Celebrating a Wild Delicacy: The King Boletus Mushroom Festival
Articles - Life In BV

1011053959_fbecc14201by: Dustin Heron Urban

Rare today are those foods which humans have not domesticated for cultivation. Salmon are farmed and injected with dye to appear wild, food crops are genetically engineered to be immune to the herbicides which are dumped upon them for weed control. But some food sources grow under such specialized conditions that we humans have engineered no ways to successfully cultivate them. The King Boletus mushroom is one such delicacy, and it grows abundantly in the wild, just a few miles west of Buena Vista. Each August the Buena Vista Heritage hosts the King Boletus Mushroom Festival (KBMF), a weekend dedicated to this wild delicacy.

Between 20,000 and 100,000 tons of King Boletus, also known as porcini, mushrooms are consumed globally each year, and every last one is foraged from the wild. This is a result of the fact that Boletus edulis is a strictly mycorrhizal fungus, meaning that it has developed a symbiotic relationship with coniferous trees. While the King Boletus helps these trees absorb water and nutrients, the tree provides the mushroom with sugars and amino acids produced through photosynthesis. While the growing conditions of the King Boletus have proven a challenge for humans to duplicate, they do occur regularly in the alpine ecosystems of Cottonwood Pass, where some of the KBMF forays take place.

The KBMF will take place this year on the weekend of August 23rd and 24th. Conceived of in 1996 by Jim and Carol Sanford, the KBMF is a fundraiser for Buena Vista Heritage and an opportunity for those interested to learn from the best about safely hunting, identifying and preparing this wild delicacy. This year a seminar presented by mycologist Ellen Jacobson and other members of the Colorado Mycological Society will kick off the weekend. Then it’s into the woods for mushroom forays on both Saturday and Sunday. Forays will be followed by tips on cleaning and preparation as well as opportunities to sample these fungal treats. The cost for the weekend is $70 ($60 for Buena Vista Heritage members) and includes lunch on Saturday. Space is limited. Call 719-395-8458 or visit www.buenavistaheritage.org for more information.  

References:
Boletus edulis. (2008, July 24). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:07,
July 28, 2008, from wikipedia

Kuo, M. (2001). Boletus edulis: The king bolete. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site

Kuo, M. (2006, February). Glossary of mycological terms Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com
Web site

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