It's that time again. With the recent rains, the mushrooms are back in the forest of Amboise. And thankfully our neighbor who knows it well has brought us several loads of these wonderful treats. We're going to be eating well.
The red (orange) caps are Orange Oak Bolete Leccinum aurantiacum (Fr. Bolet orangé). They are perfectly safe, considered moderately good eating (ideally combined with a prime cep or two like Cep de Bordeaux, Bolet bai or Tête de negre). Ceps are very easy to identify -- thick stems, spongy pores underneath instead of gills. You eat all of the mushroom if it is in good condition. I rub the pores off if they are a bit manky and many people do it because they produce a lot of water when cooking. My friend Paul (a mycology expert) says you should cook them until the water is released, then drain that water away and continue cooking rather than evaporate the water by boiling.
We did get some cèpes from our neighbor as well but let's just say they were not ready to have their portraits taken. I appreciate the good advice on preparation.
I personally don't eat the stalks on boletes unless they are ceps. They don't really contribute much. We also take the spongy pores off because we find them better that way. We picked quite a few this week and froze them after cooking to use with stews such as veal and rabbit.
We cook up only the best looking stalks so they do not overwhelm the whole batch. We froze most of our haul since we couldn't possible consume all of it now. Plus it's so nice to have in winter dishes.
I am a smidge dubious about the red caps, Stuart. Do you cook/eat the stalks as well? Cook up a treat, and show us.
ReplyDeleteWe tend to eat some of the stalks, but not all. As you will see from comments below, they are not the best part of the mushroom.
DeleteThe red (orange) caps are Orange Oak Bolete Leccinum aurantiacum (Fr. Bolet orangé). They are perfectly safe, considered moderately good eating (ideally combined with a prime cep or two like Cep de Bordeaux, Bolet bai or Tête de negre). Ceps are very easy to identify -- thick stems, spongy pores underneath instead of gills. You eat all of the mushroom if it is in good condition. I rub the pores off if they are a bit manky and many people do it because they produce a lot of water when cooking. My friend Paul (a mycology expert) says you should cook them until the water is released, then drain that water away and continue cooking rather than evaporate the water by boiling.
ReplyDeleteWe did get some cèpes from our neighbor as well but let's just say they were not ready to have their portraits taken. I appreciate the good advice on preparation.
Deletei love mushrooms!
ReplyDeleteI do too !
Delete"manky" ... is that a technical term, Susan?
ReplyDeleteI personally don't eat the stalks on boletes unless they are ceps. They don't really contribute much. We also take the spongy pores off because we find them better that way. We picked quite a few this week and froze them after cooking to use with stews such as veal and rabbit.
ReplyDeleteWe cook up only the best looking stalks so they do not overwhelm the whole batch. We froze most of our haul since we couldn't possible consume all of it now. Plus it's so nice to have in winter dishes.
DeleteI like them in an occasional dish, but I'd have no idea what's poisonous and what's not.
ReplyDeleteWhat is so cool here is that you can take your hand picked mushrooms into a pharmacy and they'll tell you what is safe to eat and what is not ! Free.
DeleteReally! Free of charge! Harumpf ... that would never happen here.
DeleteYum!
ReplyDelete