First summer mushroom picking. The mushroom season is here

We have already written about the first mushroom “hunting” event occurring this year. But we still have not mentioned the famous summer cep or penny bun (Boletus reticulatus). Yes, this popular mushroom is waiting for you again in forests and groves. Maybe you have found it already but we too have spotted it few days ago. Where did we go, where we found it and in what condition? We shall tell you in the following report.

A true mushroom picker never reveals his place…

That is the truth, however, we will give you more precise location just to maintain credibility . We went to Hostýnské vrchy (Hostýnské hills) in the Czech Republic, and walked through the area around the village of Rusava. Sure we already have our special places there and we know where to look otherwise our search would take much longer… Not every woods or grove offer the right conditions and moisture yet, so the season of this very popular mushroom is just beginning.

Photo: Radek Štěpán

Mushroom picking is hard

Finding a mushroom in the woods is usually a quite adventure. This unpleasant condition is due to the lack of humidity. Water has much harder time to get under deciduous trees than under grass, and true enough, we have found few smaller pieces in a grass spot – along a forest road at the edge of the forest line. One little boy, as documented by the photographs, was hiding in the moss which retain moisture easier. As for other mushrooms, well we only said hello to one toadstool and one pink toadstool.

A what about the condition of our find? One big worm!

If you are not fond of proteins in mushrooms, then our find was bad. The first summer mushrooms that grow in rather high temperatures are almost always full of worms. The stipe was drilled through and through, but we were able to cut few good pieces from the pileus. Traditionally, we dry oak mushrooms, except for the first ones, because there is usually not enough to bread and fry them but mushrooms with scrambled eggs is a great treat too. After all, we did not get any chance to taste this mushroom throughout the entire winter, so we should not complain, right?

Photo: Radek Štěpán