For those needing a signature secret ingredient, Candy Caps are a fantastic candidate. These unassuming, reddish-orange mushrooms are found throughout the Pacific Northwest, earning this nickname for their distinctly sweet fragrance and flavor, particularly when cooked or dried. Most find this sweetness evocative of maple syrup, though butterscotch, caramel, burnt sugar, or even sweet curry are all worthy points of comparison. Ground into a powder, the sweetness elevates to an apocryphal extreme, with a resonant pungency that borders on the artificial, despite being as earthly an ingredient as one could forage. This makes them an incredible addition to all sorts of treats, from ice cream to cookies to custards, or even a savory dish needing just a splash of woodsy, rustic sweetness.

There are three main varieties of Candy Caps: lactarius fragilis, rubidus, and rufulus, with lactarius fragilis the most widely used for culinary applications. Ours are foraged and dehydrated in Oregon, ready to be incorporated into a recipe of your choosing to dazzle and befuddle friends as they fail to guess where that wildly sweet sensation is coming from.

Oregon, United States

1 oz