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    Home » Types of Edible Wild Mushrooms

    The Chestnut Bolete: Gyroporus castaneus

    Published: Jul 27, 2019 Modified: Mar 24, 2023 Author: Alan Bergo

    Gyroporus castaneus is a delicious, albeit small, edible mushroom related to porcini. If you're a mushroom hunter they're worth getting to know.

    A few different chestnut boletes of different ages arranged on a wood background

    That is a very small bolete, is what I thought the first few times I ran into Gyroporus castaneus, also known as the chestnut bolete. Most of the time when I find them they're itt-bitty, teeny-tiny, and scattered. So scattered in fact, that it's easy to just pay them no mind, I mean, I love identifying mushrooms, but I'm picking them to eat, and if there isn't a decent fruiting to warrant bringing them home, I'll probably pass, no matter what it is.

    Gyroporus castaneus chestnut bolete mushroom_ (1 of 5)

    If it wasn't for the glowing review of the taste from a number of different authors in the field and some of my older hunting pals, I probably wouldn't have ever paid them any mind, and that would've been a mistake.

    Habitat 

    These are common in mixed hardwood forests of Eastern North America in the summer when the boletes are out (they're absent to very rare in Western North America). I see them often sprinkled throughout woods with red and white oak trees where I look for porcini. G. castaneus occasionally grows in small groups, but more often than not, I see them alone and scattered across the woods similar to other boletus mushrooms. 

    Gyroporus castaneus chestnut bolete mushroom
    A mix of older and young G. castaneus. Note the hollow stem and the penny for scale.

    For years, the process of picking them for me went like this: pick one Gyroporus, pick another Gyroporus, then completely forget about them until I get home, unload the haul, and notice the little chestnut boletes have been completely crushed under the weight of chanterelles.

    a mature chestnut bolete mushroom
    Mature mushrooms may have a broadly convex or nearly flat/plane cap as they age. 

    Oh well, I didn't find too many anyway, I'd think. I honestly meant to eat and enjoy the chestnut boletes every time I picked them, but a golden pile of chanterelles has a mesmerizing quality.

    As I was talking with another mushroom forager I know earlier this week discussing fruiting patterns of Lactifluus, we touched on how odd mushroom fruiting patterns can be. Some years you might get a wonderful harvest, the next year, not a single one, even if the mushroom gods give rain.

    Young chestnut boletes showing their convex caps
    Note the convex caps of these young mushrooms.

    Well this year, it was a good for Gyroporus, and I came upon more of them than ever before, enough to enjoy, and a lot of them were as big as large chanterelles.

    After the multiple hunts over the years where I just chucked them into the bag with everything else, this year I was ready. I've been making sure to keep some small brown sandwich bags in my mushroom pack, useful for keeping mushrooms separate, or making sure some things don't stain the others (black trumpet mushrooms).

    I got about 2 pounds of the little guys: plenty to document some of the variation they show as they grow, and have a couple meals.

    Close up of the pores of a chestnut bolete mushroom
    Notice the tight, white pores on this mature mushroom and stem that's beginning to hollow.

    Chestnut Bolete Identification

    ID tips

    • A hollow, thin walled stem, which may not be hollow until they're mature.
    • A rich, chestnut brown cap when young, that gradually turns to tawny, or beige.
    • The spore print is pale yellow. 
    • Typically growing near oak trees. 
    • Very tight, brilliant white pores when young, opening up only slightly as they age.
    • Compared to other boletes I eat, these have a very small stature, they're short and stout, and I've never seen them more than about 2-3 inches in diameter of the cap, at the very largest. See the picture above with a penny for scale.
    Mature chestnut boletes showing the hollow stem
    Note the hollow stem on these mature mushrooms.

    General Cleaning and Cooking 

    These are usually very clean, aside from a brush or two and a once over for bugs, I have never found I have to clean them too much.

    Cooking is fun, but needs a delicate touch. As with Leccinum species, the stem has a different texture and cooking time compared to the cap, so I like separate the two, then cook both the caps and stems whole. Trying to slice these will likely result in overcooking, or them getting lost in whatever you make, much better to leave them in pieces as large as possible to get that bolete "pop" when you bite into a large piece of them.

    Pigeon with chestnut boletes, spring onions, purslane and salted gooseberries
    A pan of small things: tiny chestnut boletes with pigeon I shot in the barn.

    When you're dreaming up how to showcase your Gyroporus, keep it simple, and if you want to taste them, make sure to cook them alone. Simply sauteed and spooned on top of a piece of meat or fish is wonderful, especially with a touch of shallots, garlic or parsley tossed in at the end.

    The flavor is excellent, nutty, and delicious. As I mention above, you can likely cook these whole, or in large pieces too, as they have a great resistance to bugs, which is pretty rare with many of the boletes you might enjoy.

    Pigeon with chestnut boletes, spring onions, purslane and salted gooseberries
    Simply cooked alongside a piece of meat, is a great way to enjoy the small stature of Gyroporus castaneus.

    More 

    35 Essential Wild Mushrooms Every Forager Should Know 

    « Linguine with White Clam Sauce and Chanterelles
    Dried Lobster Mushroom Breadcrumbs »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Alan D. Waller

      July 20, 2023 at 3:36 am

      Found a loner chestnut in an unlikely location, nestled beside the back side of my 90’ pole barn on the southern exposure, since I’m a novice I picked it and brought into the kitchen to identify with my iPad, I knew enough to know it was a type of bolete because of the spongey underside, the stem broke off after I picked it, so I went through some push-up to get a decent side view with my iPad camera.
      I noticed it was a large one, based on what I had read, and the stem was hollow and therefore I knew it was advanced it it’s maturing stage.
      My question is because the stem was hollow and “black” inside, does that mean it’s buggey, and what type of bug do you generally find in them?

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        July 20, 2023 at 7:47 am

        Hi Alan (Thanks for spelling your name correctly). With Gyroporus, the stems may be damaged, but often the caps are still very good, keep cutting up the stem until it cuts clean. The bugs typically found in them are the larvae of fungal knats, which will look like small larvae or tiny white worms. Sometimes they'll have left and all you'll see is excrement.

        Reply
    2. Will K.

      August 07, 2019 at 3:58 pm

      I usually collect and dry them as I find them, then add them to a big jar of "other" boletes (ones I don't usually find enough of for a stand-alone meal or side dish). In my jar from last year, I know there are dried B. seperans, B. innixus, B. auripes, and B. bicolor in addition to the Gyroporus castaneus (may be one or two others in there, as well).

      Reply
    3. Nathan Perrier

      July 28, 2019 at 9:32 pm

      I also find these on occasions when hunting chanterelles. There are so many species of boletus that I don't bother unless I fine a bug-free King (which is tough for me). I might have to give these a try after making a certain ID.

      Reply
    4. Pete Hautman

      July 28, 2019 at 9:11 am

      I never seem to find enough at one time to make a meal, but I pick and dry them throughout the season, and by October I usually have a jarful. A very nice mushroom. The even smaller gyroprous (G. purpurinus??) are good too, and the larger G. cyanecens are fantastic and fun to cook with cuz they change color from blue to yellow in the pan. Looking forward to your books!

      Reply
    5. Donna Hartmann

      July 27, 2019 at 6:04 pm

      Alan, I foraged the chestnut bolete for the first time last year, in mid-September. This is a very pretty bolete, petite and tasty! I’m watching the spot near a woodpile n my back woods this year, hoping for more. Thanks for highlighting them. Happy foraging!

      Reply

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