Wild mushrooms : regular assortment

Lobster, caviar, truffle and . . . Porcini mushrooms. It can all be mentioned in one breath. Breathtaking and exclusive. With a rare and rich taste. Mild and creamy, nutty and with 'autumnal depth'. An Umami bomb.

Versatile to use in all kinds of hot dishes. Or in a beautiful autumn salad with some hazelnut oil. Or just sauté them pure! Quickly color them on the outside and keep them firm on the inside. In good butter with some fresh thyme. Little pepper, little salt. Nothing more to do than enjoy !!

Some chefs are so fond to work with ceps that, even after the frost has entered Europe, we import their 'daily Ceps' from South Africa, Zambia and Namibia. For the holidays. . .

Many chefs want to order their Ceps sliced in half. This allows you to directly assess the quality and see that the mushrooms do not hide maggots or worms under the hat, or that they are affected by other fungi that do not belong there.

We usually use young, medium-sized specimens for this. Because of this, these half Ceps (despite being cut), still have a concentrated taste and a firm structure.

These young mini Ceps have a fine concentrated taste and a beautiful sturdy structure. And . . . wonderful to process in its entirety or present in slices in which you can recognize the baby mushroom.

In addition, these small exclusive taste bombs have a relatively long shelf life and require little cleaning work.

An extremely tasty, but especially taste-typical mushroom. Peppery, spicy and with a hint of apricot. For in the ragout, in meat or minced meat dishes, in game and poultry, on toast and even with dessert with for instance apricot. All of them very tasty combinations because of the unique Chanterelle taste.

Clean with a brush or cloth, cut off the bottom of the stem and make large specimens small by tearing from the funnel to the foot. Do not bake too long otherwise they will become tough.

Available year round. From April / May from Eastern Europe and Sweden, November from the USA and Canada and until the end of March from the Costa Verde (P).

Chefs like to work with these compact young mushrooms with a full and concentrated taste. In addition, they are less vulnerable, have a longer shelf life in the refrigerator and are easy to clean.

Chanterelles have a special and recognizable taste. In addition to being tasteful, it is also typical of taste.

In addition to the color intensity and the beautiful decorative shape, the taste of these young Chanterelles is extra intense.

The Grey chanterelle has a slightly spicy taste. An extremely decorative mushroom with a tasty bite. Wonderful in risotto, pasta, in game sauces and soups. Has hardly any smell. The taste is best served by just frying in some oil or (clarified) butter.

Cleaning preferably with a brush. With a lot of sand, water can be used and then dry well with some kitchen paper. Slightly cut off the underside of the stalk before preparation.

The grey chanterelle is found in most European woodland areas. Shortly after the first snow has fallen in Finland, they are even picked for a few days from below the first snow layer.

This is a variant of the Grey chanterelle. Also spicy in taste. However, slightly more autumnal, woody. This makes it more convincing in taste.

If this mushroom is not cooked or baked too long, it will retain its decorative contrast of fresh yellow (sometimes almost orange) of the stem, and deep grey-brown of the hat. So especially in dark game sauces, add at last. This makes the presentation options more sophisticated than the Grey chanterelle.

Applications, preparation and cleaning as the Grey chanterelle.

The Morel is a spring mushroom. Egg or conical in shape. Characteristic is the decorative sponge structure. The stalks are short and tough. So cut off. Do not eat raw, because morels are slightly toxic.

Fresh Morels are appreciated for their subtle and refined taste; slightly nutty and earthy. Nice to fill or to combine with fresh asparagus. Chefs also often use them dried. Because of the more intense and pronounced aroma. Gives a sumptuous taste to soups and sauces.

Cleaning: first shake them gently. Cut through and thoroughly clean the inside and outside with a soft brush. With a lot of sand or earth, you can rinse them with some lukewarm water. Then dry and prepare immediately.

These young Morels also have that typical nutty and earthy taste. But more concentrated. Moreover, you experience the taste of musk more clearly than with the adult ones.

Wonderful to present in its entirety as a decorative accent with an intense deep dark color. In freshly colored spring or summer dishes or as a garnish in a sauce of dried Morels.

In addition, they have a nice bite and it is recommended to prepare them briefly in their entirety. Just rinse clean under lukewarm water and prepare immediately.

These little friends are also slightly toxic, so not raw food.

The Fairy ring mushroom grows in arches or 'witche circles' in open grassland. Nice small decorative mushroom with lots of smell and taste. Smells like bitter almonds and tastes slightly nutty with a sweet tone.

Especially suitable for throttling, braising and baking. In fricassees, ragouts, soups, sauces, pastas and risotto. Tasty and decorative in light dishes. Some chefs dry and grind them into a powerful flavor enhancer with a lot of Umami character.

The Fairy ring is slightly toxic and should not be eaten raw. Clean with a brush and / or soft cloth. The stalk is tough and therefore remove it (can be pulled into a broth for extra taste though).

Characteristic are the Hedgehog's soft spines under the hat. These give a slightly bitter taste. This disappears after heating. However, with older ones you can always scratch them off with a knife. The meat is nicely firm and brittle. So do not clean with water, because then 'brittle' soon becomes 'spongy'. With some kitchen paper is better.

The taste is slightly peppery with a pleasant and refined forest aroma. Is often used because the taste looks a bit like the Chanterelle, but the Hedgehog is a bit milder and creamier. Cut into pieces and fry short (otherwise they are tough), it comes out nicely in ragouts and various creamy sauces. 

The Saint George mushroom grows in witch circles and is a spring mushroom. It is a nice meaty and firm mushroom with a hard to typify flavor. He warms, however, subtle tones of forest that combine nicely with spring or young summer vegetables such as asparagus, butter beans or sea bream ('sea purslane').

Because of the compact slats under the hat, a soft brush has to do the cleaning here. Wipe the hat with a soft cloth.

You can prepare the young Saint George like the fully grown species; shortly cooked it is an extremely tasteful and tender mushroom.

The young "Mousseron Saint George" is also eminently suitable for briefly baked in a lukewarm spring salad. This mushroom has a hint of rhubarb or ripe cucumber. After heating, this taste has disappeared.

The flesh of this mushroom is almost black. The color effect in various culinary applications such as game dishes, fillings for game and poultry, terrines and pâtés, but also salads, spring rolls, risotto and pastas, is spectacular and makes it a unique ingredient in gastronomy!

The taste can be described as spicy and powerful. So you can achieve effect with little, much color and taste. Slightly toxic, so do not eat raw.

Dried is the 'Trumpet of death' often used aa a powdered spice. Whole dried specimens, after they are welled, give a deep dark liquid, which is wonderful to use to turn a basic broth into a fragrant and dark mushroom broth.