Collecting porcini mushrooms is a practice that requires a lot of experience. In particular with regard to the knowledge of the woods and the territory. To find them, you can’t stop at first glance, because often the mushrooms are covered by vegetation. Sometimes they are also located in the most difficult places to see, which is why it is important to be careful observers.
The mushrooms, and in particular the porcini ones, which are present in woods of the Cuneo valleys grow more or less in abundance from year to year and they are widely used in the kitchen thanks to their versatility: for example they can be eaten raw in salads, sautéed, fried, with the béchamel, in risottos, …
The main species that can be found in Piedmont are: summer porcini, summer brown porcini, autumnal brown porcini, autumnal porcini.
In addition to porcini mushrooms, other types of interesting mushrooms are ‘Porcinello rosso’ and ‘Grifola frondosa’. A separate chapter is dedicated to the famous white Alba truffle, rare, precious, sought after ingredient of the menus of the most prestigious national and international restaurants.
An area where you can find lots of porcini mushrooms is Val Casotto, in the province of Cuneo, between Mondovì and Garessio. It is not a very busy area, so recommended. Still in the province of Cuneo, Bagnolo Piemonte is known for mushrooms, but above all Ceva, which at the end of September becomes the capital of the with a dedicated exhibition.