Their arrival in the piazza brings up roars of approval as people rushed to the scales to see just how many kilos have been brought in.

What was once a fiercely protected occupation with precise locations on where to find the best mushrooms handed down through the families has recently undergone a startling new technological change with one or two mushroom hunters using handheld GPS satellite locators to mark when and where mushrooms were found enabling them a precision which up until now had been difficult.

The traditionalists laugh in their face pointing out that the GPS have difficulty keeping their accuracy under trees – exactly where the porcini found.

[View with PicLens]

This week a new story was added to this rich tapestry of claims, counterclaims, stories and just downright lies (most mushroom hunters by nature never actually tell the truth on just where they did find their precious porcini – quite often quoting locations kilometers away from the real closely guarded secret finding place.) as the following video quite clearly shows ….. porcini mushrooms in Scotland

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btV2t2gVEvE

porcini in scotland picked by renato e graziano
oggi lunedì 23 agosto sotto la pioggia nella campagna di Ardrossan
renato e graziano

]]> http://www.giornaledibarganews.com/2010/08/26/porcini-mushrooms-in-scotland/feed/ 0 http://www.giornaledibarganews.com/2009/10/08/autumn-porcini-are-back-up-in-the-hills/ http://www.giornaledibarganews.com/2009/10/08/autumn-porcini-are-back-up-in-the-hills/#comments Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:05:06 +0000 keane http://www.giornaledibarganews.com/?p=12317 Regular readers will known that the much sought after porcini mushrooms which grow wild in the mountains around Barga put in an appearance during two distinct moments during the year – spring and autumn.

As we reported back in the second week in May, the arrival of the spring crop of the precious Boletus edulis was greeted in the city with great enthusiasm.

During the hot summer months, the mushrooms are no longer part of the local scene but towards the autumn all eyes are on the sky looking for rain clouds to restart the process once again.

[View with PicLens]

Three weeks ago, after the driest summers in many years, that rain finally arrived and this week, thanks to perfect conditions with just the right amount of rainfall, temperature and wind from the right direction, the porcini are back up in the hills.

Yesterday, three “mushroom hunters” made their way down from the mountains and into Barga Vecchia with their precious goods on their backs.

The mushrooms were ceremonially weighed at the L’Osteria in Piazza Angelio – 20 kilos of the freshest and most fragrant porcini all ready for the cooks at the osteria to work their magic. Raw thinly sliced with just a touch of lemon, or a savoury mushroom sauce or deep fried with coating of ground corn.

Porcini (Boletus edulis, the Latin name) is a highly regarded edible mushroom. It has a number of English names, including cep (from its Catalan name cep or its French name cèpe), king bolete and penny bun. A common term in current use is porcini (from the plural of its Italian name porcino).

The scientific name, Boletus, from the Latin stem bolet-, meaning “superior mushroom” and edulis, meaning edible, explains the species’ culinary qualities. This mushroom has a distinct aroma reminiscent of fermented dough. It has a higher water content than other edible mushrooms. source

More porcini talk can be found here

[View with PicLens]

Some local experts are wondering if the long damp winter this year may have had some effect on the dramatic increase in tick numbers this year.  It looks as though the already difficult job of collecting mushrooms is going to be even more fraught with problems during 2009.

Tick is the common name for the small arachnids in superfamily Ixodoidea that, along with other mites, constitute the Acarina. Ticks are ectoparasites (external parasites), living by hematophagy on the blood of mammals, birds, and occasionally reptiles and amphibians.

Ticks are blood-feeding parasites that are often found in tall grass and shrubs where they will wait to attach to a passing host. A tick will attach itself to its host by inserting its chelicerae (cutting mandibles) and hypostome (feeding tube) into the skin. The hypostome is covered with recurved teeth and serves as an anchor. Physical contact is the only method of transportation for ticks. Ticks do not jump or fly, although they may drop from their perch and fall onto a host. Some species stalk the host by foot. – source

The porcini have arrived and will be on the table for a few lucky clients at the L’Osteria in Piazza Angelio this week.

[View with PicLens]

Porcini (Boletus edulis, the Latin name) is a highly regarded edible mushroom. It has a number of English names, including cep (from its Catalan name cep or its French name cèpe), king bolete and penny bun. A common term in current use is porcini (from the plural of its Italian name porcino).

The scientific name, Boletus, from the Latin stem bolet-, meaning “superior mushroom” and edulis, meaning edible, explains the species’ culinary qualities. This mushroom has a distinct aroma reminiscent of fermented dough. It has a higher water content than other edible mushrooms. source

More porcini talk can be found here

The fabulous and fabled porcini mushrooms are still being brought down from the mountains surrounding Barga and carried each evening triumphantly into the city to be put in front of the waiting customers sitting expectantly, forks in hand, in the restaurants. In fact it has become almost a spectator sport as the three or four main wild mushroom hunters vie with each other to bring down the best and the most porcini that they can find.

Their arrival in the piazza brings up roars of approval as people rushed to the scales to see just how many kilos have been brought in.

What was once a fiercely protected occupation with precise locations on where to find the best mushrooms handed down through the families has recently undergone a startling new technological change with one or two mushroom hunters using handheld GPS satellite locators to mark when and where mushrooms were found enabling them a precision which up until now had been difficult.

The traditionalists laugh in their face pointing out that the GPS have difficulty keeping their accuracy under trees – exactly where the porcini found.

This week a new figure of folklore was added to this rich tapestry of claims, counterclaims, stories and just downright lies (most mushroom hunters by nature never actually tell the truth on just where they did find their precious porcini – quite often quoting locations kilometers away from the real closely guarded secret finding place.)

Into the piazza walked Roberto Conti with a fine specimen of a porcini mushroom weighing in at 200 g and instead of the long and sometimes exhausting trudge up into the mountains he more or less tripped over the mushroom just 5 metres from the carpark outside Barga Vecchia.

Open mouths and a few disbelieving stares all round the piazza.

Once again as in other years for the past week or so rumours of the start of the porcini season- the local wild mushrooms that grow up in the mountains around Barga – have been percolating around the city.

There have even been a couple of images of newly found porcini seen on a cell phone but today all the rumours became fact when one of the seasoned mushroom pickers walked into Barga Vecchia with a wicker basket across his shoulder containing the first of this year’s precious crop.

So an early start to the season … checking on the archives on the site we find that last year the first mushrooms that actually made their way into Barga Vecchia were also brought in by the same hunter as today but more than a month later – 21st June – (article here)

Porcini (Boletus edulis, the Latin name) is a highly regarded edible mushroom. It has a number of English names, including cep (from its Catalan name cep or its French name cèpe), king bolete and penny bun. A common term in current use is porcini (from the plural of its Italian name porcino).
The scientific name, Boletus, from the Latin stem bolet-, meaning “superior mushroom” and edulis, meaning edible, explains the species’ culinary qualities. This mushroom has a distinct aroma reminiscent of fermented dough. It has a higher water content than other edible mushrooms. source

EDIT: update on this article – the porcini featured on these images weighed just over 1 kg and as often happens they ended up in a restaurant – the L’Osteria in Piazza Angelio (site here) but none of Riccardo’s clients ever got in smelling distance of the precious mushrooms. A porcini sauce was prepared by the chef in L’Osteria but instead of serving it to the tables, Riccardo telephoned down to the Altana restaurant (3D image here) telling them ” we have the mushroom sauce, have you got some home made pasta ? ” upon hearing the affirmative reply the staff at the L’osteria promptly shut the doors and all moved down to the Altana for a shared meal celebrating the first porcini mushrooms of the year.