A porcini mushroom
© vnosokin/Getty Image
It's National Mushroom Month!
Is it just us or does this porcini mushroom look straight out of a fairy tale? We're featuring this sweet 'shroom today because September is National Mushroom Month, a non-official holiday inaugurated in 1992 as part of a governmental effort to promote mushroom farming in the US. Some of the biggest celebrations this month occur in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, which is recognized as the Mushroom Capital of the World. The town of just 6,000 people cultivates around 500 million pounds of mushrooms each year, about half of the total US crop.
The porcini variety (or Boletus edulis) is very difficult to cultivate, so it’s usually foraged in the wild. Praised for their rich, versatile flavor, porcini are among the most popular—and priciest—wild mushroom varieties. Which type of mushroom is your favorite?
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