Candy caps are valued for their highly aromatic qualities and are used culinarily as a flavoring rather than as a constituent of a full meal.

The pileus shape ranges from broadly convex in young specimens to plane to slightly depressed in older ones; lamellae are attached to subdecurrent.

Like all members of Lactarius, the fruiting body exudes a latex when broken, which in these species is whitish and watery in appearance, and is often compared to whey or nonfat milk.

These species are particularly distinguishable by their scent, which has been variously compared to maple syrup, camphor, curry, fenugreek, burnt sugar, Malt-O-Meal, or Maggi-Würze.

[2] Unlike other members of subsection Camphoratini, L. rostratus has an unpleasant (even nauseating) smell, described as resembling ivy.

Lactarius mukteswaricus and L. verbekenae, two species described from the Kumaon area of the Indian Himalaya in 2004, are reported to be very closely related to L. camphoratus, including in odor.

Lactarius helvus and L. aquifluus, found in Europe and North America, respectively, are also strongly aromatic and similar to candy caps, the former having the odor of fenugreek.

[6] Like other species of Lactarius, candy caps are generally thought to be ectotrophic, with L. camphoratus having been identified in ectomycorrhizal root tips.

However, unusually for a mycorrhizal species, L. rubidus is also commonly observed growing directly on decaying conifer wood.

Candy caps are unique among edible mushrooms in that they are often used in sweet and dessert foods, such as cookies and ice cream.

[21] They are also sometimes used to flavor savory dishes that are traditionally prepared with sweet accompaniments, such as pork, and are also sometimes used in place of curry seasoning.

To use them as a flavoring, the dried mushrooms are either powdered or they are infused into one of the liquid ingredients used in the dish, for example, being steeped in hot milk, much the same way whole vanilla beans are.