Every fall, thousands of people go out to the woods near their homes and apartment buildings and search for mushrooms. Autumn mushroom hunting is regarded as a classic Ukrainian tradition, accompanied by debates about the best variety, the best areas to search, the best methods to prepare mushrooms, and the best drinks to consume while eating mushrooms (beer and vodka, not surprisingly). I had a rare Sunday with nothing to do and was so was pleased when my friend Anatoliy called up and asked if I wanted to go to the woods outside of Kyiv for some mushroom picking. You don't need to go far outside of Kyiv to find suitable forests for mushroom picking, although the closer to Kyiv you are, the more likely it is the best mushroom spots have been picked over many times by early-rising baboosyas and didoosyas. As it is, I am not an early riser on Sunday morning, so Anatoliy and his friend Andrey and I did not start our search until well past noon. Andrey knew that most of the spots close to the village were no good, having already been examined, so we ventured further into the forest where we passed fewer people. After just a few lessons, one can pretty much understand which mushrooms are dangerous and which are edible, and which are the most prized. Ukrainian forests are filled with a variety of good and bad (check out this poisonous toadstool!!)
mushrooms, all of which have different names and specific histories. Ukrainians love the outdoors, despite the fact that too many people still leave all their trash in the places where they just enjoyed the outdoors. The mushroom hunt is yet another fabled part of the Ukrainian love of the forest and fields, and after a few minutes, one can see why. An October day with beautiful weather, fresh (er) air, and seeing only a few people at once (as opposed to the thousands on the street) furthers the relaxing feel of the forest. Plus, drinking a few beers while walking also helps.
Andrey had to leave us after half an hour to take care of some family errands, so Anatoliy and I continued on together deeper into the forest into some beautiful places. We were further away from people and thus able to locate more mushrooms. We began to venture back, hunting along the way, when I found the biggest prize of the day, a "white" mushroom, resting next to a tree. As Anatoliy told me, this is the most prized mushroom in the Ukrainian forest due to its size and thick flesh. It cooks well, especially for shashlyk. Although I only found one, Anatoliy's prediction came true; it was the tastiest mushroom of the bunch when I cooked the batch the next evening as instructed: some oil, a little onion, salt, pepper, a little garlic, and add sour cream just before serving. Delicious!
