[Mycology] Re: Edibility of Russula and Lactarius

[ram]

On May 3, 11:01 pm, Joe Skulan <jlsku... from geology.wisc.edu> wrote:
> Perhaps this is not the ideal forum for these questions, but I have  
> exhausted other options.
>
> 1. Are there any toxic species of Lactarius that it is known cannot  
> be detoxified by the Russian method of soaking in several changes of  
> water, boiling and salting?
>
> 2. Are any russulas known to be toxic other than R. emetica?
>
> By toxic I mean toxic, as in eating them will make you sick. I do not  
> mean that it might make some people sick, or that we don't know if  
> it's toxic or not so we will assume it is. I don't want general  
> warnings about being careful, I certainly don't want information on  
> "edibility" that mixes toxicological information with subjective  
> judgments on taste. I'm growing very frustrated with the poor quality  
> of information on toxicity provided in guides, most of which seem to  
> be written by people with very limited palates.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Joe Skulan

Actually, late last august, I collected Lactarius subvellereus in
mixed woods on our property.
It was prepared using the tradional Russian method, boiling and
changing the water twice and then packing in rock salt with a weight
on top.  The mushrooms were sampled a month later, and were quite
tasty.  However, (if you want the grimy details) my stools were a
little loose shortly afterwards, about 45 minutes.  Not exactly the
Runs, but just a little loose.  My friend with whom I prepared the
mushrooms reported the same effect.  We both tried tasting again
several times, always with the same "loosening" effect.   Drinking a
glass of vodka before eating the mushroom had no noticable effect
(other than the expected).  Although I fed what was left of my Salted
mushrooms to my chickens, my friend kept a jar and uses them when he
needs to "go".

I do not pronounce toxicity, but rather leave it to you, Joe Skulan,
to dicern whether this particular Lactarius is Toxic or not.