Far West Blog

There’s enough information about the clandestine world of truffles to fill a whole book (and many have). These fragrant, elusive, famously expensive pieces of fungus form in the soil underground, typically around the roots of Oak trees. Though they grow all over the world, the most prized varieties come from a select few European countries near the Mediterranean, most famously northern Italy. Because truffles, like wine, can vary in subtle ways based on their terroir, an experienced palate might be able to tell a difference between regions, soil conditions, and even the weather patterns of a particular year.   Truffles...

If the lion is King of the Beasts, Porcini (Boletus edulis) is most certainly King of the Mushrooms -- as evidenced by its colloquial name, “King Bolete.” Rich and nutty (like many actual Kings of the past), these mushrooms occupy a high seat in nearly every European cuisine. Italians take almost as much pride in their Porcini as they do in their truffles. In France, they are famously known as “Ceps.” In Russia, they are an essential part of holiday meal traditions, and a forager’s greatest prize. Alongside the Morel, it may be the most revered and adored of all...

Humanity’s relationship with mushrooms spans the entirety of our species’ existence. The oldest mummified body ever found, Otzi, or “The Ice Man,” had mushrooms in his pouch when he died in 3300 BC -- and they were still there when his body was discovered in 1991. Neolithic Man used mushrooms for food, medicine, and as tinder for starting the fires that made all of human evolution possible. Mushrooms appear in Egyptian hieroglyphics, in scenes depicting them as gifts from the gods, sent to earth on lightning bolts, and their use was forbidden to all but the pharaohs. This was also...

It’s not hard to figure out how Lobster mushrooms get their name. Their typically bright red color resembles lobster shells, and their distinctive scent conjures the buttery aromas of a Maine coast seafood boil. In a blindfolded test, one could be fooled into thinking they were actually smelling seafood. It may come as a surprise to find out that Lobster ‘Mushrooms’ are not actually mushrooms at all - but a mushroom parasitized by another fungus. Hypomyces lactifluorum is a ascomycete fungus that infects various species of wild Russula and Lactarius mushrooms. Interestingly, the specific host species are inedible in their...