Get your baskets ready,Mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms!

Mushroom picking in Limousin

Everyone knows that autumn is mushroom season! 🍄‍🟫

With temperatures starting to drop – but still mild – and rainfall increasing, conditions are ideal for mushroom hatching. But the true picker will tell you, it’s not only in autumn that you can fill your basket. 🧺🥰

Find our tips and tricks here to get you started on the not-so-easy adventure of mushroom picking!

Limousin forests have so much to offer

In Limousin, we’re fortunate to have prolific soil, where some 2000 different species grow, including some excellent edibles, for those who know how to find them 🤫

Morels in spring, mousserons in April, girolles in May, coulemelles in September, trompettes de la mort in October, rosés des prés throughout autumn. And the most coveted of all, of course, is the cep!

So, to make sure you’re picking the right edible and tasty mushrooms, concentrate on the abundant and accessible girolle, the slender and (almost) easily identifiable coulemelle, and the cèpe, the king of our Limousin undergrowth!

They’re rich in minerals, fiber and vitamins, and have their own unique flavor.

Here, they’re found on every good table, and we love them!

Let’s get outfitted!

Put on your colorful raincoat and your best boots, graba walking stick, your mushroom knife with curved blade, your wicker basket woven by a local basket-maker,a small guide to mushroom identification and let’s get picking!

Don’t use a plastic bag, as this will accelerate rotting, encourage the proliferation of bacteria and, above all, damage and crush your mushrooms. Choose a basket that’s big enough not to mix up the different species of mushrooms you pick.

Where do we go?

First of all, it’s important to find out where you’re going to pick. Make sure you have the owner’s authorization.

Mushroom picking is authorized in public forests (state-owned forests) if it is for family consumption and if the amount taken is reasonable (5 liters per person per day maximum – unless local regulations dictate otherwise). There are 147 public forests in our département, so you’re bound to find one not far from where you live or vacation! For more information, don’t hesitate to contact your local town hall💡

On the other hand, choose your picking location with care, as mushrooms absorb the pollutants to which they are exposed. Roadsides, industrial areas and rubbish dumps, but also pastures, are therefore to be avoided.

We can’t recommend a particular location, as this could incur the wrath of regular pickers. Limousin people are attached to “their corners”. You have to venture out, look for something, come back empty-handed, try again and again, until you find your very own “mushroom spot”. 🍄‍🟫🍄‍🟫🍄‍🟫

Don’t venture into a wood or property unless you’re sure you’re authorized to do so.

When should we go?

The best time to pick mushrooms is often – and this is not a general rule – after a good rain shower: one or two days later is ideal, and the mushrooms are ready to hatch.

If you meet a local old-timer with a passion for mushroom picking, he’ll surely tell you that the full moon also influences the mushroom cycle and its “growth”… There’s probably some truth in this. So to stack the odds in your favor, plan your outings according to the lunar cycles, during the rising moon period 🌖

Identifying and choosing the right mushrooms

Always identify mushrooms one by one, as some poisonous mushrooms resemble edible species. Pick those in good condition, neither too young to let them grow and facilitate identification, nor too old as they risk being damaged or colonized by worms. Always remove the entire mushroom (stem and cap), to enable identification.

📖 If you’re new to mushrooms, take a stroll and refer to your edible mushroom guide, which is as illustrated as possible and has detailed descriptions, before picking.

If in doubt, have the fruit of your harvest checked by a pharmacist or an experienced picker to avoid poisoning.

Picking technique

Pick mushrooms in their entirety (stem and cap – even for species whose stems are not eaten) to help with later identification. It’s best to clean them on the spot, lightly “peeling” the stem to rid it of the soil that covers it. Mushroom knives have a curved blade, making it easier to clean the stem and cap, and some even have a little brush built in!

When taking your first steps as a mushroom picker, it’s a good idea to take photos of your harvest, to facilitate treatment in the event of poisoning. And yes, prevention is better than cure… We can’t stress this enough: if you have the slightest doubt about any of the mushrooms you’ve picked, don’t eat the harvest until it has been checked by a pharmacist or mycology association. Only touch and pick mushrooms you know and have perfectly identified.

Awaken your senses

Take advantage of your walk in the woods in search of mushrooms to awaken your senses: listen to the forest awakening after a rain shower, open your eyes wide and observe the fauna that inhabits it and, above all, inhale the fragrances that surround you: if there are mushrooms, you’ll smell them!