Risotto, pasta, soups, stews—all of these dishes are known to be taken up a notch with the addition of the porcini mushroom. The porcini mushroom is one of the most popular edible wild mushroom types and have made a name for themselves in both Italian and French cooking; withstanding the test of time, as well as the coming and going of trends in the culinary world, and making a name for itself as being somewhat fancy.
What is it about these edible wild mushrooms that gives them such longevity and popularity in the culinary world, and how can we find, identify, cook, and utilize these wild mushrooms ourselves?
What is a Porcini Mushroom?
Porcini Mushrooms are edible wild mushrooms. Their flesh is white, and does not change color when they are cut into, although their exteriors can be brownish or yellowish. They do not have gills underneath their caps, but instead, a yellowish sponge-like underside. At their most delicious, they have a rounded, firm cap, and a thick firm trunk. In brief, their flavor is nutty, earthy, and meaty.
Its scientific name is boletus edulis, making the fact that mushroom geeks favor the name King Bolete mushroom when discussing porcini mushrooms, make a great deal of sense. While the porcini mushroom is called many things in many languages, it is best known as a porcini in North America. That word is Italian in origin, and directly translated means “little pig.”
Like many mushrooms, the porcini mushroom is high in dietary fiber, which aids in digestion. They are also a good source of B vitamins, potassium, zinc, and selenium.
How to Find Porcini Mushrooms
These edible wild mushrooms grow naturally in the northern hemisphere, particularly in North America, Europe, and Asia. More specifically, they grow near pine, spruce, fir, oak, and beech trees and will form symbiotic relationships with tree roots. They like to grow on the exterior edge of forests, and they tend to grow in the same spots every year.
How to Source Fresh Porcini Mushrooms
The first trick of bringing porcini into your kitchen is knowing when fresh porcini mushrooms are available. Keep in mind that this really depends on where you live. In North America, the porcini mushroom is most often found at the end of summer and the start of autumn. It may also be available for a brief period in early spring. Check out our seasonal calendar to find out when these and other wild mushrooms are in season.
Suppose you’d like to try your hand at foraging. In that case, porcinis are some of the best starter mushrooms to attempt to forage for as they’re easy to identify and don’t have tricky poisonous dupes that might trip a newer forager up, but don’t expect abundance your first time out.
For the supplies purchaser of a restaurant, however, Pebble Creek Produce can support your needs. Edible wild mushrooms like the porcini can do wonders for a seasonal menu! Finding a reliable company to supply your restaurant will be the best way to get porcini mushrooms in the required volumes for your business.
Cooking with Porcini Mushrooms
Porcini mushrooms are a kitchen treasure for a reason:
- They offer a rich, nutty, and earthy flavor with slightly sweet undertones that often invoke the heart and soul of fall.
- They’re heralded for their usefulness as umami delivery vehicles, particularly when they are grilled or roasted.
- They add depth to broths and sauces, particularly when dried and then soaked.
- When used in broths, they can often substitute meat with no loss in depth of flavor.
This wild mushroom is delicious in both dried and fresh forms, with the two formats offering very different use cases. Deciding how you want to integrate the mushroom, or if you want to layer fresh and dried forms, can help you create dishes that best utilize this ingredient’s rich flavor.
When purchasing porcini mushrooms, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- They should be firm and unblemished.
- The underside of the caps should be yellowish, not yellowish-brownish, as this indicates the mushroom is nearing its best-before date.
- If the mushroom’s underside is deep green or it has black spots on the cap that is an indication that the mushroom is already too ripe.
- The mushroom cap should still be rounded, and not flatten out too much.
Fresh porcini mushrooms should be used within a day or two of purchase to ensure that they remain fresh.
Cleaning and Cooking Fresh Porcini Mushrooms
Once you’ve acquired your fresh porcini mushrooms, it’s time to clean them up.
When cleaning porcini mushrooms, using a damp paper towel is just the thing, and should allow you to get all the dirt off of your mushroom without risking it absorbing extra fluids and becoming spongy. This is what you risk when you submerge your mushroom or put it under a running faucet. Even if there is some discrepancy in this belief, given the price of porcinis, it’s not worth ruining them. Porcini are very absorbent.
Your cleaning practices may need to differ if you are foraging your mushrooms or preparing them to be dried.
There are pluses and minuses to going fresh or dried with porcini mushrooms. The pluses for choosing fresh porcini are:
- They absorb butter and other fats beautifully when sautéed, creating tasty side dishes
- They roast and braise easily, and make excellent toppings
- Their texture is tender and can become crispy when they are prepared from fresh
Once you’ve selected your mushrooms and cleaned them off, it’s time to let your imagination run wild. Risotto? Pasta? Braising? Stewing? It’s up to you to decide, the world’s your oyster [mushroom].
Cooking With Dried Porcini Mushrooms
Given the narrow window of time during the year when porcinis can be foraged, it makes sense to use traditional preservation techniques to extend their lifespan. There are just as many applications for the dried porcini mushroom as there are for the fresh—if not more.
Of course, its shelf life is perhaps the biggest pro of a dried porcini mushroom, but there are others as well:
- You end up with two ingredients for the price of one
- After a porcini mushroom has been dried, its taste becomes concentrated and intensifies!
- You can use them mostly at your leisure without as much worry about spoilage
- They can be turned into a powder, turning them into a kind of mushroom soup bouillon
There aren’t nearly as many things to look out for when purchasing dried porcini mushrooms. Primarily, it is good to note whether the package has many crumbs or broken bits at the bottom, if it does, that means it is older and may not be as effective an ingredient as you’d prefer.
When you get them home, and are ready to cook with your dried porcini mushrooms, the process for reconstitution is quite simple.
In order to reconstitute dried porcini mushrooms, one must place them in warm water that just covers them for about 20-30 minutes, until the mushroom has softened and expanded.
You are now left with two wonderful ingredients:
- The body of the once dried and now reconstituted mushroom
- The soaking liquid that the mushroom left behind
Many of the applications for porcini mushrooms that apply to soups, stews, and broths, begin with the leftover soaking liquid from the mushroom. This liquid is filled with flavor and a great deal of the concentrated umami that we previously discussed in this article, so don’t throw it out!
The body of the mushroom itself may be a bit chewy once it is plumped up again, but they taste wonderful in stuffing, soups, stews, and honestly, fried up as a side dish. It’s best to explore and see what works best for you. Playing with texture is part of creating a standout dish.
There’s a great deal of creativity that can be applied to the dried porcini mushroom, soaking liquid can easily become part of the stock for, say, a rich vegetarian ramen dish. Asian cooking often makes use of dried edible wild mushrooms, and is a great place to look for inspiration.
Porcini Perfection: The Wild Mushroom That Brings Umami to Every Dish
The porcini mushroom is one of the most adaptable and well-known wild mushroom types. Its flexibility and versatility make it a treasure in the kitchen, and a guaranteed umami punch up for any dish. For those who enjoy foraging for them, to those who enjoy cooking with them, and eating them, it’s hard to believe that a mushroom, much lauded as being fancy, should be one of the many coveted edible wild mushrooms that can be found in forests all over the northern hemisphere.
Whether you’re a restaurant or a Chef looking for high-quality ingredients, Pebble Creek Produce offers fresh, sustainably grown wild foraged mushrooms.
Elevate your mushroom experience and CONTACT Pebble Creek Produce today!
