Mushroom Culture Part 7

_Lactarius deliciosus_ (Orange-milk Mushroom).

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 36. _Lactarius deliciosus_ (Orange-milk Mushroom).

Under fir-trees, in autumn; colour, brown-orange; milk at first orange, then green; diameter, 3 to 10 inches.]

_Pileus_ smooth, fleshy, umbilicate, of a dull rufous orange, turning pallid from exposure to light and air, but zoned with concentric circles of a brighter hue; margin smooth, at first involute, and then becoming expanded; from three to five inches across. Flesh firm full of orange-red milk, which turns green on exposure to the air, as does any part of the plant when bruised. _Gills_ decurrent, narrow, each dividing into two, three several times from the stem to the edge of the pileus; of a dull yellow by reflected light, but being translucent, the red milk shines brightly through them. _Stem_ from one to three inches high, slightly bent and tapering downwards; solid, becoming more or less hollow with age; short hairs at the base; sometimes pitted (scrobiculate).

There is no possibility of mistaking this fungus. It is the only one which has _orange-red milk_, and which _turns green when bruised_. These properties distinguish it at once from _Lactarius torminosus_ or _necator_, the only fungus which in any way resembles it.

This acrid fungus (_Lactarius torminosus_) is somewhat similar in shape and size, and is also zoned. But the involute edges of the pileus are bearded with close hairs. It is of a much paler colour, and with gills of a dirty white. The milk, also, is white, acrid, and unchangeable in colour.

The Orange-milk agaric chiefly affects the Scotch fir-tree, and is generally to be found beneath the drip of the branches around the tree.

It is also found in hedgerows occasionally, but is most abundant in plantations of Scotch fir or larch.

_Opinions on the Merits of Lactarius deliciosus as an Edible Fungus._--"This is one of the best agarics with which I am acquainted, fully deserving both its name and the estimation in which it is held abroad, it reminds me of tender lambs' kidneys."--_Dr. Badham._

"Very luscious eating, full of rich gravy, with a little of the flavour of mussels."--_Sowerby._

"Cook them well, and you will have something better than kidneys, which they much resemble both in flavour and consistence."--_Mrs. Hussey._

_Modes of Cooking Lactarius deliciosus._--"The rich gravy it produces is its chief characteristic, and hence it commends itself to make a rich gravy sauce, or as an ingredient in soups. It requires delicate cooking, for though fleshy it becomes tough if kept on the fire till all the juice is exuded. Baking is perhaps the best process for this agaric to pa.s.s through. It should be dressed when fresh and pulpy."--_Edwin Lees._

_Stewed Deliciosus._--"The _tourtiere_ (or pie-dish) method of cooking suits _Lactarius deliciosus_ best, as it is firm and crisp in substance.

Be careful to use only sound specimens. Reduce them by cutting across to one uniform bulk. Place the pieces in a pie-dish, with a little pepper and salt, and a small piece of b.u.t.ter on each side of every slice. Tie a paper over the dish, and bake gently for three-quarters of an hour.

Serve them up in the same hot dish."--_Mrs. Hussey._

_Deliciosus Pie._--Pepper and salt slices of the agaric, and place them in layers with thin slices of fresh bacon, until a small pie-dish is full; cover with a crust of pastry or mashed potatoes, and bake gently for three-quarters of an hour. If with potato crust, brown nicely before a quick fire.

_Deliciosus Pudding._--Cut the agaric into small pieces; add similar pieces of bacon, pepper, and salt, and a little garlic or spice; surround with crust, and boil three-quarters of an hour.

_Fried Deliciosus._--Fry in slices, properly seasoned with b.u.t.ter, or bacon and gravy; and serve up hot with sippets of toast. A steak in addition is a great improvement.

_Morch.e.l.la esculenta_ (the Morel).

Every one knows the Morel--that expensive luxury which the rich are content to procure at great cost from our Italian warehouses, and the poor are fain to do without. It is less generally known that this fungus, though by no means so common with us as some others (a circ.u.mstance partly attributable to the prevailing ignorance as to when and where to look for it, or even of its being indigenous to England), occurs not unfrequently in our orchards and woods, towards the beginning of summer. Roques reports favourably of some specimens sent to him by the Duke of Athol; and others, from different parts of the country, occasionally find their way into Covent Garden Market. The genus _Morch.e.l.la_ comprises very few species, and they are all good to eat.

Persoon remarks, that though the Morel rarely appears in a sandy soil, preferring a calcareous or argillaceous ground, it frequently springs up on sites where charcoal has been burnt, or where cinders have been thrown.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 37. _Morch.e.l.la esculenta_ (the Morel). Woods, &c., in the spring; colour pale buff; height, 3 to 5 inches.]

_Pileus_ very various in shape and hue, the surface broken-up into very little cells, made by folds or plaits of the hymenium, which are more or less salient, and const.i.tute the so-called ribs. These _ribs_ are very irregular, and anastomose with each other throughout; the pileus hollow, opening into the irregular stem. _Spores_ pale yellow. Neither of these funguses should be gathered after rain, as they are then insipid and soon spoil.

"M. Roques says the Morel may be dressed in a variety of ways, both fresh and dry, with b.u.t.ter or in oil, _au gras_ or _a la creme_. The following receipts for cooking them are from Persoon. 1st. Having washed and cleansed them from the earth which is apt to collect between the plaits, dry thoroughly in a napkin, and put them into a saucepan with pepper, salt, and parsley, adding or not a piece of ham; stew for an hour, pouring in occasionally a little broth to prevent burning; when sufficiently done, bind with the yolk of two or three eggs, and serve on b.u.t.tered toast. 2nd. _Morelles a l'Italienne._--Having washed and dried, divide them across, put them on the fire with some parsley, scallion, chervil, burnet, tarragon, chives, a little salt, and two spoonfuls of fine oil. Stew till the juice runs out, then thicken with a little flour; serve with bread-crumbs and a squeeze of lemon. 3rd. _Stuffed Morels._--Choose the freshest and whitest morels, open the stalk at the bottom, wash and wipe them well, fill with veal stuffing, anchovy, or any rich _farce_ you please, securing the ends, and dressing between thin slices of bacon; serve with a sauce like the last."--_Badham._

_Hygrophorus pratensis._

"_Pileus_ convexo-plane, then turbinate, smooth, moist; disc compact, gibbous; margin thin; _stem_ stuffed, even, attenuated downwards; _gills_ deeply decurrent, arcuate, thick, distant."--_Grev. t. 91; Huss.

II. t. 40._

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 38 (1). _Hygrophorus pratensis._ Pastures, in autumn; colour, full buff; diameter, 2 to 3 inches.

Fig. 38 (2). _Hygrophorus virgineus_ (Viscid White Mushroom). Pastures, in autumn; snow-white; diameter, inch to 1 inches.]

"On downs and short pastures. Very common. _Pileus_ tawny or deep buff, sometimes nearly white, as in the next. Probably esculent."--_Berkeley._

_Hygrophorus virgineus_ (Viscid White Mushroom).

"_Pileus_ fleshy, convexo-plane, obtuse, moist, at length areolato-rimose; _stem_ stuffed, firm, short, attenuated at the base; _gills_ decurrent, distant, rather thick."--_Grev. t. 166._ "On downs and short pastures. Extremely common. Mostly pure ivory-white."--_Berkeley._

This species, exquisite in form and flavour, is one of the prettiest ornaments of our lawns, downs, and short pastures at the fall of the year. In these situations it may be found in every part of the kingdom.

It is essentially _waxy_, and feels and looks precisely as if made of the purest virgin wax. The stem is firm, stuffed, and attenuated, and the gills singularly distant from each other; it changes colour a little when getting old, at which time it is unfit for culinary purposes.

A batch of fresh specimens, broiled or stewed with taste and care, will prove agreeable, succulent, and flavorous eating, and may sometimes be obtained when other species are not forthcoming.

"Several allied species enjoy the reputation of being esculent, notably _H. niveus_; and my friend Mr. F. C. Penrose has eaten, and speaks favourably of _H. psittacinus_--a highly ornamental yellow species, with a green stem, sometimes common enough in rich pastures (and _said_ to be very suspicious)."--_W. G. Smith._

_Cantharellus cibarius_ (Chantarelle).

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 39. _Cantharellus cibarius_ (Chantarelle). Woods, autumn; rich golden yellow; diameter, 2 to 4 inches.]

When young its _stalk_ is tough, white, and solid; but as it grows this becomes hollow and presently changes to yellow; tapering below, it is effused into the substance of the _pileus_, which is of the same colour with it. The _pileus_ is lobed, and irregular in shape; its margin at first deeply involute, afterwards when expanded, wavy. The _veins_ or plaits are thick, subdistant, much sinuated, running some way down the stalk. The _flesh_ is white, fibrous, dense, "having the odour of apricots" (_Purton_) or of "plums" (_Vitt._). "The _colour_ yellow, like that of the yolk of eggs, is deeper on the under surface; when raw it has the pungent taste of pepper: the _spores_, which are elliptic, are of a pallid ochre colour." (_Vitt._) The Chantarelle grows sometimes sporadically, sometimes in circles or segments of a circle, and may be found from June to October. At first it a.s.sumes the shape of a minute cone: next, in consequence of the rolling in of the margin, the pileus is almost spherical, but as this unfolds it becomes hemispherical, then flat, at length irregular and depressed.

"This fungus," observes Vittadini, "being rather dry and tough by nature, requires a considerable quant.i.ty of fluid sauce to cook it properly." "The common people in Italy dry or pickle, or keep it in oil for winter use. Perhaps the best ways of dressing the Chantarelle are to stew or mince it by itself, or to combine it with meat or with other funguses. It requires to be gently stewed, and a long time to make it tender; but by soaking it in milk the night before, less cooking will be requisite."--_Badham._

_Hydnum repandum_ (Hedgehog, or Spine-bearing Mushroom).

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 40. _Hydnum repandum_ (Spine-bearing Mushroom).

Woods, autumn; colour, pale buff; diameter, 2 to 5 inches.]

_Pileus_ smooth, irregular in shape, depressed in the centre, more or less lobed, and generally placed irregularly on the stem (eccentric); of a pale buff or cinnamon colour; from two to five inches in diameter.

Flesh firm and white; when bruised it turns slightly brown. _Spines_ crowded, awl-shaped, slanting, soft and brittle, varying in size and length, and of a faint cinnamon tint. _Stem_ white, short, solid, crooked, and often lateral.

There is no possibility of mistaking the hedgehog mushroom: when once seen it is always to be remembered. Its awl-shaped spines are crowded beneath the pileus; its size and colour are most marked; it resembles closely, as has been said, a lightly-baked cracknel biscuit in colour.

"This fungus occurs princ.i.p.ally in woods, and especially in those of pine and oak; sometimes solitary, but more frequently in company and in rings."--_Badham._

_Opinions on the Merits of Hydnum repandum as an Edible Fungus._--"The general use of this fungus throughout France, Italy, and Germany, leaves no room for doubt as to its good qualities."--_Roques._

"When well stewed it is an excellent dish, with a slight flavour of oysters. It makes also a very good _puree_.--_Dr. Badham._

"A most excellent fungus, but it requires a little caution in preparation for the table. It should be previously steeped in hot water and well drained in a cloth; in which case there is certainly not a more excellent fungus."--_Berkeley._

"A wholesome fungus and not to be despised; but not in the first cla.s.s as to flavour, requiring the help of condiments. It has the advantage, however, of growing later than most funguses, and may be found up to the middle of November."--_Edwin Lees._

"One of the most excellent fungi that grows; its flavour very strongly resembles oysters."--_The Rev. W. Houghton._