Porcini touch-down!

By Daniel Butler, author and forager

Finally! The porcini are starting to fruit! That said they aren’t exactly exploding in quantities. In two hours this morning we managed to find about 2kgs. Most were unusually deep in the forest, because normally I find them along the woodland edge. They were a bit slug-nibbled, but surprisingly free of the tiny maggots which blight the forager’s life. They were fine for drying and the house is currently filling with the scent of desiccated porcini.

Two lovely porcini hidden deeper in the forest than normal. (Photo: Author's own)

This brings me onto an observation once made to me by one of my early mentors. Clive Houlder is a professional mushroom forager/restaurant supplier based in North Norfolk. He said he thought eating porcini fresh was a waste because they were so much better when dried. I have to agree. Yes, sometimes when one finds an absolutely perfect baby porcino it seems criminal to slice it up and dry it to a crisp. Instead my preference would be to have it served carpaccio with Parmesan shavings, a little rocket, a drizzle of really good olive oil and a crunch of pepper and wild garlic salt  . . .  but you know what? Even then I reckon it would actually taste better when dried.  

Drying mushrooms is incredibly quick and easy

(Photo: Author's own).