'Tis the Season for Mushroom Hunting
Porcini mushrooms freshly hunted. Photo courtesy of Trattoria Risorgimento in Treiso, Italy.
In the Northwestern part of Italy’s upper boot, is the region known as Piedmont. Most have heard of Piedmont thanks to its most famous exports: white truffle and amazing Italian wine from the Langhe Italy. However, mixed in with the historic culinary traditions of the region, is a practice hidden in the forest floors of Piedmont: mushroom foraging and truffle hunting.
Basics of Mushroom Hunting in Piedmont
In Piedmont, mushrooms are usually harvested starting in the early fall around September. For reference, the famous white truffle of the area is allowed to be hunted starting on September 21st. While mushrooms themselves, are allowed to be foraged at any point (as long as one has bought the official license), avid hunters first start to see them crop up as the temperature begins to drop and the first fall rains happen. This is usually when the famous Piedmont fog, or nebbia for which the local nebbiolo grape that makes Barolo is named, begins to creep in sometimes.
A galletto mushroom
It is at this point that in the mountainous and foresty areas of Cuneo, also extended throughout the Alta Langa in Piedmont, hunters begin going out looking for mushrooms. Some can be found in the more shaded low hills of the Langhe as well, but those mushrooms are more rare to find. In Piedmont, there are a variety of mushroom types that can be foraged, with some mushroom names being more familiar than others. While certain mushrooms like morels can also be found in the mid-western United States (VeroChef Jacqueline Mitchell remembers well her mother filling bathtubs with morel mushrooms while the family lived in Chicago), others such as the Caesar’s mushroom, or ovuli, can generally be found only in Europe. A unique and beautiful mushroom, the name, ovuli, is derived from uova, or egg, since when the mushroom is young it is completely round and white and with a hidden orange center, like an egg. As the mushroom matures, the orange center pops out and splits the white for a beautiful effect. Other famous mushroom names to be found in Piedmont are oyster mushrooms, and the similar but more brightly colored mushrooms chanterelle that in Italian are known as galinacci or galliture in local dialect. Lastly, some of the most prized and easy, and safest, to find are the Porcini mushrooms, called bulé in the Piedmontese dialect.
Barolo winemaker Aldo Clerico getting his truffle hunting walking stick out to the excitment of his truffle dog.
With all this variety and opportunity, it is no wonder that mushroom foraging is a popular hobby for many winemakers and farmers, such as Barolo winemaker Aldo Clerico, who loves to go out hunting especially white and black truffles with his trusty dog. In fact, all it takes is for Aldo to get his walking stick and boots and his four legged friend starts to bark and jump excitedly in anticipation for a forest jaunt hunting for the smelly treasures.
Safety First
As common sense might dictate, mushroom foraging without proper knowledge can be dangerous. Mushrooms types can range from an edible mushroom, to food poisoning mushrooms, to outright toxic and fatal. For this reason, it is crucial to take every precaution, check, and advice before consuming anything you have found. This might be something as simple as going out with an experienced mushroom hunter, or as is possible in Italy and Piedmont, taking your mushrooms into a certified ‘checker’ who will undergo the mushroom identification for you, guaranteeing the edibility and safety.
It is important to learn carefully each type of edible mushroom to your area, as well as the ‘false’ mushrooms that can appear like the safe ones, but thanks to a small difference inherent to each are recognizable to the trained eye as poisonous. Unless you know an experienced and trusted mushroom forager, or have access to a legal checking facility, it is best to err on the side of caution and stretch your woodland foraging legs with less finicky plants such as those in our foraging glossary guide.
Truffles vs Mushrooms
As you may remember from our previous article, Piedmont and the Langhe are famous for a very specific funghi: the White Truffle of Alba. One of the elite travel experiences that Americans seek out is truffle hunting in Italy during truffle season, which, by the way, is just starting, officially on Sept 21st!
Aldo Clerico’s father enjoying a white truffle they hunted for.
But what is the difference between a truffle and a mushroom? There are two main differences, besides the obvious economic value disconnect, they differ on a biological and a legal level. Biologically, truffles and mushrooms differ in the locations they can be found: truffles grow below ground and mushrooms above. For this reason, truffles require a dog to hunt, where mushrooms can be foraged with the naked eye. Legally, truffles require much more leg work. While to legally hunt for mushrooms in Piedmont, one must simply buy the permit, but with truffles you need an additional exam to get a special license for truffle hunting.
Words of Wisdom from a Mushroom Forager
VeroChef Jacqueline recently had the opportunity to share a quick conversation with mushroom forager Agostino Casetta of Treiso, Italy. A winemaker and farmer by trade, he also enjoys hunting for mushrooms in his spare time. Besides explaining the logistics of mushroom foraging with Jacqueline, he also shared his two tantamount rules: Safety and Respect. He was adamant that safety was paramount: only pick what you are 100% sure of; 99% is not enough certainty and can be dangerous. Agostino says he pretty much sticks with porcini mushrooms, as those are the ones he is the most comfortable identifying.
One thing Agostino wanted to impress upon us more than anything was to Respect the Forest. He said too many novice mushroom hunters dig, unearth and destroy the habitat of the mushrooms, making it almost impossible for them to regrow. ‘Only take what you can see with the naked eye; if you have to move, dig, or search, you are ruining the forest and nature’ he said. One way to be careful when picking the mushroom is to gently pinch - twist - and pull, trying your best to leave the roots of the mushroom in the ground. While mushroom hunting may be rewarding for one’s table, it should never come at the cost of the forest habitat.
Cooking with Mushrooms
The above shown porcini mushrooms now sauteed with butter and parsley and breaded and fried.
Mushrooms are a great source of many different protiens, amino acids, fibre, vitamins and minerals, and thanks the fact that they are for a large part water based, are not calorie dense. All of this combined makes them a great addition to your table and cooking repetoir. Beside the basics, like simply and deliciously sauteeing them as a side dish, mushrooms are a versatile addition to many other base recipes. Create a sugo with them (like we did with fresh lasagnette pasta in our previously shared recipe) for a great mushroom pasta. They also go great mixed in with risottos or in stews or soups. Dip them in egg and breadcrumbs and fry them up (especially the porcini) for a classic dish that is savory, crunchy, and oh so good as well. In fact, mushrooms are great accompianments with so many dishes as a sauteed side or a mushroom steak sauce, they are a great way to add extra umami flavors for fun pairings foods wise.
Enjoy Mushrooms Better with a Wine Pairing
The versatility of mushrooms allows for magic pairings with wine, as we discussed in our article about umami. Every different way you tweak a mushroom dish or a dish with mushrooms opens the possibility for a new angle and new food and wine pairing! Especially with a natural wine and mushroom dish, earthy treasures unite, creating a delightful culinary combo.
Freshly harvested Porcini, ready to be cleanred and cooked.
This is where fellow truffle hunter Aldo Clerico can help. His biodynamic winery located in the Langhe winemaking area of Piedmont and he specializes in the famous Barolo wine, you could say it was in his blood to make Barolo. To pair with mushrooms, start off with his classic Barolo (a ‘blend’ of five different small vineyards within the Bricco San Pietro cru of Monforte), or move up to a more age-worthy biodynamic wine like the Serralunga d’Alba Barolo or a natural wine from one of the most exclusive crus, the Barolo Ginestra. But Aldo also makes other classic Piedmont and Langhe red natural wines, like the Dogliani (dolcetto), the Barbera d Alba, and a Langhe Nebbiolo wine.
Rely on a wine merchant like Vero to seek out some of the best wines from Piedmont from small farmer-artisans, like natural wines from small producers like Aldo Clerico. We have a wide range of Barolo wine, as well as Barbera wines, Nebbiolo and Dogliani Dolcetto red wines, all which pair great with mushroom dishes, and come from “mushroom country in Italy: Piedomont. How can you get your hands in these hidden gems?
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We also have a wine club for true wine explorers seeking to discover a unique and authentic small production wine they never had - plus it just won an award for Best Wine Club of Ventura!
Enjoy experimenting with different mushroom and wine combos and let us know how they turn out!
