Porcini mushrooms are still among the mushrooms that cannot actually be cultivated commercially. Therefore, their value is all the higher among mushroom pickers and the joy of every larger find of porcini mushrooms in the forest.

Search properly for porcini mushrooms

Porcini mushrooms belong to the so-called mycorrhizal fungi that live in a symbiosis with the root systems of certain tree species. So if you want to look specifically for porcini mushrooms in the forest, you should keep an eye out for extensive stands of spruce and oak. Especially in sparse stands of trees with little overgrown ground, there is a good chance of finding porcini mushrooms in the right season from May.

Harvest and transport porcini correctly

When looking for porcini mushrooms, you should go into the forest with the following equipment:

  • basket for transport
  • sharp knife for cleaning
  • soft cotton cloth for cleaning and transport
  • a detailed guide

Even if porcini mushrooms, true to their name, have a firm fruiting body among the mushrooms, they should still be transported very carefully to the place of processing. Ideally, this is done in a large basket in which the mushrooms do not press together too much. Always leave a few specimens at productive sites so that their spores can ensure productive porcini mushroom finds in the future. In addition, in many countries there are upper limits for the maximum daily amount of porcini mushrooms collected for household use.

Prepare porcini mushrooms for drying

Process porcini mushrooms immediately into tasty mushroom dishes, or prepare them for drying. Porcini mushrooms may remain edible for a few days after harvesting, but you can also preserve their maximum flavor by drying as soon as possible after picking. You should never wash porcini mushrooms with water before drying, as this can severely lose the typical taste of these mushrooms. It is therefore better to clean dirty mushroom caps with a cloth or a sharp knife before cutting them into slices and pieces about one to two centimeters thick for drying.

Gently dry the porcini mushrooms for maximum flavor

A common way to dry porcini mushrooms is to spread them out on a baking sheet in the sun. Porcini mushrooms can also be dried in the oven, but the temperature should never exceed a maximum of 50 degrees Celsius in order not to overcook the mushrooms. The oven door can be held open a little with the handle of a wooden spoon so that any moisture that escapes from the mushrooms can escape as best as possible. Alternatively, the pieces of the porcini mushrooms can also be threaded with a needle and thread and hung up near the oven to dry. They are then stored in airtight screw-top jars and as dark as possible until they are used.

tips and tricks

A form of processing that is particularly widespread for porcini mushrooms is drying and grinding to so-called porcini powder. This can be used extremely practically in the kitchen to refine the flavor of sauces and mushroom soups.

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