Amanita caesarea

History tells us that Amanita caesarea is so named because it was the favourite of a Roman emperor, and the tradition lives on in the common names employed throughout Europe: the English ‘Caesar’s mushroom’, the French ‘impériale’, the Polish ‘cesarski’ and the German ‘Kaiserling’. The Italians, on the other hand, call it ‘ovolo’ because when it is very small it looks like an egg in size and colour. Even in the Mediterranean region the mushroom is fairly rare (it is found mostly in the hills of northern Italy), and because of its demand as a delicacy, the price can become astronomical (£60 per kilogram in the 2002 season). One of my all-time favourite dishes (tasted in Milan some years ago) consisted of raw ovoli with raw porcini (Boletus edulis), topped with some freshly sliced white Alba truffle. A truly unforgettable dish for a mycophagist like me!