![]() It appears to become inactive upon boiling (or perhaps it is leached out). Some speculate that the toxic component is a sesquiterpene. Although not much is known about the toxin in Lactarius helvus, it is definitely not sotolon. ![]() This group of people experienced nausea, vomiting, abdominal pains, salivation, vertigo, diarrhea, disability, and a cold feeling. In Leipzig, Germany in 1949 an estimated 418 people were poisoned by Lactarius helvus. On average it takes 15 minutes to 1 hour for signs of poisoning to appear: These include vomiting, copious diarrhea, and sweating. If large quantities are eaten raw, symptoms can occur. In Europe, Lactarius helvus is considered mildly toxic. When oenophiles (wine geeks) smell sotolon, it suggests to them that the wine is well-aged. It is a component of some wines that develops with aging–it is especially pronounced in French vins jaunes, sherries, Port wines, and botryotized white wines like Sauternes. A number of foods, including lovage, molasses, rum, and roast tobacco also contain sotolon. helvus mushrooms are dried their odor tends toward fenugreek. At high concentrations sotolon smells strongly of curry or fenugreek, and at lower concentrations it smells like maple syrup or caramel. Sotolon is a powerfully aromatic compound, and is a highly recognizable characteristic of Lactarius helvus. The distinct smell of Lactarius helvus comes from a cyclic ester called sotolon (or 3-hydroxy-4,5-dimethyl-2(5H)-furanone, if you must know). helvus for now, but should our North American species turn out to be different from its European cousin, L. Michael Kuo has provided a fine explication of this name confusion. In 1979 Hesler and Smith began calling this mushroom Lactarius aquifluus Peck, instead of using the older name Lactarius helvus. Is it toxic? Some authors report this mushroom in North America to be mildly poisonous while others claim that it is edible (but see below!). Although this odor is sometimes weak in young specimens it becomes more pungent upon drying. The whole mushroom has a distinct scent reminiscent of curry or maple syrup. This milky cap releases a watery and colorless latex that does not stain the flesh of the mushroom. It has some easily identifiable characteristics. It generally grows in boggy, mossy areas and is probably mycorrhizal with coniferous trees. Lactarius helvus is a milky cap of the family Russulaceae, and occurs widely throughout North America and also Europe. This post was written by Ariana Verrilli, a curious student in PLPA 3190 in Fall 2008.
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