Mushrooms

Who in Fontanarossa has not, during a walk in the woods, curiously scanned the ground around trees hoping to find a mushroom?
Even for the less dedicated and experienced mushroom hunters, finding one of these precious gifts of nature can bring huge satisfaction. Fontanarossa’s woods have always offered many mushrooms, however, today’s situation has drastically changed due to gradual abandonment.
The quintessential mushroom is the Porcino, also known as Funzu Neigru. The other edible varieties are not considered, except for the Galletti or Finferli, other types of Colombina and the varieties that are usually preserved in oil, particularly the Barbiscin.

In the next section, we will provide a general overview of mushrooms and give useful tips on how to pick while also respecting nature.  

How to Go Mushroom Picking

Picking mushrooms is an important task that many underestimate. Here are some guidelines for collecting mushrooms while respecting the forest and nature.

What is a Mushroom?
A mushroom is the fruit of a plant that is almost always invisible. This plant is made of a set of filaments that live in the soil, wood, plant debris, or other various substrates. This hidden part of the mushroom is called the mycelium, and it can be microscopic or create a network spanning several kilometres. Its fruits can be invisible, visible only in mass, or large enough for our greed. The mycelium only fruits under ideal conditions, producing the mushroom, which matures and disperses spores to create a new mycelium.

Properties
The mushroom is an anomalous plant as, from the chemical viewpoint, it is closer to an animal product. Its average composition is about 90% water, 3-5% proteins, including all essential amino acids, 3% carbohydrates, with the rest consisting of minerals, vitamins, very little fat, and rough fibers. A fresh porcini mushroom provides 34 calories per 100g and 283 calories when dried. As for vitamins, B complex ones are more consistently present and abundant in boletes. The Galletto, also known as chicken mushroom, is extremely rich in vitamin A.

What Mushrooms to Pick
Humans play a huge role in keeping environmental balance, therefore, they have the right and duty to be part of it. The more experienced mushroom hunters, who are in love with nature, pick only those mushrooms they really need, both quality and quantity-wise.

• Quality-wise. Avoid picking mushrooms that are too young, as their flavour won’t be their best. Don’t collect mushrooms that are too old, as they could become dangerously toxic, waterlogged, or infested with larvae. During transport, their condition worsens further, and by the time you get home, they do not yield much edible value.
• Quantity-wise. Always remember that mushrooms are more perishable than fish, so they spoil quickly. Therefore, you should only pick those mushrooms that can be treated in a short time, either by cooking them immediately or preparing them for the preservation process.

How to Collect Mushrooms

Although the environment is not threatened by the number of mushrooms picked, it is by the way we interact with nature. In the last few years, our woods have been damaged by excessive trampling. Nature should be approached with both passion and knowledge: a hundred experienced mushroom hunters cause far less damage than a careless one.

Here are a few small rules to follow when collecting mushrooms while respecting nature:

• Try to walk on existing paths and natural trails as much as possible, avoiding entering dense undergrowth. You can still look everywhere without trampling on any plants by going down small paths, which are sometimes bent over and pricked by thorns but don’t cause any harm.
• If, as a good rule of thumb, you use a stick to search, do not swing it recklessly but limit it to moderate gestures.
• Do not collect unnecessary flowers or tree branches, and do not harm animals.
• When you finally find a mushroom, make sure that it is a variety you are familiar with and that it is healthy and well-developed. Grasp it at the base and gently twist to pull it out, being careful not to take a large piece of earth and take good care not to damage the surrounding area. Clean it well with a sharp knife and place it carefully in the basket. Never dig or rake around it. You might find another mushroom, but it would irreparably destroy the mycelium, i.e. the mushroom’s plant, and would be like knocking down the whole tree to pick an apple.
• If the mushroom you find doesn’t interest you, is poisonous, too young, or too old, leave it where it is, so it can continue to be part of the environment.
• Transport mushrooms only in a wicker basket. This will help them breathe and won’t speed up the ripening process. If you use a plastic bag, mushrooms decompose quickly, producing bad smells, becoming mushy, and contaminating each other. Also, if you mistakenly pick a toxic specimen, it could contaminate all other mushrooms in the bag, unlike with a basket. As larvae that live in the mushroom stem tend to expand upward, always place mushrooms with their caps facing down.

How to Clean Mushrooms
Once at home, clean the mushrooms carefully. Remove parts affected by worms or gnawed by woodland creatures. Gently take off any residue from the gills, peel off any sticky or scaly skin from the cap, and for boletes, remove the spongy part of the tubes if it is soft, blackened, or sticky. For some mushrooms, you will need to remove the stem. We do not recommend washing them for too long, as it will make them lose their flavour. Remember to wash them whole rather than cut, as they absorb less water. Quickly rinse mushrooms in cold water and wipe them with a damp cloth to keep them healthy and firm.

Important!
Once you pick mushrooms, ensure to have them properly identified and checked by experts or qualified health authorities.