Common
Name: King Bolete, Cep (French), Porcino (Italian), Steinpilz
(German), White Mushroom Белый Гриб (Russian; pronounced “belly greeb”) – The reference to regality conveys the notion that
this mushroom is the king, as it is
widely considered from the Epicurean European perspective, the epitome of the genus Boletus. It is described by
David Arora in Mushrooms Demystified as “… magnificent - a consummate
creation … the one aristocrat the peasantry can eat.”
Scientific
Name: Boletus edulis –
Traditionally, the genus name is attributed to the Latin word for mushroom, boletus, which is in turn derived from
the Greek βωλίτηζ (originating from βωλοζ,
which means ‘lump’). However, some
philologists believe that there is an association between mushroom names and
place names. From this perspective, the genus was named for the town Boletum located in Hispania Tarraconnensis, the Roman province comprising northern
Spain. Whether this is a toponym, the town being named for the mushroom, or
vice versa, will likely never be resolved. The specific edulis means “eatable” in Latin.
King Boletes are among the most prized of edible
fungi of Europe, second only to truffles in gustatory appeal. They are
characterized by large reddish-brown, smooth caps that are viscid when wet and
that have white pores on the underside that become tawny with age. The stalk is
probably the most notable feature; it is stout and tends to be bulbous with
white reticulations, a webbed or netted pattern of raised striae that extend
over the upper portion. They are
generally found singly or in small groups under conifer trees, notably spruce
and hemlock, and some deciduous trees, notably birch. They are mycorrhizal in
their association, providing water and minerals to the tree roots in exchange
for the tree’s photosynthetic glucose for nutrition.
Identification
of the King Bolete is not a trivial matter, as they are quite variable in the
coloration and diameter of the cap and in the girth of the stipe or stem. According to Charles McIlvaine, describing the
mushroom in the seminal One Thousand American Fungi, “some species
appear to have that prize of Fairyland – the Wishing Cap – and by its power be
able to take on any form they please.” There is some indication that B. edulis is actually a group of related
species and that the variants found in North America are not the same as those
found in Europe, where they were first described. However, they are gathered assiduously for
consumption across the globe, a fact that attests to the facility that most
people have in identification once some experience with the species is gained.
Another factor that allows for some lassitude is that there are no known deadly
boletes and the ones that cause adverse reactions, notably gastric distress,
can be readily distinguished be a simple test. The aphorism among mycophagists
is that you can eat any bolete except those that have red gills, those that
stain blue, or those that taste bitter. This latter feature distinguishes the
King Bolete’s most common look-alike, the aptly named Bitter Bolete (Tylopilus felleus).
The proliferation of the names for B. edulis is distinguished not so much
by its global reach as by its rich diversity in etymology. It is the opinion of
David Arora that, “…it has more common names than there are languages.” This suggests that the mushroom was
independently identified, consumed and named in separate, disconnected regions
with different cultural traditions. It was among the first mushrooms to be
described, the French Botanist Pierre Buillard establishing it as a unique
plant (fungi were thought to be plants in the Phylum Thallophyta until well
into the 20th Century) in 1782. It was the first mushroom of
the genus Boletus to be named, and is
therefore considered the Boletus ‘type’
species. It was a well-known edible at that time, as Buillard describes it in
his Herbier de la France as “très
agreeable au gout, et à l’odorat, on le mange à toute saufse (sic)” (very
agreeable to taste and smell, one can eat it in total safety). Given this paean to its gustatory attributes
relative to the low risk of adverse effects in one of the first field guide
publications, it is not surprising that it was widely consumed and popularly
known by different common names.
In Western Europe, the common names of Boletus edulis are generally derived
from a similarity in appearance between one of the mushroom’s attributes and a
physical object. In England, it is
called the ‘Penny Bun’ due to the rounded shape and brown color of the cap. To
the Germans, it is the ‘Steinpilz’ or
‘stone mushroom’ which may refer to either the firmness of the mushroom or to
the fact that it looks like a smooth riverbed stone. The French common name ‘Cep’ or ‘Cepe’ has a more labored etymology; ‘Cep’ is the Gascon word for ‘tree trunk’
which comes from the Latin cippus
meaning ‘stake’ (and ‘tombstone’ with some unintended irony
for a choice edible mushroom). The
likely reference is to the bulbous and trunk-like stalk, the mushrooms most
notable feature. The most ubiquitous of the Western European names is ‘Porcino’ which is Italian for ‘little
pig, as this is the name which is most frequently used in the extensive B. edulis export market trade; the label
‘porcini’ (plural) is quite frequently
seen in the produce sections of food markets. The metaphorical comparison to
piglets which is probably both for appearance and taste, reflects the earlier
Roman tradition of referring to a bolete-type mushroom as Suillus, the word for ‘swine’ (the name survives as the genus Suillus, a group of mushrooms with pores
instead of gills like those of the genus Boletus).
In Eastern Europe, Boletus edulis is afforded a much more honored position in the
culinary pantheon, and it is accordingly referred to in terms that reflect its
singular munificence. In Poland, it is known as Prawdziwek, literally ‘true mushroom,’ a designation that has
extends to the Balkans as Pravivrganj
with the same meaning. But it is in Russia that the esteem reaches the pinnacle
of the natural cuisine. The Белый
Гриб or ‘white mushroom’ is considered ambrosial, the
name conveying not only the color of the flesh and pore surface, but also the
purity of the fungus in comparison to the ‘black mushroom,’ considered of
inferior quality. According to the noted Russian author Vladimir Nabokov, it has
“that special boletic reek which makes a Russian’s nostrils dilate – a dark,
dank satisfying blend of damp moss, rich earth and rotting leaves.” The Russian
Wikipedia website lists 20 different regional names that range from the
pedestrian ‘boletus’ (боровик)
to the more anthropomorphic ‘grandma’ (ба́бка).
Traditionally, the white mushroom is collected in Autumn
and dried or pickled in brine for later consumption.
The King Bolete is highly nutritious, with
significant amounts of protein and amino acids, a fact that is generally not at
all appreciated by the general public. A
100 gram serving (3.5 ounces) contains over 7 grams of protein with a fat content
of less than 2 grams and a total caloric level of only 82 kilocalories (the
vernacular calories are really kilocalories). It is also rich in the B vitamins
and in important minerals, especially iron and zinc. However, like most
mushrooms, it is comprised primarily of carbohydrates, about 65 percent of the
total dry weight, mostly in the form of chitin, a polysaccharide that is not
digestible by humans and accordingly passes through the intestinal tract as beneficent
dietary fiber. Chitin is the fundamental cellular structure of all mushrooms
(plants cells are cellulose) which accounts for their ‘meat-like’ texture. But
perhaps to most notable of nutritional attributes of B. edulis is its amino acid composition; it contains all eight of
the essential amino acids. A good source
of protein must have all of these essential amino acids or it must be part of a
balanced diet that does; any deficiency in one results in a reduction in the
synthesis of the other seven. Shu-Ting Chang
and Phillip Miles rank foods according to their essential amino
acids in relation to adult dietary requirements in a quantitative index on a
scale of 0 to 100 in Mushrooms, Cultivation, Nutritional Value, Medicinal
Effect, and Environmental Impact. Mushrooms (98) rank just below meat (100) and above
spinach (76).