In this period of the year, in those communities blessed with woodlands, people, after an evening rain go hunting for mushrooms. Of course, that can be a dangerous passtime, unless you're really an expert. Many people poison themselves each year ... and all you need is one of the mistaken mushroom in your gleanings to create havoc.
Throughout Italy though, there's a public service (open all week long) run by the local Health Departments where you can take your mushrooms to be examined by experts ... maybe a bother but in my opinion well worth it. Here is one of the many posters you can now find throughout the territory to help people distingush between the various types of mushrooms:
musky autumn smell
in the wet forests and parks
mushroom gatherers
in the wet forests and parks
mushroom gatherers
huge baskets
full of porcini mushrooms
at Grosseto
full of porcini mushrooms
at Grosseto
When I lived in Grosseto I had lots of friends who used to go searching for mushrooms in the hillsides and parks that characterize this great area of Tuscany. Sometimes they would give us some of their finferly (chanterelles) which are the easiest mushrooms to find or porcini mushrooms - the mushroom par excellence in the Italian mind (and also dangerous to pick as there's a poisonous mushroom that looks a lot like it). I'm happy to say that my friends, though experts, always went to have their gatherings checked - one never knows.
