COnce upon a time in Lombardy there was the “fungiatt”: male, often solitary, who arrived in the woods at dawn in the secret places of the porcini mushrooms that only he knew. Second Biologist Merlin Sheldrake estimates that there are between 2.2 and 3.8 million species of fungithat is, a number between six and ten times higher than that of plants, and only about 6 percent of them are known. And they are everywhere. Those with stem and cap that we find in the forest are the fruits: the actual organism, the mycelium, is underground, composed of a network of filaments, the hyphae, which have a fundamental function for the plants with which they coexist in a sort of symbiosis, which involves exchanges of mineral substances, water, sugars.
Mushrooms and the changing climate
Climate change also affects the world of mushrooms. In the mountains, like the trees too the mushrooms are also climbing to an altitude of 2600-2800 meters to look for cooler temperatures. The presence of very small mushrooms at these altitudes is a sign. Further down, on the Parma Apennines, in the area famous for the Borgotaro Mushroom Fair, the dry 2022 was instead excellent for mushrooms. Mycologists are cautious in drawing conclusions. In the soil the mycelium lives for up to thirty years, it is difficult to predict how it will react if the increase in temperatures is constant. And then, in addition to the heat, the rain also counts.
In addition to collectors, mushroom scientists have also been men for centuries. But from the nineteenth century onwards, something has changed. In the Anglo-Saxon world, the first mushroom illustrators were often also mycologists. Today women, although remaining in the minority, have been able to combine passion and professionas we tell you in the following pages.
The mushroom women
“There is a widespread predatory attitude”
Daniela Visentini 49 years old, mycologist in Val di Taro (Parma)
«My passion for mushrooms is linked to childhood. As a child I came from Parma on holiday in this area of the Apennines which, from a mycological point of view, offers a variety of habitats: alpine environments at high altitude, Mediterranean oak woods further down. After graduating in Natural Sciences, mushrooms became my profession when in 2013 I followed the first mycology course in Borgotaro, obtaining the title of mycologist and registration in the national register. The mycologist inspector, who can work in the public or private sector, is the person who certifies the edibility of a mushroom before it goes on sale. In autumn, for one or two months depending on the harvest, I check the mushrooms that end up in the markets, at greengrocers or in restaurants and issue the legal certification. During the rest of the year I collaborate on educational activities with the Mushroom Museum of Borgo Val di Taro and Albareto, which I helped to create for the scientific part. Val di Taro is especially famous for PGI porcini mushrooms.
I confess, however, that it gives me more satisfaction to observe mushrooms in nature than to eat them. I love walking in the woods, hearing the birds singing and the wind in the pine branches. If I find some particular species that I want to analyze under the microscope I collect it, otherwise I am content with photographing. I don’t agree with the predatory approach of many people, who come en masse in September, buy harvesting permits and tear up everything they find, even the smallest mushrooms. Underground, the mycelium – of which the mushroom is the fruit – can live for many decades, but if we do not let new spores circulate, new mycelia will not grow. And when the old ones die, we risk having fewer mushrooms.”
“We grow mushrooms in a sustainable way”
Loredana Alberti 68 years old, co-owner of Fungar in Coriano (Rimini), which produces champignons and other edible mushrooms
“The mushrooms? They are my life. It all started in the 1980s when my husband, an agronomist, and I, my partner Maddalena and her husband, embarked on this adventure. Only saprophytes can be cultivated, as they feed on decomposed substances that we make available to them. Symbiotic fungi, including porcini mushrooms, live only in close connection with plants; therefore they do not grow in a greenhouse or covered area. We have a production of 3000 tons per year of white field mushrooms or champignons, cream field mushrooms, Pleurotus or oyster mushrooms.
In recent years, pioppini have also been cultivated. Each species has its favorite soil, created by specialized companies, whose ingredients are subjected to maceration and fermentation before introducing the spores, which are the seeds of mushrooms. This preparation is placed by us on the cultivation beds, where thanks to the right temperature conditions the underground part of the mushroom, the mycelium, grows and then bears fruit. Up to this point, each step is performed by machine. Only the harvesting of the fruit, which is very delicate, is done by hand, mostly by women. The whole process is natural: we limit ourselves to reproducing what happens in the forest, in a controlled and faster way. Among our workers, there are many women and also several couples, and this has made us sensitive to family-work conciliation and to establishing hours that favor families. Last March, Maddalena and I won an award from the Municipality of Rimini for our commitment to women in the company. Our mushrooms are a sustainable production.”
“I love identifying and mapping species in the area”
Silvia Corradini 66 years old, retired and member of the Alta Valtellina Mycological Group, lives in Tirano (Sondrio)
«It all started thanks to a doctor friend who was an expert in mushrooms, who over thirty years ago made my husband and I discover the “Russula” genus while walking in the woods. The next step was to contact a mycological association: thanks to conferences, group excursions and mycological exhibitions, my amateur interest acquired an increasingly scientific basis. But I made the real leap in quality by attending the mycologist inspector course in Trento, becoming a mycologist. I had no professional ambitions: I was already working in the hospital as a laboratory technical coordinator and I didn’t intend to change. What pushed me was pure passion for mushrooms. I like going into the woods, photographing, documenting the mushrooms I see. I especially love being able to name a mushroom I don’t know. Recognize means realizing the existence of something. And then, when you walk to observe the mushrooms, you move without haste, slowly and with a careful eye. A special satisfaction? Being able to identify a difficult mushroom by receiving confirmation from a mycologist more experienced than me. Like everyone, if I find a porcini mushroom and my husband cooks it, I eat it with pleasure. But the joy of discovery is my prevailing interest. In particular, I love wood fungi, which have an important function in the forest ecosystem, that of decomposing dead wood. My favorites are Skeletocutis lilacina, because it is a challenge to recognize, and Pseudomerulius aureus, for its beauty. These mushrooms are visible in the woods even in spring.”
“Italians are only interested in porcini mushrooms”
Benedetta Pasquali, 34 years old, mycologist and environmental hiking guide, lives in Parma
«I went mushroom hunting for the first time when I was four years old with my grandfather, and it was the beginning of a great passion. After graduating in Biology, I also became a mycologist and with my activity as an environmental hiking guide I manage to organize mycological treks in the Apennines. For autumn mushrooms we range from late August to late November, while for spring ones we move between April and May.
Italians are especially interested in porcini mushrooms while foreign tourists are intrigued by the black truffle, which is found in the middle of the hills. I know the places to find mushrooms. For example, the blackthorn mushroom, quite rare, appears greener and more lush in the parts of the lawn where the grass grows, thanks to the exchange of nutritional elements between the plants and the mushroom. Ordinary people are now used to seeing mushrooms only in the supermarket; therefore it is important to explain how to collect them without plundering the forest and without causing the mycelium to die. And at this point I often read the amazement in the faces of adults: no one knows that the mushroom we pick is like the apple, while the mushroom tree is underground. People are also surprised by the variety of shapes: everyone expects a mushroom to always consist of a cap and stem, but instead there is a wonderful genus, Clavaria, with mushrooms that look like corals. Even reproduction, which is not sexual and occurs in the soil, is a source of wonder. Only the secondary mycelium, which arises from the meeting of two primary mycelia born from the spores, is able to bear fruit: an extraordinary mechanism which serves to avoid clones and mix up the genetic material.”
“I create dishes that enhance each different variety”
Erika Gotta 30 years old, chef of the La Bursch restaurant, in Valle Cervo (Biella)
«Mushrooms are part of my cultural heritage: I am originally from the Langhe. I worked in Milan, Switzerland and Piedmont before arriving, two years ago, at Bursch in mountain territory, where polenta and mushrooms reign. I’m not a mushroom picker: I rely on local people who go looking for them. Mine is a cuisine that values local products, so mushrooms cannot be missing. In the area you can find porcini mushrooms, chanterelles and honey mushrooms. And when they arrive, I create the dish to include them. They are never large quantities, so I offer them fresh. It’s rare that I have to freeze or dry them, but if it happens I use them dried to flavor broths, or as powders.
I prefer autumn or winter mushrooms, which have the scent of the forest. I find late summer porcini mushrooms not very tasty, they have different scents. As for the dishes that include mushrooms, they arise from my ideas, experimenting together with Pietro, my sous chef. Maybe I take inspiration from tradition and reinterpret. Any examples? Let’s take a classic, mushroom risotto: I propose it with gianduja and cocoa, or with vermouth, almond milk and toasted almonds. Mushrooms are also included in the appetizer, in a browned version, together with rabbit liver pâté and herb sorbet: an experiential journey between hot, cold, crunchy and a little acidic. Our vegetable garden, where I transplant herbs that I collect accompanied by a local expert or seedlings selected in the nursery, is a source of inspiration. We also have mushroom grass, an aromatic that recalls the taste of mushrooms and is perfect in combination.”
Truffles underground, more and more women among those who collect them
In Italy there are nine species authorized for feeding. The white one is the most precious. But 2022 is a year to forget.
Truffle, Credits Truffle Fair Authority, GettyImages, Giorgio Perottino
There are also mushrooms that bear fruit underground: truffles. «In Europe there are only 25 species, but those authorized by law for food in Italy are only nine» explains Isabella Gianicolo, scientific director of the Truffle Study Center of Alba, graduate in Natural Sciences and mycologist, very expert in the recognition of truffles , once extracted, under the microscope. «The cultivation of black truffles is an established reality, while research into white truffles continues». Thus this underground mushroom, as precious as gold, can only be found by “trifolao” with their trained dogs.
“Today there are starting to be young people among the collectors, including girls.” Isabella Gianicolo, from Alba, took her first steps by collaborating during university with the International Alba White Truffle Fair ( Difesadeltartufo.org ). «She intrigued me and I was passionate about it» she says. Unlike the mushrooms on the surface, the truffle experienced a year to forget in 2022 with the drought. «The climate is fundamental: the truffle requires freshness, humidity, water. It is healthy if it snows in the winter and in the summer there are no hot winds that dry the soil.” How to protect it? «The only strategy is to insert new plants and water them» she comments. «The well-being of the truffle goes hand in hand with that of the trees»
iO Donna © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED