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This very common brown capped mushroom that’s mycorrhizal with birch is pretty abundant. I have been finding it since July in both grassland and woodlands where there is birch. It’s easily identifiable with its dark scruffy scales down the stipe (stem), white tubes/pores (no gills) that go browner with age/bruising. The inside of the stipe is white when cut with a little discolouration at times slightly yellow when old or pink but not blue like some of the more risky boletes.

GeorgeFlavour Fred
It has a higher water content than some more choice boletes but it makes up for it in its availability. When young they are firm and I love them like this but when old they are spongey and best for soup or drying for stocks etc. The flavour is great 8/10 in my opinion.

Here I make use of the dense ones and cook in a dry pan with some salt, finishing with butter and garlic. Simply on toast…Delicious 😋. The remaining spongey/old ones are souped this time around with onions, garlic, potatoes, thyme, bay and seasoning. This is great to freeze but you need to remove the bay and stalks of thyme before blending of course.

Breakfast was mushrooms on toast and dinner was soup. Perfect 👌🏻

george

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