St George's Mushroom
Production area:
all the Park valleys, in particular in the Municipality of S. Stefano d'Aveto where every year in May some gastronomy events dedicated to this mushroom species are organized.
Curiosities: prugnolo, spinarolo, St George's Mushroom : so many names for Calocybe gambosa. It is a not very known spring mushroom growing in open and grassy spaces and in woodland clearings. It grows in large groups, often with a semicircle or zigzag arrangement among the grass, of a more intense green. There are several legends about the way St George's Mushrooms appear: in the past, people thought it was all about "bewitched" grass, and it was for this reason animals would not eat it. According to others, it was hallucinogenic grass. Others thought that mushrooms appeared in those points because at night witches used to dance there.
Product features: tasty mushroom, very appreciated by connoisseurs. It is cooked in various ways, especially stewed, or it is preserved in oil.
- Difficult to find in the shops, it can be tasted during the gastronomy events organized in May in the restaurants of the Municipality of S. Stefano d'Aveto.
