Dry Porcini Mushrooms from Tuscany

Dried Porcini Mushrooms from Tuscany

Giannetti Artisans’ Dried Porcini Mushrooms are considered a “celebrity” of Italian cuisine. The term “porcino” refers to the Boletus genus of mushrooms, particularly the Boletus edulis species, which is often regarded as the king of wild mushrooms. These impressive mushrooms can grow up to ten inches tall, with a foot-wide diameter, and can weigh as much as 2 pounds (1 kg) when fully mature. They typically feature a brown or ochre coloration with a white stem. The most highly prized Porcini have a chocolate-colored cap, which, when sliced, reveals a smooth, creamy pale flesh inside.

Expert mushroom hunters find Porcini in the woodlands and forests of Tuscany, where they grow in symbiosis with the trees, intertwining with their root systems. Interestingly, while Porcini can thrive in pine forests, the finest specimens are closely associated with chestnut trees.

Giannetti Artisans sources their unique Dried Porcini Mushrooms from the forested area of Garfagnana in Tuscany, where they grow near beautiful  chestnut, acacia, and beech trees.

Due to the short shelf life of fresh Porcini, Giannetti Artisans sources oven-dried varieties, which retain all the mushroom’s flavor while losing 8,090 percent of their weight through evaporation during the drying process.

Consequently, dried Porcini are a versatile ingredient for winter dishes. You can cook them with a bit of pancetta in risotto, use them in pasta sauces, or mix them with chicken liver pâté to spread on crostini as an antipasto. They also work wonderfully stirred into stracotto, a rich, slow-cooked beef and wine stew.

Buon appetito!

Ingredients: 100% Oven-Dried Porcini Mushrooms (boletus edulis & related group). Origin: ITALIA Toscana Garfagnana.