Çıntar vs saffron milk cap: are they the same mushroom?

Is çıntar a species or a local name?

Çıntar is a local name, and it refers not to one species but to a group of pine-wood Lactarius species that bleed orange or red milk when broken. Kanlıca, çam melkisi, melki and çam mantarı (pine mushroom) are regional names for the same group. So the answer to “çıntar or kanlıca?” depends on where you ask: in one village they mean the same mushroom, in another çıntar is the redder-milked species and kanlıca the orange one.

At the centre of the group is the saffron milk cap (Lactarius deliciosus). According to the sources compiled on Wikipedia, its close relative Lactarius deterrimus is gathered and sold in Turkey under the same names. Add the bloody milk cap (Lactarius sanguifluus) and L. semisanguifluus, whose milk reddens later, and it becomes clear why çıntar covers so much ground.

The name confusion has a practical consequence: a crate sold as çıntar at a market can hold more than one species. All of the species above are edible; the real risk is a white-milked mushroom, which does not belong to the group at all, ending up in the same crate. Check the mushroom, not the name.

How do you recognise the saffron milk cap?

The saffron milk cap is recognised by its carrot-orange cap with concentric rings, the orange milk that oozes when it is broken, and the green stains that appear where it is handled. Wikipedia describes the fresh milk as orange-red and unchanging in air, while the flesh and gills turn deep green as they are handled.

It is mycorrhizal with pines and grows under conifers on acidic soil. In Cyprus it has been recorded in high-altitude forests of black pine (Pinus nigra) and Turkish red pine (Pinus brutia), two of the most widespread pines in Turkey as well.

You don't need to cut the mushroom to see the milk: gently breaking one of the gills under the cap with a fingernail is enough. On a fresh saffron milk cap, orange droplets appear within seconds. Watching the drop for a few minutes tells you more: if the colour holds, it is likely the saffron milk cap; if it turns wine-red, L. semisanguifluus; if it is dark red from the start, the bloody milk cap. This narrows down the group but is not an identification on its own; cap, stem, host tree and location are judged together.

• Cap: carrot-orange with darker rings; the centre is often sunken.
• Milk: orange to orange-red, appearing in drops as soon as it is broken; never white.
• Staining: cut or handled spots slowly turn green.
• Tree: pine. An orange milkcap under birch or oak is a different species.

How do the bloody milk cap and other pine-wood species differ?

The bloody milk cap differs from the saffron milk cap in the colour of its milk: Lactarius sanguifluus bleeds blood-red to purple milk that slowly turns greenish in air. In Europe it grows under pines on lime-rich soil and fruits from September to November in the south. Wikipedia calls it a choice edible, esteemed in Catalonia but rated below the saffron milk cap in Cyprus. Its Turkish records on GBIF are from Istanbul.

Lactarius semisanguifluus sits between the two: its milk starts orange and turns wine-red 5–10 minutes after exposure to air. It is smaller, with violet tints on the cap and greenish tones as it ages. Its Turkish GBIF records are from Samsun, in October and November.

The kanlıca of Bolu is another species again. According to Küre Ansiklopedi it is Lactarius salmonicolor, found in forests with fir, and it is registered as a protected place-of-origin product with the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office. Wikipedia also notes that this species grows mainly near the roots of fir.

• Lactarius deliciosus (saffron milk cap): orange milk that does not change; under pine.
• Lactarius deterrimus (false saffron milk cap): pinkish-orange milk, smooth stem; picked as kanlıca in Turkey.
• Lactarius semisanguifluus: orange milk turning wine-red within 5–10 minutes; violet tint on the cap.
• Lactarius sanguifluus (bloody milk cap): blood-red to purple milk from the start; under pine on limy soil.
• Lactarius salmonicolor (Bolu kanlıca): salmon-orange; in fir forest.

Regional names: çıntar, kanlıca, melki, pine mushroom

The same group of mushrooms goes by different names across Turkey, and the names tell you the region rather than the species. Some examples from our sources: a seller in Bozdoğan, Aydın, calls it çıntar (NTV), while in Bolu the fir-forest species is registered as kanlıca and also called melki, ebişek and elicek (Küre Ansiklopedi). Çam mantarı, pine mushroom, is a generic name taken from the host tree.

The lesson is that one name can mean one species in one region and a different species in another. The kanlıca of Bolu and the kanlıca of the western Black Sea pine woods are two species under one name. We cover which species the names melki and pine mushroom refer to in a separate article. For çıntar, the rule to remember is this: whatever the local name, members of the group bleed orange or red milk and grow under conifers.

What to check when buying çıntar at a market

When buying çıntar at a market, check three things: the milk of every mushroom in the crate, the edge of the cap, and whether another species has crept in. It also helps to ask where they were picked; if the answer is anywhere other than pine or fir forest, be careful.

Pick a mushroom from the crate and gently break a gill: you should see orange or red milk. Fresh saffron milk caps bleed straight away; as they age the milk dries up and the stains turn green. Green stains alone don't mean the mushroom has gone off, but heavy greening suggests it was picked a while ago. Spanish chefs quoted by Directo al Paladar make the same point: green patches don't indicate quality on their own, but they hint at how long ago the mushrooms were gathered.

• Milk: it should be orange or red in every mushroom; set aside any with white milk.
• Cap edge: the saffron milk cap has a bare edge; a woolly, fringed margin is the sign of the toxic look-alike.
• Mixed crate: if mushrooms of different appearance share a crate, it is safer to buy none of them.
• Worms and holes: discard mushrooms with insect holes at the stem base.
• Location: roadside mushrooms can accumulate heavy metals; ask where they were picked.

What is “white çıntar”, and where is the risk?

We could not find a reliable source showing which species “white çıntar” (beyaz çıntar) refers to, so we give no edibility verdict for it. A seller in Bozdoğan, Aydın, told NTV that red, white and purple çıntar are sold there and that the white kind is less well known than the red. The same seller adds that several other mushrooms resemble çıntar.

What is known is that the most reliable sign of the saffron milk cap group is the colour of the milk. Milkcaps with white milk do not belong to it. The toxic species most often confused with the saffron milk cap, the woolly milkcap (Lactarius torminosus), has white milk, a woolly cap margin and grows with birch; First Nature notes that it causes gastrointestinal poisoning. If a pale, white-milked mushroom is sold as “white çıntar”, don't buy or eat it without knowing the species.

Never eat a mushroom you cannot identify with certainty. If you suspect poisoning, call 112 without waiting for symptoms and contact the National Poison Information Centre on 114, taking any leftover mushrooms with you. We collect look-alikes and how to tell them apart on our poisonous mushrooms page and in how to tell if a mushroom is poisonous.

Where, under which trees and in which months does çıntar appear?

Çıntar appears in autumn, after rain, under conifers: the saffron milk cap and the bloody milk cap with pine, the Bolu kanlıca with fir. Turkish GBIF records cluster in October–January for the saffron milk cap, November–December for the bloody milk cap and October–November for L. semisanguifluus. The number of records is small, so read these as tendencies rather than a calendar. That year's rain is what decides it: after a dry autumn çıntar comes late or not at all, while once the soil has been soaked a few times the same pine wood can fruit for several weeks in a row. Even within one area, south- and north-facing slopes can be weeks apart.

We go through regional timing in when is saffron milk cap season. See which species fruit in which month in our mushroom calendar, and Turkish observation records province by province on our mushroom map.

Don't pick bloody milk caps from roadsides or polluted ground; a study in Turkey has examined heavy-metal accumulation in this species.

Are çıntar and saffron milk cap cooked the same way?

Yes. The edible species in the group are cooked the same way: cleaned, cooked through, and usually pan-fried or sautéed. Wikipedia notes that the saffron milk cap can taste mild or slightly bitter, while opinions on the bloody milk cap vary from one cuisine to the next. The difference lies in flavour and texture, not method.

For a traditional Turkish preparation, try our saffron milk cap sauté. Eating a large amount of saffron milk caps can turn urine orange-red; it is a documented effect of the mushroom's own pigment.