Spain has been blessed to have an immense variety of mushrooms for the enjoyment of the followers of fungi or mycologists and the best time to collect them is in the month of October . So below I offer you all the information about the best mushrooms to be collected this October in Spain, touring the fields and forests of this beautiful country bathed in an impressive mycological wealth.
The best mushrooms to collect in October in Spain
Many species from the world of Mushrooms are outstanding thanks to their fame and their gastronomic relevance, others are less known but just as rich and with enormous possibilities in terms of their preparation. gastronomic , to help you enjoy the 9 best varieties of mushrooms that you can collect at this precise time of year.
Boletus Eulis
Commonly known under the name of ” pumpkin mushroom ” and highly valued in the kitchen by both beginners and professionals, thanks to maintaining a texture and a sweet flavor that undoubtedly opens up a whole range of possibilities to achieve outstanding gastronomic quality.
Its color can vary from whitish tones in its youth to brown or brown as it ages, it is easy to recognize thanks to its very viscous cuticle full of moisture and you can collect it under the leafiness offered by conifers.
Lactarius Deliciosus
Better known as Níscalo , this mushroom is very popular throughout Spain thanks to its rich flavor and the great abundance it offers you. You can easily recognize it by its brittle and fleshy cap in a convex shape up to 15 cm in diameter.
Its color is a perfect mixture of orange and red when it is young and as it ages, green spots appear on its structure. You can collect it from October as well as throughout the fall and early winter season.
Amanita Caesaria
Considered by many experts as the pinnacle in terms of edible mushrooms in Spain, this mushroom maintains a characteristic large hat that can reach 25 cm in diameter and an orange color that often tends to be yellowish. It is a perfect mushroom to be consumed in a great variety of ways and you can get it in the forests of cork oaks, chestnut, holm oaks and oaks.
Pleurotus eryngii
Without a doubt the most prolific and popular mushroom of all, also known under the name of thistle mushroom . Its size is medium with irregular shapes and an umbilical hat with uneven light gray or pale yellow blades.
You can collect it in open fields and on grasslands as well as in flat areas that have been deforested. Its meat is extremely pleasant thanks to its mild smell and a very little pronounced flavor that allows a great variety of culinary possibilities.
Chanterelle cibarius
Also known as Chanterelle , it is one of the edible mushrooms with the greatest proliferation in Spain, it is also very easy to recognize thanks to its funnel shape and its characteristic yellow color accompanied by a dry cuticle that comes off very easily.
A magnificent mushroom for human consumption thanks to its great meatiness and maintaining a very fruity flavor with hints of a certain bitterness at times. This mushroom is commonly collected in forests where oaks and pines abound.
Clitocybe nuda
Known as the Blue Foot Mushroom, it maintains a bluish, purplish or brown color as well as a hat with a maximum diameter of about 15 cm. Its blue cuticle with thin and closely grouped sheets that peel off easily is one of its main characteristics to be recognized.
It is found in soils that are abundant in humus and it is one of the later mushrooms of the autumn season, with an extremely fragile and tender flesh with a highly pleasant and palatable smell and taste, but poisonous in its raw state.
Craterellus cornucopioides
Its popularity has managed to grow like foam in recent years and it is known as the truffle of the poor or trumpet of the dead. Dark and almost black in color, it is a mushroom that is not visually attractive, but it offers you an incredible flavor . It is also difficult to find due to its small size and dark color.
Marasmius oreades
Edible and highly appreciated by the entire Spanish community, this mushroom called Senderinas is very common and usually maintains a hat of 1 – 5 cm in diameter with a flared shape accompanied by a romper in its central area. An excellent flavor despite its low meatiness that makes it one of the most sought after mushrooms.
Craterellus lutescens
The Yellow Trumpet is considered to be of excellent quality to be consumed. You can recognize it by its stumpy shape and a characteristic orange-brown hat with a hollow yellow foot inside. Its hat ranges from 3 to 6 cm in diameter and although it lacks abundant meat, it is an exquisite mushroom.
Its strong fruity smell and mild flavor achieve a perfect combination to be an ideal mushroom from the gastronomic point of view, this fungus grows in the humid pine forests in extensive and large colonies taking advantage of the moss mantle.
Mushrooms and Spanish gastronomy
A figure widely linked to gastronomy and who has evidently managed to contribute his grain of sand in the correct enrichment of it, in addition to providing excellent amounts of nutrients , minerals and antioxidants as well as substances that only mushrooms and fungi can offer you. The dishes to prepare with mushrooms are very varied and go very well with everything, an example could be the broccoli and mushroom cannelloni or a delicious mushroom cream for cold winter days.
