Cultivated and Wild Mushrooms

The distinction between cultivated and wild mushrooms is increasingly blurred, but for cooking purposes the three-part classification followed in this chapter is useful. Firstly, there is the common cultivated mushroom, which is cheap and universally available. Secondly, there are a small but growing number of wild varieties that are now quite widely cultivated and are to be found fresh or dried in specialty stores. Thirdly, there are the almost legendary mushrooms, such as morels, chanterelles and boletes, which still defy successful cultivation and must be gathered in the wild. For all three groups of mushroom, preparation and cooking techniques are broadly similar.