed one. Too salty to enjoy, still a little bitter.
I packed them in brine, some with bay leaves, juniper berries, allspice, shallots.
I didn't want to pack them in salt as seems to be traditional. They were already too salty, I wanted them to get sour but edible, not just be a condiment.
Some I put into the leftover brine from a string bean ferment. Some I added a little pickle brine to kickstart the ferment.
I tasted them every day. No longer bitter, starting to ferment. I was a little timid, eating only a piece or two at a time at first. After three or four days in my approximately 60 to 65° kitchen it was time to get them out of the crock and start refrigerating them.
The ones in the bean brine had a head start in the pre-existing culture, and are excellent. Tart, not too salty, nice meaty texture. I am eating several pieces at a time at this point, and starting to
feed them to other people. I hope the others get equally good as they age.
The smallest caps I left whole and they are the most attractive ones, and also have a consistent texture. The bigger ones varied in age, and vary in texture, which I could pretty much tell they would when I was cutting them, but it got more distinct after I boiled them. I may just use young ones next time - if there is a next time. I don't find mushrooms I feel confident identifying very often.
Most of them are still way too salty. I'll have to try them with sour cream. I don't want to have to soak all the nutrients out in order to soak out the salt.
Vegan rollmops?
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