Lactarius Torminosus - Edibility and Toxicity

Edibility and Toxicity

"Its taste is biting, worse than Cayenne pepper.... Unless he possessed a stomach built for the purpose, the man who touched such food as this would have a singularly bad time before him."

The intensely peppery taste of the raw mushroom can blister the tongue if sampled in excess. Some authors have reported the species as outright poisonous, or causing "mild to fatal gastroenteritis". In a 1930 publication, Hans Steidle reported that although the mushroom was not toxic to "unicellular and cold-blooded organisms" when ingested, the liquid extract and the pressed juice of the fruit bodies, when injected under the skin of a frog, resulted in disturbed breathing, paralysis, and eventually death. Symptoms that are typically experienced after consuming raw mushrooms include nausea, vomiting, and severe diarrhea that starts about one hour after ingestion. This combination can lead to dehydration, muscle spasms, and circulatory collapse. The gastroenteritis will usually resolve without treatment in a couple of days.

Despite these reports of toxicity, L. torminosus mushrooms are prepared in Finland, Russia, and other northern and eastern European countries by parboiling, soaking in brine for several days, or pickling, after which it is valued for its peppery taste. In Norway, it is roasted and added to coffee. Mushrooms are harvested for commercial sale in Finland. The nutrient composition of Finnish specimens has been analyzed and found to contain the following components (as a percentage of dry weight): protein, 17.2%; phosphorus, 0.46%; calcium, 0.12%; magnesium, 0.088%; potassium, 2.97%; sodium 0.011%.