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The porcini mushrooms (Boletus edulis) have now officially inaugurated the new mushroom season which, despite the lack of rain, seems to begin with the forests in Catalonia being generous, as seen in these photographs in La Vanguardia's Readers' Photos captured in Ripollès and Berguedà.
In addition, the appreciated boletus come accompanied by the first rovellons (chanterelles) and rossinyols (chanterelles), which is already making mushroom hunting (and gastronomy) fans' mouths water.
It is customary that one of the most found mushrooms at the beginning of the season is the cep (Boletus edulis), one of the most prized mushrooms in all of Spain and Europe. And this year he does not seem to have missed the appointment.
When autumn arrives it is time for mushroom hunters, under the motto "from the forest to the plate." And, precisely, the area of the Ripollès region usually concentrates the first mushrooms of the season, although Berguedà does not seem to want to be left behind.
Highly appreciated, cep is sold fresh in autumn, in central and southern Europe, but it is also sold dried throughout the world.
Boletus edulis is the Latin name of this edible mushroom, also known in Spain as boletus, mushroom, white mushroom, pambazo mushroom, pumpkin mushroom, pumpkin mushroom or simply pumpkin. It can be found most frequently in pine forests.
It is a mushroom that can reach notable dimensions; Generally the hat can measure from 7 to 20 cm in diameter and the stem can acquire the same height. It is often confused with Tylopilus felleus or Boletus badius.
Additionally, these days, in the forest you can also see the striking strain mushrooms (bolet de soca), truly a wonder of nature. They appear in living trees when they are already weakened by some cause such as drought or because they are attacked by insects.
These parasitic (non-edible) fungi can belong to many genera. Fomes had been used to obtain a material that, once dry, made it easier to light a fire with flint.
