Porcino, Morel and Chanterelle: A Feast of Wild Mushrooms

Enlarge Image Image Gallery The deep, rich, earthy flavor of freshly gathered morels complements early fall root crops. Dried morels are available year-round, and add a wild note to soups and stews. Photography by Joe Coca

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It's hard to imagine anything more mysteriously and elementally of the earth than mushrooms. They spring up suddenly and unexpectedly from a dank, decaying underworld. Among their myriad varieties are some of the most desired flavors in the culinary world—and some of the deadliest.

The mushroom myths of Western cultures cluster around death and destruction. For centuries, mushrooms were regarded as agents of evil spirits, magically appearing when thunder sounded or when lightening struck. Because they grew in dung and other decaying matter, they were generally thought to be unclean or unhealthy. On the other hand, many Asian cultures have used them for culinary and medicinal purposes—and this use is spreading.

Our interest here, however, is in three of the finest edible mushrooms: the porcino (Boletus edulus), also know as cèpe in France or bolete in serious mushroom circles; the chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius); and the morel (Morchella esculenta). All three are easy to identify with reasonable certainty in the wild. All are principally found in temperate-zone woods and forests, although morels sometimes appear in woodsy garden nooks.

Each mushroom variety also is harvested commercially, and is increasingly available at farmer’s markets, gourmet stores, and specialty supermarkets. In most states, codes and laws regulate the sale of such mushrooms to ensure that they are safe to eat. There have been no reported poisonings from commercial wild mushrooms for several years. Amateur harvesters do, however, account for occasional poisonings that range from digestive upset through liver impairment to death.

Selecting, Storing, and Cleaning

Whether your wild mushrooms come from the forest floor or from a store, they should be firm, not soft. They should have no moldy or rotted sections. In general, smaller is better. Although porcini and chanterelles weighing up to half a pound can spring up overnight, very large mushrooms are often over-the-hill, with much less flavor and aroma than smaller specimens. Inspect mushrooms carefully for insects and sponginess.

Treat mushrooms as extremely perishable during transport and storage. If you don’t plan to use them immediately, layer them without touching between paper towels and refrigerate. Just-harvested mushrooms will keep four or five days in the driest part of the refrigerator, usually the bin marked for fruit storage. Fresh store-bought mushrooms may keep that long, but I buy them the day I plan to use them since they’re usually quite expensive and never look quite as fresh as harvested ones.

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