08/12/2026
the end of summer approaches - have you been outside to notice and appreciate mushrooms yet this season? in our area of new england, now it is the time of the bolete. and this year has been spectacular for boletes; mushroom seasons like this one only happen every few years! they’ll keep popping up as long as it keeps raining. and there’s rain in the forecast over this week and next! charismatic and ephemeral, no summer would be complete without spotting a bolete.
but if you don’t find any out there, or even if you do, we have plenty of seriously delicious bolete varieties that just arrived at THE shop this week. now’s your chance to try one of the more rare flavors of new england summer.
and you may ask yourself, “what’s a bolete??” or maybe you already know, in which case sound off in the comments about your favorite bolete finding. In very simplified terms, a bolete is a broad term for a mushroom that has a stem and a cap that has pores (instead of gills like you might see on portobello mushrooms). These are not to be confused with polypore mushrooms which we’ll get into on another post someday soon. There are more specific scientific terms for boletes like tylopilus or suilus, but bolete is easier if you’re just starting to learn about mushrooms.
bolete is a big category with both edible and inedible varieties. the most famous edible bolete being king bolete aka porcini aka cep aka penny bun aka stone bun aka squirrel’s bread, depending on where you are in the world. some boletes turn blue when bruised (see 😋 on slide 1), some taste bitter, some are poisonous, some will cause humans to experience visions of fairy-like creatures.
they’re always a welcome sight edible or not. even if you don’t know the specific names, just learning how to see them is enough. it is just the beginning of the journey. go on and get out there, folks
and if you’re curious to know more but want some expert guidance, we still have maybe 3 or 4 spots left for foraging classes in October. Come learn how to start looking and describing the mushroom world around you
