It's Time to Go Mushroom Picking!

It's Time to Go Mushroom Picking!

It's getting cooler again and the forest is perfumed with the scent of wild mushrooms. Find out more about delicious edible mushrooms such as porcini, parasols, chanterelles and more.

Like plants and animals, fungi are classified as a separate genus. For a long time, they were classed together with plants because they were thought to have many common properties, but they cannot photosynthesise and feed on dead or living organisms instead.

Fungi are widespread underground due to their many tiny spores and there are innumerable species, but only a few of them form a fruit body above the earth. We refer to these fruit bodies as mushrooms and the edible varieties are a popular food in many cuisines around the world.

But mushrooms are not only a culinary treasure, they also have many medicinal properties and play an important role in the ecosystem.

Tips and information for successful mushroom picking

Tips on looking for mushrooms
- Be respectful of nature
- Be quiet in the forest
- Only pick mushrooms that you can clearly identify
- Only pick what you need
- Cut the mushrooms with a sharp knife & do not tear or pull them out of the earth
- Find out about local regulations
- Pay attention to the signs in the woods
- Only collect in places where it is allowed
- A maximum of 2 kg mushrooms per day per person is allowed

The best spots to find mushrooms
- Mushrooms such as birch bolete or larch bolete grow, as their names suggest, near birch and larch trees respectively
- Porcini mushrooms grow in clearings in shady coniferous forests
- The parasol mushroom usually grows on the edge of deciduous forests
- Chanterelles prefer to grow on forest floors covered in pine needles or moss

Equipment for mushroom picking
- Sturdy shoes
- Rucksack and something to drink
- Basket or cloth bag for the mushrooms (don't use plastic!)
- Knife
- Brush for cleaning the mushrooms
- Mobile phone (save the number of your local poison control centre)

Popular edible mushrooms in Austria
- Porcini (known as Steinpilz in Austria)
- Chanterelles (known as Eierschwammerl in Austria and Pfifferlinge in Germany)
- Parasol
- Chestnut bolete (known as Maronenröhrling in Austria)
- Coprinus comatus or the shaggy ink cap (known as Schopftintling in Austria)

Are you itching to go pick some delicious mushrooms already? Please don't forget: Only pick mushrooms that you can clearly identify and only as much as you need.
Good luck!

PS: If you've had no luck picking wild mushrooms we also feature a variety of dried mushrooms and delicious mushroom products.