This boletus is the undisputed best (though B aureus runs it close) of the large group of fungi to which it belongs, all easily recognizable by the presence of spongy tubes instead of gills under their caps. Excellent cooked when freshly gathered, and ideally suited to conserving: sliced and dried; dried and powdered; conserved in oil; conserved in vinegar. See ‘Fungi and Michelangelo’ for ways of cooking them, and consult the chapter on Fungi in Plats du Jour by the author and P. Boyd, where a number of regional French recipes are to be found.