Mushroom picking

While most foreigners would never dream of risking a possible lethal case of poisoning by eating something they found in a forest, mushroom picking is a Polish holiday craze. People love it, and because approximately 30% of Poland is covered with beautiful woodland it is one of the most common ways of spending free time outdoors. Poles are eager to wake up in the early morning to pick mushrooms before others, and they teach children the names of all the species of mushrooms as well as acquaint them with techniques of recognising if the mushroom is edible or lethally poisonous. Picking mushrooms is a serious thing in Poland and Polish mushroom dishes are usually world-class delights.

Poles take their mushroom picking very seriously.

 

 

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An invasion of Polish people picking up mushrooms ruined the teachings of an American tank unit near the western city of Jagan, RIA Novosti reported. US combat machines yesterday had to shoot in the area. The heavy rains during the weekend, however, caused an abundant mushroom crop, and many residents of the area set out to collect the plants. The people were not concerned by the warning posters in Polish and English, and the command was forced to cancel the maneuvers.

The Central European state hosts an exercise involving about 3,500 troops from the United States. America has increased its military presence in Central and Eastern Europe after Russia occupied the Ukrainian Black Sea coast of Crimea in 2014.

 

So what about mushrooms do Poles learn at a young age?

Every mushroom has a part under the cup called the hymenophore that’s either a lamella (striped) or tubes (flat). Mushrooms with tubes are edible and those with lamella can be. Or not ;-) If the mushroom is red with white dots: walk on, it is very poisonous.

 

When does this all take place?

Every September, families in Poland go mushroom picking together. After a successful search, mushrooms will be either dried or pickled, I guess you can imagine how these houses will smell...

 

What do people use them for?

Poles like to cook using mushrooms, let me mention a few dishes.

 

Placki ziemniaczane & kluski with mushroom sauce – Chanterelle / Porcini

Placki are potato pancakes that can be served with either goulash or mushroom sauce. The best sauce is a chanterelle (kurki) sauce, according to many.

 

 

 

Pierogi filled with mushrooms

Pierogi are well-known all over the world. Those amazing dumplings can be filled with pretty much anything, but the best combination according to many is cabbage with onion and porcini.

 

 

 

Pickled mushrooms

Very popular for Christmas, see the below picture.

 

All very tasty. Even in Warsaw I see people picking mushrooms in parks, I still remember the moment that I saw a woman of at least 80 years old climb a hill which was so damn steep that I would doubt to go up myself. It was not making any impression to my wife, with me asking her the famous question I would ask her many more times: "Is this normal in Poland"?

Thanks for reading, take care.