I was too busy with grad school classes last fall to blog about this at the time, but last September, when one of my friends sent out an email inviting people to go on a weekend hike in our town's surrounding mountains in search of mushrooms, my first thought was "hiking = no." And my second thought was...Well, it wasn't so much of a thought as a random mix of psychedelic songs running through my mind. Sorry, but if you're hiking a mountain, instead of going down to your local market to buy mushrooms, I immediately think the goal of the experience is to channel Pink Floyd more so than Martha Stewart.
Next thing you know, I couldn't walk down the street without tripping over one of the dozens of little old ladies selling mushrooms all over town. Then, I noticed mushrooms being mentioned on all of the Korean news programs. My Korean is EXTREMELY limited, so I turned to my equivalent of Korean Wikipedia, my students.
My students explained to me that it was pine mushroom season, and pine mushrooms are very hard to find and very expensive.
Unlike other mushrooms that grow on dead trees, pine mushrooms grow only on the roots of living pine trees that are between 20 and 60 years and grow in mountainous areas. They do not grow in the same spot twice. They grow most vigorously at temperatures of between 18 and 24 degrees Celsius and can be found in acidic soils, mainly in the Taebaek and Sobaek mountains on the east coast of Korea. When the temperature is around 19 degrees Celsius in June and July, pine mushrooms can be harvested in summer, but these mushrooms cannot compare in flavour or aroma to those harvested in autumn. Pine mushrooms are extremely finicky about their growing conditions, making them very difficult to cultivate. As a result, they are somewhat expensive.
I also kept hearing Korean pine mushrooms being compared to French truffles. When I found out their price, I could understand the connection! Fresh pine mushrooms picked in Korea range from 600,000 won to 750,000 won ($461-$576) per kilogram at one of the major department stores!!! But I've been told that at the local market they are significantly cheaper.
There is even a festival in honor of the Korean pine mushroom.
(No. I don't know these people)
Unfortunately, I have yet to try a pine mushroom, but I can attest to the fact that they smell wonderful. Perhaps I will try them someday when I feel like forking out big cash for mushrooms and actually have a kitchen in which I can cook...Make that "want" to cook.
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