Fri, 03 Oct, 2014 12:12:07 AM FTimes - Xinhua report by Li Jizhi, Zhang Xuan, Oct. 3
Mushroom-picking has long been a tradition in Finland, where 70 percent of the Nordic country is covered by forests.
In the rainy Autumn when funguses thrive, Finnish nature lovers will throng into the woods for fun. It is said that 30 percent of Finns often go to pick up mushrooms.
Kaisa is a young lawyer in Kouvola, some 120 kilometers east of Helsinki. Her parents live in the nearby countryside and they own a large piece of land, consisting of a 50-hectare farm and a 50-hectare wood.
In her time off work, Kaisa and her parents went to pick mushrooms, bring with them a special instrument - a knife with a brush at the end of the handle. The blade is used for cutting, and the brush to wipe off dust and worms.
They would examine closely before starting picking in order to determine whether the objects were edible or not.
Some mushrooms were bitten by insects, but the remaining part could still be taken home. Among the edible species, the yellow-colored Chanterelle and the barrel-shaped Bolete are the most popular.
Trumpete chantarelle mushrooms are humble looking, but very delicious. They usually flourish in late September when the weather turns cold.
Back at home, Kaisa said the mushrooms should be immediately cleaned. Otherwise, they should be kept in the refrigerator so as to curb the mild toxicant.
Kaisa's mother Mirja was a master of cooking. She was extremely good at making mushroom cuisine.
She quickly cleaned the harvest and divided them into two groups: one was fried in a pan to make gravy; and the other was boiled to make mushroom sauce and salad.
Finland produces thousands of species of mushrooms, and edibility of most species have not been identified. About 150 types of mushrooms have been considered edible, and some 20 are confirmed to be poisonous.
In the past 40 years, 20 deadly cases were reported in Finland.
The mushroom sauce and salad were tasty and refreshing. It would be even delicious to go with stewed potato and rye bread. Kaisa's family were never worried about the lack of vegetables in house, because they could always go to the field picking up mushrooms and berries.
According to the Finnish law, anyone can walk into everyone else's forest picking mushrooms, berries, as well as fishing and having picnic, without disturbing the landowner's life.
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