Sour secrets

PalmOn the appointed day, they set off for the mountain. The godfather walked with a steady stride despite his age, a man well-versed in the trails and shortcuts. Autumn was in full swing, and the rains had soaked the earth. The long-awaited moment had arrived. A pine forest nestled in the shade awaited them. Bushes grew wild, along with the occasional holm oak and the finest mushrooms in the region. The godfather's godfather knew the place, and his great-godfathers before them. The man bent down and showed his grandson how to pick them, always with respect and gratitude. Before leaving, with his basket full, he pointed out the landmarks so they could return when he was gone; markings on the trees and stones, invisible to others. The secret had been passed down.

The "burst" mushroom is one of the most popular mushrooms in the Balearic Islands, highly prized in gastronomy. They usually grow between October and December in pine or mixed forests. The "burst-blood" mushroom (lactarius sanguifluusThe name comes from a reddish, blood-like milk or latex that it secretes when cut, which soon turns greenish. Three other species are generically known as bloodburst plants: l.vinosus, l. semi-sanguineous and l. deliciosus, (foreign bloodburst or saffron milk cap)

Simplicity in recipe books

They can be confused with others Lactarius non-edible, such as Lactarius torminosus which is toxic and bitter.

Despite the popularity of these mushrooms, they don't feature prominently in our cookbooks, possibly because they were consumed simply, toasted or fried, or as part of other dishes like rice dishes, soups, or vegetable tarts. Two of the earliest written recipes we find in Mallorca appear in the Llabrés cookbook (19th century). These are for "blood-burst" mushrooms, where the mushrooms are sliced very thinly and boiled. Once strained, they are sautéed with onion, tomato, and parsley, the mixture is divided into paper boxes, covered with breadcrumbs, and finished cooking in a drum oven. The second recipe uses pork loin, perhaps the first written version of one of the most popular ways to consume these mushrooms. To cook them, they are warmed with salt, pepper, and parsley, then fried in lard for two hours. The pork loin, cut into pieces, is fried in the same fat, and everything is finished cooking. The practical cook (Felanitx, 1935) we will find a recipe that is a symbiosis of both, the little boxes of pork loin and blood-bursting. In Popular Mallorcan cuisine (Sóller, 1931) includes two simple recipes: a blood-burst omelet and blood-bursts in sauce, where they are smothered with lard, pepper, and broth and served with a sauce. In the book Select Mallorcan cuisine, Coloma Abrinas describes two hearty recipes for pork loin with blood-bursting mushrooms, which bear no resemblance to the dish we know today. In one, the pork loin is stuffed with bursts of sobrasada sausage and baked in the oven. The loin is then fried and placed on top of the mushrooms, along with bread fried in the same oil. In the other, the pork is cooked with chopped mushrooms, blood sausage, and sausages. When thoroughly cooked, it is served on toasted bread rounds. Pedro Ballester describes I would receive (1923) How to make popping bocce in sauce. The Menorcan recipe is made with a mixture of aged sobrasada, parsley, bay leaf, and toasted bread, which is mixed with water and then poured over the fried popping bocce. In the Ibizan cookbook Enjoy! (1967) The peppers (esclata-sangs) are cooked in the oven, alternating with slices of pork loin. In another method, they are roasted in the embers, and when turned over, small pieces of sobrasada are placed on top.

As we can see, pork has been a good ally in dishes where esclata-sangs reigns, complementing the mushroom and making the dish more substantial.