Mushroom season in French Alps has arrived!

Hi Guys

Mushroom season has arrived, after a long wait the last couple of days have been very fruitful. With the warm weather and lots of rain have made the mountains perfect for picking wild mushrooms.

My choice of mushrooms for picking are the Porcini(cepes) and Chanterelle/girolles. With over a kilo of Porcini's today and 1/2 kilo of Chaterelle it was a great day. I am planning on freezing the mushrooms for the winter season and use in for our catered chalet guests.

If you are visiting the area and are thinking of picking mushrooms remember

Article 547 of the Code Civil stipulates that mushrooms belong to the owner of the land where they grow. Each commune has the right to decide whether mushroom picking is allowed, can say what quantities can be picked, can charge a fee or can totally forbid mushroom picking in the surrounding forests. .

A law passed in October 1989 gives the prefect (Préfet) of each region the right to take restrictive measures in order to preserve local fauna and to limit mushroom picking. Each préfecture can therefore regulate the quantity of mushrooms allowed per person, the days when mushroom picking is permitted and in some areas, there might be additional specific restrictions applying to certain species of mushrooms. Therefor, before going mushroom picking it is necessary to contact either the local town hall (mairie) in the commune where the person wishes to go picking or the local prefecture.

There are a number of rules that should be adhered to when picking mushrooms:

Mushrooms must be a certain size before being picked so that they have a chance to release their spores
Tools of any sort are forbidden with the exception of knives
A knife must be used to cut the stipe so as not to damage the mycelia
Mushrooms must be carried in a wicker basket to let the spores fall out and help propagation