You already know that I am a foodie. Another thing is that I grew up in a mountain town at an 816m altitude (elevation), and the (coniferous) forest was a 10 minutes ride away. My parents are nature lovers and when I was a kid we used to spend a lot of time in the forest, picking berries (raspberry, strawberries, blueberries, cornelian cherry), different plants for tea (yarrow – Achillea millefolium, perforate St John’s-wort – Hypericum perforatum, Breckland wild thyme – Thymus serpyllum, Elderberry flower – Sambucus, chamomile – Matricaria chamomilla, coltsfoot – Tussilago farfara, dog rose – Rosa canina, hawthorn – Crataegus monogyna) and mushrooms. The later one being my favorite activity. I just loved the thrill of finding a mushroom.
Since one of the reasons for moving to Sibiu was the city’s proximity to the forest, picking mushrooms was on my bucket list and I couldn’t wait to find some. It was warm enough and we had rain for a couple of days so the time has come. I decided to start by going towards Păltiniș and stop randomly in a place which looks similar to what I have been knowing as a “proper’’ spot for mushrooms. All said and done, we stopped close to the parking lot at the BBQ place in Rășinari and from there we started the “expedition”.
The slope was very steep but the excitement was our catalyst. The next day I had a severe muscle fever around my ankles because of it, but that is another story. We walked and walked seeing various poisonous mushrooms and none of the familiar edible ones.
For example this one, the fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) is so colorful and looks so nice however you should not eat it. I was very disappointed as a child that the mushroom that I used to draw and see in many cartoons, the red mushroom with white spots should not be eaten. Now I enjoy finding it because let’s face it, it’s just so photogenic.
However, the species that we used to pick and eat are penny buns (Boletus edulis), chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius), parasol mushroom (Macrolepiota procera), red pine mushroom (Lactarius deliciosus) or honey fungus (Armillaria mellea) and we were eagerly searching for the first three because the later ones need special conditions for growing (red pine mushroom needs watery soil and the honey fungus grow during autumn).
The luck was on our side and we found our first chanterelles. Oh, the smell of it! Actually I am not sure what I like the most, picking them, smelling them or eating them.
They all have different scents and you can recognize them with closed eyes just by smelling them. In my opinion chanterelles smell like pines, penny buns like a mix of cheese and soil and parasols are my favorite and I think it is impossible to describe their fragrance.
We ended our conquest and we eagerly went home to prepare the supper. Just to mention my favorite dishes containing mushrooms, chanterelles soup (the Swedish recipe), penny buns pasta and parasol schnitzel.
Bon Appétit!
