In our part of the world Keats’ ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’ also means chestnuts and mushrooms. This is the time for wonderful walks through chestnut forests and foraging for that ever elusive porcino mushroom.  It’s also a great time for joining in the Castagnate or chestnut festivals throughout the Garfagnana.

Locals are obviously very secretive about where to find the best mushrooms and so are we! Suffice it to say that one should always have one’s mushrooms checked carefully by a real expert or mycologist. The consequences of eating the wrong mushroom can lead to death, life on dialysis or, at best, a considerable bout of hallucinations.

It can also lead to getting lost in the wildest of forests. Recently an 82 year old woman had to spend the night among the trees when she got lost searching for mushrooms. There was a big local debate about whether she should pay for the rescue party costs which can be very considerable and impinge on our taxes! There are also several cases annually of people falling down ravines with consequent results.

Anyway, the whole point about mushroom gathering is to take a nice stroll through some heavenly landscapes and enjoy nature at its ripest and most wonderful. This should take precedence over any attempt to capture the most and largest porcini, in my view…