Author: Dominik Flammer
Food scout and author Dominik Flammer lives in Zurich and has been interested in the history of nutrition since his youth. His father, the St. Gallen physician and mycologist René Flammer, is the author of the standard work on poisonous mushrooms, which was published in 2014 by AT-Verlag in a new edition edited. His work “Die historischen Gemüsegärten der Schweiz” (The Historic Vegetable Gardens of Switzerland) was released by the same publisher in 2020.
For a long time the consumption of mushrooms in Switzerland was frowned upon, and it was not until the beginning of the 20th century that they became widely accepted as food. Today, Swiss cuisine includes not only local and imported wild mushrooms, but also an increasing number of domestically cultivated mushrooms.
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Discovery of mushrooms in Switzerland
It was only two or three generations ago that the Swiss first discovered the delights of wild mushrooms. Until well into the 20th century, eating mushrooms was frowned upon. Only a few porcini mushrooms were available here and there, occasionally some chanterelles, and in wealthier households, truffles or morels. Hardly anyone dared to try blood mushrooms, wild mushrooms, or even umbrella mushrooms. Knowledge about the mushrooms was too uncertain. The first field guides did not appear until the beginning of the 20th century, along with mushroom clubs and mushroom inspection agencies.
Mushrooms as food
The spread of wild mushrooms as food in Switzerland was mainly due to a man, about whom little is known today, except that he immigrated from Germany and lived in Lucerne for a few decades: Julius Rothmayr. With exhibitions and lectures he gave throughout Switzerland, he was one of the pioneers in the discovery of wild mushrooms as a food and also culinary ingredient. About the red pine mushroom, for example (Latin: Lactarius deliciosus) he wrote: “It is considered one of the best edible mushrooms and it is not without reason that it bears the name deliciosus” in his field guide “Pilze des Waldes” (Mushrooms of the Forest). His daughter, Marie Rothmayr, also published one of the first Swiss cookbooks with mushroom recipes in Lucerne in the 1920s.
The supply of mushrooms is increasing and changing
As early as 1908, 8000 kilograms of mushrooms were sold at the Zurich mushroom market, and in Freiburg the number was almost twice as much in the same year. In Zurich, mushroom inspectors counted up to 80 different species. However, it did not take long before dozens of wild mushroom varieties appeared on Swiss markets. Already in the 1950s, cultivated mushrooms began to replace most wild mushrooms from market stalls. Only morels, porcini mushrooms, and chanterelles have managed to hold their own until now. And in recent years, native truffles have been appearing more and more frequently, whose growth, thanks in no small part to global warming, has led to a real truffle hunting boom in the northern Alpine region.
New boom for wild mushrooms
Although numerous mushrooms, mainly from Asia, are now cultivated in Switzerland at moderate prices – such as brown king oyster mushrooms (Erinigi), shiitake mushrooms and oyster mushrooms – and are available in many well-stocked vegetable sections, wild mushrooms are experiencing an unprecedented boom. This is mainly thanks to imports from Eastern Europe, the Balkans and, in winter, even South Africa.
Mushroom season begins during cherry blossom season
Seasonally, the earliest wild mushrooms include the popular morels, which, like the unfortunately somewhat frowned-upon false morels, sprout in spring at the same time as the cherry blossoms. However, the actual mushroom season only begins with the summer porcini mushrooms in July and then continues until the beginning of November, provided the autumn weather is mild and there is regular rainfall. For truffles growing into the ground, the season continues into the new year.
Use and application in dishes
The more delicate wild mushrooms should only be mixed together in very rare cases, as one or the other mushroom tends to dominate the flavor. Porcini mushrooms and morels are often used in dried form as intense seasoning mushrooms, since their aroma is exponentially enhanced by drying. Chanterelles, on the other hand, taste much better fresh than dried, and they can also be pickled perfectly, similar to gherkins and other vegetables pickled in a vinegar and spice mixture.
One of the most delicious wild mushrooms is undoubtedly the parasol mushroom, which is thinly breaded and ideal for frying until crispy. And an unusual specialty is the red pine mushroom, which is unfortunately only used much too rarely in our part of the world. Cut into thin slices, sprinkled with flour and lightly salted, it makes the very best mushroom chips. To do this, bake them briefly in sunflower oil and then season with a pinch of freshly ground black pepper. The red pine mushroom is not suitable for cooking, only for baking. Or, as in Spain, it is pickled in vinegar and stored for later consumption, similar to chanterelle mushrooms.
Cultivated mushrooms as an alternative
However, mushroom lovers will either have to dig deep into their pockets or spend hours searching through the undergrowth to find wild mushrooms. For those on a tighter budget, mushroom growers now offer a wide range of mushrooms in addition to the familiar cultivated mushrooms, using cultivation methods that originate mainly in Japan and, to some extent, China. The most important ones are definitely enoki and shiitake. In terms of quantity, these two mushrooms, together with the champignon, top the list of mushrooms grown worldwide (more information on Swiss mushroom growers can be found at www.champignons-suisses.ch).
Enoki as a prodigy among the mushrooms
Like many of the new exotic mushrooms, enoki mushrooms have a lot going for them compared to porcini mushrooms and other fine mushrooms. Because it can be cultivated, and has been since the early Middle Ages. Meanwhile, in Europe, the cultivation of mushrooms was not successful until the 17th century. Numerous growers in Switzerland are now benefiting from the experience gained in the Far East, thanks to which the enoki mushroom, known as Samtfussrübling in German, has long been available in local supermarkets and markets.
Cultivated mushrooms find their way into Swiss kitchens
However, enoki is by no means the only mushroom from Asia that is gradually finding its way into Swiss cuisine. These include the pom pom (also known as hedgehog mushroom or monkey head mushroom), the eryngii (also known as brown king oyster mushroom or pleurotus) and the nutty, spicy shimeij, or, more recently, nameko, as the Chinese mushroom is called. The number of new cultivated mushrooms coming onto the market will also be numerous in the coming years. In Switzerland alone, a few dozen species are in the testing phase or awaiting approval to enter the market.
Versatile and tasty
The new cultivated mushrooms are versatile, some are best braised (such as king oyster mushrooms), while others can also be eaten raw (such as enoki mushrooms) and make a wonderfully tasty addition to mixed salads. Shiitake, on the other hand, go well with pasta dishes and can be cooked in many different ways, baked or steamed like cultivated mushrooms. They are even significantly superior in taste.
Always exercise caution with mushrooms
However, mushroom lovers should not only be careful with mushrooms they have picked themselves, which should always be checked by experts at one of the numerous mushroom inspection centers. You should also be cautious when buying any pastes, honeys, salts, or oils that are supposedly flavored with truffles. This is because they are all flavored with industrially produced flavorings, even if they are marketed with misleading terms such as “nature-identical.” So, be careful! Once you get used to these synthetic flavors, you lose the ability to recognize the real taste of mushrooms. That would be too bad. For every true mushroom lover, scrambled eggs with just a little bit of locally sourced autumn truffle shaved on top or risotto seasoned with just a few dried and finely ground porcini mushrooms are among the greatest culinary delights.
Written by: Dominik Flammer, food scout and book author
Edited and published by: Richemont Centre of Excellence