Wild Cooks in Scotland

I recently stayed with some friends in the Highlands outside Kinloch Rannoch. Their back garden runs into the mountainside, where the lower slopes are covered in mature birch and pine forests.

Picking the chanterelle mushrooms

Nestled in the moss and grass and under the birch trees are chanterelle mushrooms (rather confusingly they look the same as birch leaves). Chanterelles love shady and mossy spots. When picking them, cut the base rather than pulling them out to ensure they come again next year. Please take care when foraging for mushrooms as some varieties can make you seriously ill and in some cases can be fatal! I recommend taking a guide or guidebook with you.

A wild cook after a successful foraging trip

Once you have returned home with your foraging delights, I have a great serving suggestion. Simply fry them in butter and garlic and serve warm on a piece of crusty bread…delicious!

Frying the mushrooms in butter and garlic

Wild Cook Peter

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In search of Stein Piltz

Dear Wild Cooks

Picture the scene … at 7am this wild cook was in her element in a Bavarian Wood with a local Chef.  We were looking for the wonders that are Cep mushrooms, or as they are known in Germany, Stein Piltz.

In Bavaria, Germany, these are as highly prized fungi as they are in England and my chef friend had the inside info on just where to find a good patch.

As we crunched through the pine cones and pine debris, Regina explained that Stein Piltz grow well in this terrain and that they seem to grow in certain areas of woodland more than others.

Regina’s father, Herr Maldoner, knew of this spot and told her areas for Stein Piltz growth are closely guarded and sometimes the farmers do not even know they have them on their land.

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