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Preparing
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Caesar's Mushroom
Amanita caesarea · Fungus
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Caesar's mushroom (Amanita caesarea), the "imperial" or "royal" mushroom, is the most prized edible member of the Amanita genus — a striking fungus with a brilliant orange-red cap, buttery-yellow gills and stalk, and a distinctive white cup (volva) at its base, gathered from warm oak and chestnut woodland around the Mediterranean. Where most of its close relatives are deadly, this one is celebrated: mild, sweet and nutty, firm-fleshed and faintly fruity, it was reputedly the favourite of Roman emperors and remains a coveted delicacy in Italy (ovolo, ovulo buono), southern France, Spain and the Balkans. The youngest specimens, still enclosed in their egg-like white sac, are eaten raw and sliced paper-thin in salads; older, opened caps are grilled, sautéed or slipped into risotto and pasta.
Picking a good onedrag
Checked, firm, dry, unbruisedSlack, weeping, sour
Stall freshEveryday bestFirm, colour dulling, still dry: grill or saute the opened caps, or fold them into risotto. Same provenance rule, and cooking is no substitute for it - the amanitins are heat stable and are not inactivated by cooking.
Where it came fromA greengrocer or supplier who names their source
The capColour dulling, a scuff or two at the rim
In the handFirm, springs back, cool and dry
Stem and cut baseCut end tanning, the stem still firm
SmellMild and a little flat
Keeping ittap a temperature
A domestic fridge holds it about 2× longer than the counter.
