Wild Edible Mushrooms (Boletus and Suillus) harvest in July

A wonderful sunny morning. One hour of driving lesson and then off to picking of 500 gr of blackberry in the wild by ourselves. What else could you wish for such a good start of Saturday? Of course, some wild edible mushrooms! Especially that it’s the only morning during last few weeks when it’s not rainy. So, we have spontaneously decided to check the Taunus mountain area near Frankfurt.

When we came to the mostly spruce-pine with occasional larch trees forest we saw ground covered in nice thin (like a thread) green grass which made it look like green soft carpet. The grass threads were bended to the ground and knitted with each other, so it really looked like a green carpet with occasional trees in it The weather-gods have really been fortunate to the forests if not to us who want to enjoy the summer-time.

Unfortunately, we have not taken our camera with us, so had to use an old Nokia phone to take some photos. Around some very old stumps we have found few Bay Boletes (Boletus Badius known as Xerocomus badius).

Bay Bolete - Boletus badius (aka Xerocomus badius) in spruce forest

Picking Bay Bolete (Boletus badius aka Xerocomus badius)

Actually I prefer to use a name of Xerocomus badius for them because they turn to blue when you touch the tubed surface under the cap. Typical Boletus species do not have this feature. They have a brown convex cap with yellow tube surface under the cap. The stem is brown, strong and fleshy, and usually never gets thicker than 1 cm in diameter (even with old species).

Picked Bay Bolete (Boletus badius aka Xerocomus badius)	Picked young Bay Bolete (Boletus badius aka Xerocomus badius)
Blue color of the touched and washed tubed surface underneath of Bay Bolete cap	White-bluish soft Bay Bolete cap's flesh with yellow-bluish tubes

When you cook this edible mushroom it darkens the water. Therefore, I would recommend to strain the water right after it started to boil together with cut pieces of Bay Bolete mushroom. Just cover the pot with lid and pour the water from the pot off into the bassin. Add new water to the pot, bring it to boil and continue cooking.

Only Bay Bolete caps are used for preservation. During drying they darken to dark-brown color although it does not change their taste During freezing they do not change the color though after defrosting and cooking they darken as well. Marinated (vinegar pickled) Bay Boletes won’t be dark if you change the water during cooking (as mentioned above).

Then, we have also been lucky to find the Weeping Bolete or Granulated Bolete (Suillus granulatus). It has such a bright cap color that you simple cannot miss it in the green grass. The spot with Suillus granulatus was not deep in the spruce forest, rather on the edge where couple of larch trees were growing and closer to the road.

Weeping Bolete, Granulated Bolete (Suillus granulatus) in the spruce forest

Picked Weeping Bolete, Granulated Bolete (Suillus granulatus)

Even when it is not rainy the mushroom cap is shiny because it is covered by some sticky liquid, so if you touch it it’s kind of slippery and sticky at the same time. So, I would advise to use disposable gloves to keep your hands clean, especially if you need to drive a car back home
Suillus granulatus has a yellow-brownish shiny, sticky convex cap (when it’s wet it’s very slippery just like olives in olive oil ) with yellow tubes underneath. When the species are young (the cap is about 1-2 cm in diameter) there is a veil which connects the stem with the cap’s edge. With age the veil gets broken (you can see on the photos below that veil parts remain on the stem) making a kind of ring on the stem. The stem color is pale yellow. The cap’s flesh is pale yellow when you cut the cap (yes, “cut the cap”, I know it sounds funny).

Weeping or Granulated Bolete shiny dry cap (Suillus granulatus)	Weeping or Granulated Bolete (Suillus granulatus) before cooking
Weeping or Granulated Bolete (Suillus granulatus) stem flesh	Pored surface under the Weeping or Granulated Bolete (Suillus granulatus) cap
Weeping or Granulated Bolete (Suillus granulatus) cap cut in pieces	Pieces of Weeping or Granulated Bolete (Suillus granulatus) caps before cooking

For preservation the caps are used only. This excellent edible mushroom is being marinated (pickled) or frozen. It’s not suitable for drying. During cooking it does not change the color and has pleasant firm texture. I like it!

These collected wild edible pored mushrooms (Bay Bolete and Weeping or Granulated Bolete) we have cut in one-bite pieces and cooked together in a soup which was very delicious. The recipe will come soon