ISO: FRESH PORCINI MUSHROOMS

[Fleur]

I have not been able to find Fresh Porcini in Brooklyn. Does anyone have a good supplier? Are they available by mail? Manhattan OK too.

I have tried my usual sources, the local markets like GARDEN of EDEN and the Korean markets with no luck.

[Spankysaidso]

Fixed up a nice batch of porcini last night mmmm it was good. I like to take them and either saute them in butter or make a bit of batter and coat them then fry them. Something i like to do with the stalks is use them in a soup. I will be picking fresh porcini atleast for the next couple of weeks if there is anyone still looking at a fair price.

[Spankysaidso]

It was interesting for me to come across this board and figured i could shead a little light on this subject a little. I am what i like to call myself a gardener of wild mushrooms. what is called Cep, Steinpilz, Porcini, King Bolete is one and the same mushroom, Latin name Boletus Edulis. A very good book of refference is by David Arora called Mushrooms Demystified. some of us call it the mushroom bible. Looking at prices being paid to import the same mushrooms etc supprises me... why not support the cultivators we have here? A lot of us do ship overnight etc so freshness is good and so is the quality. In my area the porcini are begining to go full swing. try to do a googal or any other search engine for Fresh Oregon Mushrooms to see how many sights there are for u.s cultivated mushrooms. here is one as well http://oregonmushrooms.com/pc-105-24-... if you do some searching you may find them less a little less but hard to say i hope this helps a bit

[Fleur]

GARDEN of EDEN on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights has fresh Porcini. I saw them there on Friday at a shopping $44 per pound.

I'll pass.

[RICKO]

What was the name of the mushroom importer/wholesaler that used to be in Tribeca that allowed walk-ins that moved to Brooklyn? Are they still around?

[markabauman]

If it hasn't already been mentioned above, I believe fresh frozen porcini are available at BuonItalia in Chelsea Market. Not sure of price.

[Joe MacBu]

Try the mushroom purveyor Marché Aux Delices, based in New York.

888.547.5471
http://www.auxdelices.com/default.htm

[Fleur]

Thanks for the link. A very interesting site, but no prices. I am not interested at $50 per lb.

[erica]

I wondered if anyone has tried the King mushrooms that look a little like porcini and are a lot less costly... They are a variety of oyster mushroom, or at least that is what I read...

I've seen them a lot in Chinatown (have not looked lately so do not know if they are in season now..)

[Quine]

I cannot say they look at all like a porcini, they look like HUGE stems of mushrooms. Yes, they are a variety of the oyster mushroom and IMHO they are great. They do have a chewy texture, so think dice/fine chopped, not sliced. I loved these cubed and sauted in butter, along side a grilled steak, yum!

[Fleur]

I finally found my fresh Porcini at GRAND CENTRAL MARKET. The only problem - they are $49.99 per pound.

[Fleur]

Thanks for the tips.

Porcini, Cepes, Morels, Chantarelle are all wonderful mushrooms. Once found only wild, they are now cultivated to some degree. Very expensive, always have been. Even in Italy and France they are very expensive.

Well worth the price, because they are outrageously delicious. I love them just sauteed in butter, with salt and pepper, on toast or in a puff pastry shell.

[erica]

Gee, I did not even think they were expensive at 12 Euro per kilo in France!!

Thanks, Jen, for the clarification.

[FAL]

Look for Cepe's also. They are the same size and shape as fresh porcini's.

[erica]

I thought cepe and porcini were the same mushroom, the first name being French and the second Italian. (???) On my package of dried cepes that I brought back from France it says "porcini" below the name.

[jen kalb]

yes. here's one description
http://www.lifeinitaly.com/food/porci...

[erica]

Thanks, Jen. That is a great article and those photos of the Italian market have me yearning to return!

I was in SW France last fall. Since we were in a rented house, I was very excited to find fresh porcini at what I thought was a great price..12 Euro per kilo! We boought a wooden crate filled with them but when we took them back to cook, I noticed that the undersides of most of the large ones had a spongy dark green-ish gunk filling the area around the quills. Not sure of waht do do with this, I made the mistake of cooking it up along with the rest of the caps in shallots, olive oil, parsley. Let me tell you that the result was not good, in fact it was downright disappointing beacuse this "gunk" turned slimey. The next day I asked a market vendor about this and he said that it is usual to cook and eat this "stuff" under the cap. I have no idea what it was or what I did wrong, other than not remove it. We bought the mushrooms from a vendor who had a roadside shed and told us that he was mainly a restaurant suuplier but also sold retail out of this large shed/hangar. Were they past their prime?
Any thoughts?

[Spankysaidso]

Sorry to hear about your dissapointment with the box of porcini, yes they were past there prime lol well past. as for cooking them with the undersides I would have to say that when they are smaller and still tight is when they would be at there best. here i use the large old ones to spred spore so i can have a continued cycle of basicly replanting for the feauture.

[Fleur]

Thanks Jen for the great website.

It never occurred to me that Cepe and Porcini are one and the same. Different country, different dishes, different taste.

I think Italians feature dishes with Porcini more in restaurants than do the French. It's a pasta thing!

[FAL]

They are the same . I didn't want to have someone give a long theory on how they might be diffrent in taste and size and color due to diffrent soil conditions.

[pd_on_keys]

I didn't know that fresh porcinis made ther way to the states? They're available in Italy only a few months out of the year, and they're definitly not grown in the US, right? Dried porcinis are much more common.

[jen kalb]

Fresh porcinis are definitely seasonal in italy - its possible that they have found a way to grow them in artificial medium - cant say I have actually ever seen fresh porcini in markets here, though I have not checked the fancy food markets in season, either.

As far as frozen porcinis go, I believe that I have seen them used to good effect in risottos and pasta dishes - in Venice, for example in winter I had some very nice seafood pasta with pieces of what I surmised were frozen porcini. (did they disclose they used "surgelato" ingredients on the menu? - no) They added a very good flavor. and texture. in these dishes. Grilling and sauteeing isnt the only way to go with these.

[Fleur]

You are right, Jen. I, too, have spent winter vacations in Venice and had Porcini. Delicious, but they had to be frozen. No "surgelato" disclosure on the menu. I thought that was required by law.

I have had Porcini in dishes in local restaurants. Most recently, a wonderful Porcini Tart Tatin at TEMPO. Maybe I'll call and ask them where to find them.

[rootytootyfreshnfrooty]

Not trying to not help, but Coluccio has frozen whole porcini that I have used to excellent effect. I've got fresh porcini only at the Arthur Ave market a couple of years ago. And in Florence.

[amp156]

I've never seen them in Brooklyn, however they had them recently at the Manhattan Fruit Exchange in the Chelsea Market.

[jen kalb]

a couple weeks ago Eagle provisions was selling nice ones 2/$1 out of a box at the register - he may still have some.

[erica]

Yes, I saw them in Chelsea Market yesterday. Along with a large variety of fresh mushrooms including chanterelles.

[claire de lunacy]

meyer lemons are now at Fairway in Red Hook.

[max]

I've seen them at whole foods in Manhattan. Also, have you check the key food on fifth ave... they have a rather good mushroom selection.

[Quine]

I was able to google and find mail sources. You can try that then.

[Fleur]

Thanks. I appreciate your help. I will try the mail order for fresh Porcini. I hope they have good quality Dried Porcini at SAHADI'S, although he doesn't stock the really higher end merchandise any longer (like high quality black truffle oil) because he says people won't pay the higher prices.

I have usually been able to find most things locally. I have been getting Meyer Lemons at GRAND CENTRAL MARKET, but would love to find them locally. Any tips on that?

[Stella]

Garden of Eden occasionally has Meyer lemons, but not always.

[Fleur]

I haven't seen Meyer Lemons at my local GofE on Montague Street. I did buy 9 gorgeous huge ones at GRAND CENTRAL MARKET yesterday.

[Quine]

There are some great produce places down in sheepshead area, Ave z and 18th, that area.

[Fleur]

But do they have fresh Porcini?