“I didn’t take any more because I filled the basket.” If a few days ago Jesus went into the pine forest looking for chanterelles and found only half a dozen, in the middle of this week he tried again. And there they were: one, the other, yet another… Almost without moving, a whole trail of Lactarius deliciosus which delights mycology enthusiasts and which is in this species one of the main and most appreciated of Castilla y Lion. The Jesús “harvest” is a good example of the fact that mycological production in the province of Segovia has “skyrocketed” in recent weeks, with “relevant” fruiting of boletus edulis – another king of the soil – in the region of the Sierra de Guadarrama and the chanterelle, nízcalo, rebellón or as everyone knows it. Up to four kilos in one hour can be collected in this province, according to estimates by Micocyl, the mycological program of Castilla y León promoted by the Junta, provincial councils and more than 300 town halls and which is aimed at mushroom lovers . is a “bible” that they open with devotion every fall. The truth is that the rains at the end of August and September already indicated that this year there would be mushrooms. And the predictions are coming true, since a month and a half ago the first specimens began to emerge in the most humid areas of Soria and Burgos. If the weather forecast is correct, there is still season left and that suggests there is nothing like going to the mountains and coming back with an empty basket. Also in 2023, the season “started early”, although it was not as widespread. “Like this year, there hasn’t been one for a long time,” says Montserrat Ganado, from Micocyl. In addition, production is “widespread” throughout Castile and León. It’s “just a good time to go out and forage for mushrooms,” he points out, looking back a decade to find another fall as mycologically bountiful as this one. The statistics they have confirm that 2014 “was great”. The one that stands out for the high productions of recent history. “To have a good campaign, you have to go through several bad ones,” Ganado accepts with resignation, who, with the graph in front of him of the plots in which they are sampling, clearly sees these oscillations. Standard Related News There is no decrease in the number of crews illegally collecting ABC mushrooms in Soria. So far, in the mycological campaign, 2,232 kilos have been seized and 92 complaints have been processed, in full reception task, testifies that this season. began with more force and the preparation of porcini mushrooms, amanitas, chanterelles… They are part of the raw material that supplies their company in Rabanales, Setas Faúndez, one of the companies dedicated to the marketing of mycological products in the province of Zamora. . They offer them fresh, frozen, dehydrated or in natural preserves. And with a quality label, because the potential of the Community is such that there is even the Setas Castilla y León brand. “Normal.” This is how José Faúndez describes the season. Of course, he adds, “after ten bad years…”, it reached the category of “good” compared to the last decade. Of course, still a long way off, remember, from that year when they received “20 tons in one day”. “But it’s not good either,” he says. This year, he is confident that the temperatures will continue to be favorable, that the dreaded frosts will not arrive and that the forecasts of rain will come true and that a new flowering will encourage the company to remain active in a province where this year, according to Micocyl, the season is “excellent” and varied. With 2,700 species of mushrooms that find their ideal habitat in the Community’s soils, ranging from edible to toxic to deadly, all nine provinces have species with great mycological potential. Estimates suggest that there are 4.5 million hectares producing this resource on which 31,500 tonnes of mushrooms and mushrooms can grow annually, even if only 14 percent is used. Castilla y León is therefore a paradise for mycology lovers. The locals themselves go out with a basket and a knife in hand to collect a specimen to put in the mouths of tourists and sightseers. Mycotourism is fashionable and attracts more and more people to discover this world around which courses, conferences, exhibitions, excursions and, of course, gastronomic activities are organized. One of the most successful restaurants that is making a comeback this year is “Buscasetas Tierra de Sabor”, which for the first time extends even to Madrid and adds to a record 165 restaurants spread across the nine provinces and in the capital of Spain with a common thread: mushrooms as a star dish until November 17. And to talk about mycology is to talk about Soria. In the Montes de Soria Association – a group of forest owners that includes the majority of municipalities in this province and some in Burgos – the phone does not stop ringing. This year they have already issued more than 45,000 permits, which is 12 percent more than last year, which is a good thing in this area. In October alone, the mycological month par excellence, more than 21,000 Burgos are also early risers and the first specimens of the so-called mountain eel are already emerging. “Good production” also in Salamanca, where we find cesarean amanitas, oyster mushrooms, senderuelas or parasols. As in Valladolid, León, with pieces of porcini mushrooms weighing more than a kilo, and even in the most remote, Ávila, where Micocyl hopes that the flowering “will start to increase exponentially”.
