An interesting quality about wild mushrooms is that more than a few of them will burn your mouth.
This may come as a surprise to those of us who have only eaten store-bought mushrooms — most of which, while certainly tasty, are rather mild-mannered.
Beyond the grocery store walls and out in a wild forest, however, there are particular wild mushrooms whose flavors range from hot, to really hot, to excruciatingly hot.
Researchers aren’t even entirely clear as to why certain mushrooms demonstrate these qualities while other fungi — even poisonous species — can be flavorless.
In the following video, we discuss Lactarius rufus (also known as the Red Hot Milk Cap and the Rufous Milk Cap) — a mushroom considered by many people to be the hottest mushroom in the forest. Additionally, we discuss some proposed theories behind such quirks in nature.
If you’re interested in learning more about this very common (and very hot!) wild mushroom, check it out!