YOU CAN FIND THEM NOW

Matsutake, or Pine Mushroom Tricholoma nauseosum

This fall you might be able to find the delicacy greatly appreciated in Japan, matsutake, or pine mushroom, from the rugged pine heaths of Kuusamo.

I found the first mushrooms of the year in late August. The unique, sweet and sugary smell spread everywhere as I cooked them. They say that the whole apartment building will know if somebody is cooking matsutake.

The mushroom is fairly unknown and quite capricious in its occurrence. Last fall I found only a few and the year before that not at all, and again in 2007 I found a lot. That year, hundreds of kilograms of matsutake was flown from Rovaniemi to Japan. The best mushrooms can cost up to 200 €/kg in Japan. In Finland, you can sell the small, unopened mushrooms for 50€/kg.

The mushroom is easy to recognize. It is strongly fixed to the ground, so that it is difficult to pick it up in one piece. And the sweet, "perfumelike" smell is the final assurance.

Taivalkoski, Kylmäluoma, 25.8.2010

Canon EOS V, zoom ER 24-105mm IS, Fuji Provia 400