Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Wonderful Porcini Mushrooms

Have you been looking for a mushroom to bring your favorite sauce to life? Well, you can stop searching and try dried porcini mushrooms.The porcini mushroom is a seasonal fungi that you can find on the ground in hardwood forests near pine, chestnut, hemlock, and spruce.They fruit in the summer to fall and can be found in many different parts of the world including Europe, North America, and other parts of the world like New Zealand and South Africa. These mushroom are great for cooking with, or even with a salad. They are not only delicious but they can grow to be quite large. Porcini mushrooms may grow a cap up to 12 inches in diameter. The porcini mushroom is very much like the portabella mushroom that you see so many people grilling.
Dried Porcini Mushrooms
If you are going to hunt and pick these delicious mushrooms you may find that you would like to preserve them for later use and drying them is your best option. I actually prefer the taste of dried porcini mushrooms to the tast of them when they are fresh. When dried they have a shelf life that can last a year or more and can be used in many different recipes. They can even be ground down to a powder and added to your favorite dishes just like any other seasoning. Dried porcini mushrooms are a staple in my fridge,freezer and pantry.
If you're going hunting for mushrooms DON'T FORGET YOUR PERMIT!
When you are going to pick Porcini mushrooms to eat fresh or if you're planing on making dried porcini mushrooms you may be surprised to learn that the United States requires you to have a permit.The good news is you can get a "free use permit" and it doesn't cost you a dime as long as you aren't planning on selling them.The only issue is that the government wants to ensure that the wildlife habitat is and will remain in tact while you're out picking these amazing fungi. If you are planning to sell your mushrooms you will need a Charge Use Permit or Commercial Use Permit. Permits are issued to individuals, so each person picking mushrooms will a permit. Please remember you must have your permit in your immediate possession while picking and transporting mushrooms.
A Must For Any Sauce
If you are looking for the perfect mushroom for your homemade pasta sauce, then you really cant go wrong with the porcini mushroom. These mushrooms are bold and have a very strong flavor with a wonderful aftertaste that will have you hooked. These mushrooms are practically nature's ingredients for the perfect sauce, and you will not find a better mushroom to use if you want the sauce to be traditional and true Italian pasta sauce. These mushrooms are also great for grilling as well,Porcini mushrooms have a terrific mushroomy aroma that adds wondrous grace to stews,soups and sauces, and produces one of the finest risotti one could possibly ever imagine.