Mushroom Monday: Porcini Mushrooms

Mushroom Monday: Porcini Mushrooms

Today’s Mushroom Monday mushroom is the precious porcini!

We love porcini mushrooms.  They are edible and they taste earthy and have a nut-like flavor.  They can be used fresh or dried (after steeping first) in a variety of dishes and can be a substitute for meat.  You can sauté them or use them in soup or other dishes.  They are very versatile and delicious, and are similar, but stronger in taste, to shiitake.  In grocery stores, you may be more likely to find them dry rather than fresh (still yummy when prepared and cooked though!)

Porcini mushrooms have stems that are light brown to almost white in color and caps that are brown.  Their caps can vary in size.  Generally, the caps will be small, but some can get twelve inches in size or more.  Unlike white button mushrooms that you might be used to, porcini mushrooms don’t have gills underneath their caps.

In the wild, porcini mushrooms can be found growing in forests near trees such as pine, and they are generally found in the wild rather than being cultivated.

Porcini mushrooms have a mycorrhizal relationship with trees.  Mycorrhizal comes from a Greek word that means “fungus-root”.  The porcini is also saprophytic.  Porcini decomposes leaves, twigs, and other things, turning them into nutrients trees can use.  The trees release sugar as a result that the mushrooms can use.  This relationship is why porcini are mycorrhizal.  Since both the tree and the mushrooms benefit, the relationship is symbiotic.

So, if you want to add something tasty to your next meal, check out our Mushroom Monday, the porcini!

P.S. If you want to learn about more mushrooms, follow us on social media and check out our Mushroom Monday posts!