Amethyst deceiver

Laccaria amethystina does not typically get good reviews regarding its edibility. Most sources list it as mediocre, or even hardly worthwhile. It's true that it's a rather small mushroom, with fairly tough texture and not very distinctive taste. However, it is very special for me. Its taste may not be great, but I love it for the fact that it presents a mushroom hunter with a serious challenge. And for its colour, of course. But challenge still comes first.

Now, anyone can identify and pick ceps. They are very large, highly visible mushrooms that you can't miss. Chanterelles are a bit more tricky because they are smaller, and in autumn the leaves of birch, their favourite tree, take on the same colour, and therefore looking for them a bit more difficult.

Amethyst deceivers take the challenge up a few notches. Considering their bright purple colour, you might think that it's not a big deal, but spotting their fruit bodies on beech leaf litter is next to impossible, partly due to their small size, but mostly because in the tree shade the brown of leaves and the purple of mushrooms don't look at all different.

So, if you managed to bring back home a crop of these beauties, you can call yourself an expert mushroom hunter. And how to cook them? Come back tomorrow to find out!

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Laccaria amethystina