Breaded saffron milk caps are another saffron milk cap recipe that you’ll probably want to make it repeatedly.
People around here are usually frying parasol mushrooms. But guess what, that’s because most of them never tried frying breaded saffron milk caps. They often taste even better.
Combine them with potatoes, salad, maybe some garlic sauce or just fresh homemade bread, and there you have it. The simplest yet exciting and delicious dish on the table in about 20 minutes.
Are saffron milk cap mushrooms edible?
Not only are these mushrooms growing in abundance and are perfectly edible, but they also taste great no matter which way they are prepared. Historically, these mushrooms have been known as a great food and also as a rich source of vitamins, minerals and many medicinal components.
Saffron milk caps have been evidently foraged since ancient times. In the ruins of the ancient town of Herculaneum, buried by the eruption of the Vesuvius in 79 AD, a fresco in the house of the Deer with the famous milk caps was found.
Besides they are extraordinarily nutritious edible mushrooms, they are also known for their several medicinal properties. Saffron milk caps have been researched and reported because of their antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, antihyperglycemic, anti-tumor, immunostimulant and cytotoxic activity.
Why you might like breaded saffron milk caps
- Saffron milk caps will usually grow in abundance, and this mushroom is one of the most compact mushrooms out there. When breaded and fried, they won’t lose their form.
- These mushrooms are delicious and highly nutritious, no matter which recipe they are made with. Their tasty, sometimes cheesy-like flavor will show itself even more when breaded. If you’re used to frying parasol mushrooms, you’ll be surprised how extraordinarily tasty this small orange mushroom can get when breaded.
- Saffron milk caps are easier to digest than other mushrooms. Combined with garlic and wrapped in bread crumbs they will be perfect for a mouth-watering autumn dinner.
- Besides that, your delicious dinner can be prepared in about 20 minutes. Hint – Your dinner will be extraordinarily delicious when serving breaded milk caps with taboule salad or just a few slices of freshly baked buckwheat bread with walnuts.
Ingredients and substitutions
🍄 SAFFRON MILK CAP MUSHROOMS – Use the mushrooms as fresh as possible. When hunting for milk caps yourself, ensure you don’t keep them in the refrigerator longer than 24 hours. Saffron milk caps will turn green when bruised, but that doesn’t make them unedible.
🍚 FLOUR – The flour will coat the mushrooms and give them a crunchy texture. For a healthier version of breaded mushrooms try using wholemeal flour or gluten-free flour. Sometimes they taste even better.
If you wish to make a low-carb version of pan-fried mushrooms, you can use almond flour or coconut flour. The primary purpose of flour in the recipe is that the egg mixture will stick to the flour, enabling the breadcrumbs to coat the mushrooms.
🥪 BREAD CRUMBS – The bread crumbs form a crispy crust on the outside while preserving the natural flavor of the mushroom inside. Plus, the flavor of the added garlic will be infused into each bite. If you don’t have premade bread crumbs, it’s easy to make a cup with grated dried pieces of bread. Sometimes it makes the dish taste even better.
Prepare your saffron milk cap mushrooms as a low-carb dish using keto bread crumbs in combination with almond flour
🥚 EGGS – we used two eggs for this recipe. After the mushrooms are coated with flour, dipping them in the egg mixture will enable the breadcrumb layer to stick to the saffron milk caps.
🧄 GARLIC – garlic is the perfect addition to the mushrooms. Don’t spare garlic when making this recipe, it definitely adds a unique flavor and irresistible aroma to the breaded mushrooms.
🛢️ OIL – We used sunflower oil when pan-frying the breaded saffron milk caps. However, you can use olive oil or any other oil.
🧂 SALT & BLACK PEPPER – Because saffron milk caps, together with the garlic already taste perfect. You don’t need to use any other seasoning, except salt and black pepper. Saffron milk caps have a unique flavor that you do not wish to override with some strong seasoning.
How to make breaded saffron milk caps
PREPARING THE MUSHROOMS
STEP 1: Clean the mushrooms with a dry, clean piece of cloth and remove the pieces of wood or soil. Do not worry if the mushrooms turn green when cleaning. The green color will completely disappear when the breaded saffron milk caps are pan-fried, and the mushrooms are entirely edible.
STEP 2: When the mushrooms are clean, sprinkle them with salt and remove the stems. Peal and cut or crush the garlic. Using a cheap $3 garlic crusher will make the job much easier.
STEP 3: Place the mushrooms on a flat surface and add the black pepper and crushed garlic.
BREADING AND FRYING
STEP 4: Mix the eggs and prepare three bowls (or plates). One with flour, one with eggs and the last one with bread crumbs.
STEP 5: You want the oil in the frying pan to be hot before adding the mushrooms.
STEP 6: Coat the mushrooms one by one with flour. Next, dip them in the eggs and finally, dredge them in breadcrumbs.
STEP 7: When the oil is hot, add the breaded mushrooms to the pan. Fry them on each side for about 3 minutes until they become golden brown. If they brown too quickly, reduce the heat and try to slow the process.
You do not need to worry about saffron milk caps not being fried enough. Especially when the mushrooms are young, they are perfectly edible even when eating them raw.
Recipe notes and tips
- Young, fresh and healthy-looking saffron milk caps are your best choice for pan frying. Young saffron milk caps have a flat surface with a rounded edge. That makes frying a lot easier compared to frying older mushrooms.
- When hunting for mushrooms yourself, ensure that the time from the forest to the frying pan is as short as possible. Do not keep your saffron milk caps in the fridge for longer than 24 hours before cooking.
- The orange-colored milk in the mushroom will turn green when the surface of the mushroom is bruised. Although that doesn’t make them unedible, handle and clean your mushrooms gently.
- When the oil gets hot, lower the heat to medium. A few minutes on each side until the mushrooms get browned is enough. Especially if the mushrooms are young, you don’t need to fry them longer.
- To reduce the content of the oil, drain the mushrooms on dry towels when fried.
- For a perfect meal, serve with a tasty salad like taboule.
Storage and reheating
Saffron milk caps are best when cooked fresh. If needed, store them in the refrigerator before cooking, but not longer than a day.
When breaded and fried, it’s best to serve them hot and eat them right away.
The proteins in the mushrooms start breaking down very fast at room temperature. However, you can store fried breaded milk caps in the refrigerator for the same day. Leaving them at room temperature or reheating them is not recommendable.
Although a lot of the quality will be lost, fresh saffron milk caps can be stored dried or sometimes blanched and frozen, We do not recommend freezing and/or reheating breaded and fried saffron milk cap mushrooms.
Breaded saffron milk caps FAQs
Like most wild mushrooms, saffron milk caps are gluten-free and safe for people with gluten sensitivity. However, if you want your breaded mushrooms to be gluten-free, you will need to use gluten-free ingredients, like gluten-free flour and gluten-free bread crumbs.
While wild mushrooms without additional ingredients are keto-friendly, you can make breaded mushrooms using almond flour, eggs and keto bread crumbs.
Even the Latin name Lactarius deliciosus implies that these mushrooms are in fact not only tasty but delicious. Saffron milk caps contain an unusually balanced content of vitamins, minerals and other components with medicinal properties. They can be prepared in many different ways, from simply frying them in olive oil with garlic to delicious risotto, pizza, tarts, pasta, soup, etc. According to Eastern Europeans, fermenting young raw mushrooms is one of the most delicious and healthiest recipes for preparing saffron milk caps.
Saffron milk caps are pretty firm mushrooms, but at the same time also very crumbly when raw. They might have a slightly spicy taste, which will disperse after cooking or baking. The taste of saffron milk caps still reminds of some specific types of cheese.
Saffron milk caps (Lactarius Deliciousus), also called red pine mushrooms in English-speaking countries, are called Rovello or Rovellons in Spain, Mleczaj rydz in Poland, Reizker in Germany, Rizhika in Bulgaria, Riska in Sweden, Ryzec in Czech, Oranjegroene melkzwam in Dutch, Sirovka in Slovenia, Pineggiola in Italy, and Sancha or Pinheira in Portugal,
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INGREDIENTS
- 500 g saffron milk cap mushrooms
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup oil
- 5 cloves of garlic
- salt, black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
- Clean the mushrooms with a dry piece of cloth and remove the stems.
- Sprinkle them with salt and crush the garlic. Place the mushrooms on a flat, clean surface and add the garlic on the inner side of the mushrooms. Sprinkle with black pepper.
- Prepare three bowls with flour, mixed eggs and bread crumbs. While heating the oil in a frying pan, coat the mushrooms one by one first with flour, next dip them in the egg mixture and finally add them in the bowl with bread crumbs.
- When breaded and ready, fry them for few minutes on each side in hot oil. When the mushrooms start frying, reduce the heat to medium. Fry until you notice them they becoming golden brown and crunchy on the outside.
NOTES
- Use fresh, young and healthy-looking saffron milk caps for frying. When the mushroom gets older, its surface won’t be flat anymore. A good substitution for fried saffron milk caps is also false saffron milk caps (Lactarius Deterrimus).
- Don’t keep your saffron milk caps in the refrigerator for more than 24 hours.
- Handle and clean the mushrooms gently because the surface will turn green when bruised. The mushrooms are still edible.
- Drain the mushrooms on a dry towel when fried to prevent the fried saffron milk caps from containing too much oil.
- It’s best to serve and eat breaded and pan-fried saffron milk caps while they are still fresh and hot. You can store them in the refrigerator for a few hours, but freezing and/or reheating is not recommendable.
These sound fantastic! Pinned to try later.
Your neighbor at Unlimited Linky #99 #121&122
Thanks Paula!
These are definitely worth a try. If you ask me, they taste better than fried parasol mushrooms.