The king of mushrooms

My first cep

Today's highlight, as clearly follows from the title, is about Boletus edulis, or penny bun, or cep, or porcino. It is the holy grail of all mushroom gatherers. It is prominently featured on the covers of almost all edible mushroom guides. Even its scientific name - "edulis" leaves us in no doubt as to how great it is.

In fact, I never saw one in the wild before coming to Scotland. For some reason, they didn't grow in my native parts. So picking my first one back in 2006 was a very special thing. It marked the beginning of my love affair with Scottish forests and my bad mushroom photography. That's right. Ceps made me do it, blame them for everything.

This is the basket of a very happy
mushroom hunter

When I brought my first cep home to cook though, it was somewhat disappointing. Don't get me wrong, it was a very good specimen, dry and firm. A bit maggot-infested, but any good mushroom guide book will tell you that you can and should eat ceps with maggots and all - they are just as wholesome as the mushroom itself. No, my disappointment came from all the exposure to the cep hype. I expected it to taste like white truffles, no less. But the truth is, it doesn't really taste of anything. Saffron milk caps, by contrast, have a much more distinctive taste and also keep their orange colour in the stew, which is why many people rate them above boletes, even though few guidebooks agree.

I do love ceps for one thing: their enormous size. Finding just one or two good big ones is enough to make a meal. A mature specimen can weigh over a kilogram! Also, compared to most other fungi, they are very easy to prepare for cooking - unlike chanterelles, for instance, which can drive you nuts because they are so tiny and each needs to be cleaned. Another advantage is that they have no poisonous lookalikes and can be eaten raw. There is the bitter bolete of course, Tylopilus felleus, but it's not poisonous, just very very unpalatable. I usually taste each mushroom before cooking to make sure that only good ones go into the pot.

The earliest ceps in Scotland appear in July, around this time. So, how is that weather forecast? Hmm, still no rain in sight... Just nice, sunny weather and temperatures in mid-twenties. No good for mushrooms. Hey, I want my proper Scottish summer back!