The most interesting and unusual places to gather mushrooms

Belarus
Season: from the mild climate season can last until the end of October and mid-November.
Mushrooms in Belarus are so popular that one of the main gathering of "national product" is regulated by law: for commercial purposes is possible only with a special license, and the rest can be collected just like that, but with the exception of small chanterelles (collection of which is prohibited by the Ministry of Environment).
For those who like to run separate routes will be useful resource local mushroom professionals where you can download mobile "road map" of local forests. And if the soul is drawn still a comfortable rest, you can go to one of the Belarusian estates, for example, in the national reserve "Belovezhskaya Pushcha". There is growing about 570 species of a wide variety of fungi, including the popular mushrooms and butter mushrooms. For tour guides eco-estates charge around $ 8, regardless of the size of the group, and the campaign for mushrooms lasts four o'clock.





Finland
Season: Despite the northern location season lasts until the end of November.
Mushrooming Finns - is the national sport with their competition "who will gather more».
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, looking for mushrooms in the country each year to attend at least 10,000 foreigners. Especially popular north of the country - Lapland - which is not very happy to locals who tried to legally restrict the access of foreigners to collect mushrooms. However, the legislation remains more than loyal: pick wild berries and mushrooms can be everything and everywhere for free and in unlimited quantity.
Popular mushrooms, chanterelles and Lactarius rufus, which grow well in dry coniferous forests. Boletus and aspen's not collected, but are very fond of Lactarius that in the rest of Europe is considered poisonous. Finns like to cook from his soups and added to salads, however, pre-boiling water to get rid of toxic substances.
To travel for mushrooms enough to book a place in the special eco-friendly hotel or camping, many of them have a special service - "Mushroom Tour". These include hotel Kakslauttanen in Lapland. A ski resort Himos have even own a certified mushroom guide that three hours collecting forest treasures promises to find at least a copy of each growing mushrooms in Finnish latitudes. The price (group - at least three people, the cost - from € 35 per person) also includes a small picnic.



Canada
Season: end of November
Canadians wary of wild mushrooms, so popular in the country farm, where year-round in vitro grown "green mushroom" of various kinds. To observe the process and you can tour, and at the same time receive a brief instruction on mushroom cookery. This offer is valid, for example, on a farm All Seasons Mushrooms. Farms have the legal right to organize tours and mushroom in the next forest (self hike individuals must obtain a special license). At the end of the tour, participants pay found "treasures" on weight.
One of these "mushroom tours" offers a Canadian company Swallow Tail. The tour takes place from late summer until the end of November every Sunday and includes a two-hour walk in search of mushrooms in the forests along with instruction on identifying edible mushroom, followed by the preparation of dishes under the guidance of a professional chef. The price ($ 39 a person c) includes dinner and drinks from herbs, which, of course, the participants will be collected personally.



US
Season: mushroom season with the mild climate lasts until the end of November
Mushrooms in the United States - competitive object of interest. Each year, the American Institute of fungi (American Mushroom Instituite) published new data: number of mushroom pickers, upcoming events and a list of records. Forms and types of competition vary, depending on the state. For example, in the town of Magnolia Illinois championship held annually to collect morels (incidentally, the most respected in America fungus). According to the rules of the competition they are collected on the timer for a few hours. The absolute record was set in 1996, when the allotted time winner has collected 293 of the fungus. Still not too late to sign up for the field collection of these fungi in different states, even if you do not have a green card.
Rules are very simple: it is impossible to pick mushrooms in the national parks and forests on each mushroom picker that a certain standard - no more than 13 kg of mushrooms at a time. Without a license, ie as a particular user can gather mushrooms only 10 days during the calendar year. However, even free access to the state forest (for access to private forests usually take $ 10-15 per day) should be documented: all the pickers are required to have a valid photo ID issued by the National Forest Service. Get it simple: agencies have offices in all major cities.
In the state of Texas, in the town of Madisonville, who calls himself "the mushroom capital of the State of Texas" hosts an annual Mushroom Festival The Texas Mushroom Festival. This year it starts on 18 October. This is one of the largest national trade fairs, where you can taste and buy fresh mushrooms and mushroom dishes, as well as see how fungi affect the art: the festival program - art installations and performances on "morels and porcini».
And if you travel in Northern California - do not forget to look at the city Mendokino annual festival «Mushroom, Wine and Beer». The surrounding woods grows about 3,000 species of fungi, of which 500 are rare delicacy types, so residents do not pay nothing on "forest treasure" for a week of fun and tastings, with such ambiguous dishes like sweet mushroom ice cream. Typically, the festival falls at the end of the mushroom season, this time it will be held from 7 to 16 November.



France
Season: March to mid-December
From about 3000 species of fungi that grow in France, only a couple of dozen varieties can be considered edible. Mushroom picking is strictly regulated by law.
The easiest and cheapest way to this culinary journey - visit mushroom fair, for example, in Alsace, where on Saturdays until December local mushroom pickers sell to tourists fresh mushrooms and mushrooms.
The main treasure of the French Republic - one of the rarest and most expensive mushrooms - black truffle. Just a few days off in a year - in October, November and March (when the season starts) gourmets from around the world flock to the hunting, renting a place in the "truffle" provinces, the most famous of which is the Provence. Travel companies offer truffle tours for those who want to find the treasure personally Provencal forest. Do not hunt, and just buy this rare fungus can be on city fairs that are held in high season across the country.



Italy
Season: March to mid-December
Homeland "diamonds cooking" - Piedmont truffles - each year holds the world's truffle market. This year's World truffle market will be held from October 11 to November 16 in Alba, capital of the Piedmont region. Here everything is possible: see, taste, buy and learn all about white and black truffles. Fair supervise Association collectors and sellers from around the world of truffles, so fake excluded. All the mushrooms for sale have been certified. In addition to sales and tastings (its representative at the fair every year offers the best restaurants in the world) declared a rich cultural program, including even a beauty contest. Taste "expensive mushrooms" goes very budget: a portion of pasta with white truffle and a glass of wine will cost just € 10-15.



Poland
Season: end of November
It ends in November collection of Polish mushroom (rodgrzybek brunatny), near relative of our flywheel. One of its advantages - it can be to dry, pickle, pickle, but its taste has not lost. As in the rest of Europe, to gather mushrooms only in designated areas, it is forbidden to private areas and national parks. Therefore, the easiest way - to turn to eco-farmers who take tourists all year round. Often this board includes other activities like picking berries, walk on the reserved forests of Polish and even hunting. Many of these eco-settlements in western Poland, around the lake in Lubusz Lubusz, which accounts for almost half of the country's forests.



Spain
Season: because of the climate, the mushroom season here lasts virtually all year round, there are peaks in spring and autumn.
Edible mushrooms in Spain, there are more than a hundred, among them stands out the group Boletaceae (porcini or boletus) - in some provinces, such as in Catalonia can be found in almost all of its edible variations, including white fungus or mushrooms, which are much larger than their European counterparts. However, at the top of the hierarchy is the mushroom fungus Caesar (Amanita caesarea or as it is called "egg King"), which in Russia is practically nonexistent. Outwardly, he looked like a mushroom, but belongs to the category of edible. By the way, in Spain and truffles grow, particularly Tuber melanosporum («winter truffle»).
Autumn "mushroom provinces" (this Catalonia, the Basque Country and Andalusia) are special mushroom festivals (jornadas micologicas) with fairs, sales, tastings and master classes. However, the biggest festival, where you can meet the entire range of Spanish mushrooms - La Tamborrada, dedicated to the Day of the city of San Sebastian. Visit his worth at least because it is one of the oldest carnivals of the country (held since the beginning of the XIX century). This year's festival will be held on 19 and 20 January.



China
Season: in the southern provinces of the season can last until November.
Chinese mushrooms - one of the rarest. Collect their best with private guide, the price for the service - to be negotiated. "Mushroom" is considered the capital of the southwestern province of Yunnan China, which is located next to the Qiexi Village (about 30 km from the provincial capital Kunming). This piece of the Middle Kingdom (1960 above sea level) - a place where you can grow 500 varieties of edible mushrooms. This is a unique place where over-represented mushroom sprouts (or "Sparassis crispa"). Collect in China it can be quite easy. In Russia, the fungus is in the Red Book of the status III (a rare species).



Japan
Season: early December
By mushrooms in Japan are treated as treasure. October is considered the national mushroom month when supermarkets pass sales fungi, and restaurants - tasting, there are special menu where you can taste mushrooms cooked in a "Japanese-style» (nabe) - Eastern variations pot roast.
It grows in Japan one of the most expensive mushrooms in the world, a direct competitor of European truffles - matsutake. The price of one kilogram in Europe can reach up to $ 4,000, since this fungus grows only in the wild, on a rare form of a tree - red pine. Scientists mycologists even offered to hand over the Nobel Prize to the lucky ones who will be able to grow it yourself.
A rare opportunity to participate in the collection of the class is offered on October 18 and November 1 in one-day expedition into the woods near the town of Toyama (300 km from Tokyo). Registration fee - 3,500 yen (about $ 32), and the night in the guest house (with breakfast) - 7,500 yen ($ 90 per person). The only negative - the tour is so authentic that will be held in Japanese, so it makes sense to bring more and translator. Applications will be accepted online, deadline record - three days before the tour.



Source: www.forbes.ru

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