Section Cortinaria, Fries.
“Atto sovra ognun altro fungo al commercio, forma da questo lato, per non pochi paesi della Lombardia, una delle principali risorsi della povera gente.”—Vitt.
The ancient Romans were well acquainted with this truly delicious fungus, and in general appear to have done it justice; the strings of dried Suillus, which his countrymen, on the testimony of Pliny, were in the habit of fetching from Bithynia, were in all likelihood the same as those similarly-prepared strings of the modern Porcino which are sold during the winter in every market-place throughout Italy.[157] Vittadini mentions a curious fact respecting them, viz. that though they are composed of many different Boletuses, no mischief was ever known to originate from their indiscriminate and very extensive consumption; whence he concludes that all the species of this genus are innocuous, or, at least, that drying and cooking will extract any deleterious principles which they may have originally contained;—an inference, he thinks, supported by the daily use among the peasantry of certain districts of the B. luridus, which of all bad Boletuses commonly passes for the worst, and by his having experimented with it in large doses upon animals, who did not suffer in consequence. I have eaten in England a small quantity both of B. Grevillei and of B. granulatus, which have much of the flavour of the B. edulis; of the B. subtomentosus(though, on the authority of Trattinick, it is eaten in Germany) I have no personal experience, nor do I recommend to the amateur any species beyond the two universally eaten and approved of on the Continent, viz.:—B. edulis and B. scaber.
B. edulis.—Bot. Char. Pileus from six to seven inches across, pulvinate, smooth, with a thick margin, varying in colour from light brown or bronze, to bay, dark brown, or black, or a mixture of all these colours. The epidermis firmly adherent to the flesh, that firm, and except the part in immediate contact with the skin, which has a slight brown tint, white; the under surface of the cap nearly flat, often presenting a circular pit or depression round the stalk; tubes at first white, then yellow, lastly of an olive or yellow-green tint, in the earlier stage of development (their free extremities then lie against the side of the stalk) closed; afterwards, as the cap expands, stopped up with a waxy-looking material of a dirty pearl colour. Stem varying much in shape at different periods of the growth of the Boletus, always thick and solid; at first white, but soon changing to fawn colour, beautifully meshed or mapped (especially on its upper portion) with reticulations characteristic of this species. As the period for casting its seed advances, the inferior surface of the cap swells out, the waxy matter is absorbed, the tubes present deep and rounded orifices to the eye, and presently emit an abundant seminal dust, of an ochraceous green hue (sometimes difficult to collect, from the quantity of moisture exhaled with it), after which both cap and stalk become flaccid, the tubes turn to a dirty green, and the whole fungus falls rapidly into a state of decomposition. The favourite sites for this Boletus are woods, especially those of pines, oaks, and chestnuts; it abounds in autumn, but occurs in spring and occasionally in summer. There is one variety, the pinicola, whose name gives its whereabouts, which differs from the foregoing, in having a moist, somewhat sticky cap, a watery flesh changing near the tubes to a light yellow-green when bruised; the reticulations are ill-marked in this species.
The Boletus edulis cannot be mistaken for any other Boletus because it alone presents all the following characters united, viz. a cap of which the surface is smooth; tubes the colour of which varies with each period of its growth, beautiful and singular reticulations of the stalk, especially towards the upper portion, and a flesh which is white and unchanging.
The Boletus castaneus, which bears, some little general resemblance to it, is at once distinguished by having a cottony fibrillose stem without reticulations, a downy cap and dirty yellow dust: neither can it be confounded with the B. subtomentosus nor B. luridus, because in addition to many other points of difference, both these change colour on being cut or bruised.
As to the best manner of cooking B. edulis, this must be left to the taste of the gourmet; in every way it is good. Its tender and juicy flesh, its delicate and sapid flavour, render it equally acceptable to the plain and to the accomplished cook. It imparts a relish alike to the homely hash and the dainty ragout, and may be truly said to improve every dish of which it is a constituent. “Nihil tetigit quod non ornavit.” “Though much neglected in this country, it appears to be a most valuable article of food. It resembles much in taste the common mushroom, and is quite as delicate; it abounds in seasons when these are not to be found.” (Berkeley.)
Modes of Cooking Boletus edulis. (Persoon.)
It may be cooked in white sauce, with or without chicken, in fricassee broiled or baked with butter, salad oil, pepper, salt, chopped herbs, and bread-crumbs; to which some add ham or a mince of anchovy. It makes excellent fritters: some roast it with onions (basting with butter), but as these take longer to cook than the Boletus, this must not be put down till the onions have begun to soften.