Matsutake or Pine Mushrooms: Identification, Harvesting and Cooking

A mushroom of legend. For over 1000 years, the Japanese have spoken poetically about matsutake mushrooms as a symbol of autumn and longevity, with haikus and plenty of ceremony devoted to them.

These, along with Maitake, were two mushrooms known to be collected by samurai.

Species 

Like other prized mushrooms, each species of matsutake has a symbiotic relationship with trees. The exact species of host tree will vary from place to place, but they will always be pine trees. Here's a list of current species.

Tricholoma murrillianum

The variety harvested in the Pacific Northwest and sold commercially. One commercial hunter I know says lodgepole pine are his best producers. 

Tricholoma magnivelare

The species found in Eastern North America. They love red pine plantations and jack pine.

Tricholoma neausoesum

Known as the Swedish matsutake, popularized by Chef Magnus Nilsson and others.

Tricholoma matsutake

The real deal. These are the mushrooms harvested in Japan and Korea that are the most prized.

Tricholoma mesoamericanum

A more recently identified matsie from Mexico.

Commercial sale 

Matsutake are one of the most coveted mushrooms, typically available in the fall through specialty suppliers.

From Mycophilia:

"In 1992, the New York Times reported that Japanese businessmen spent as much as 240$ American for a box of three or four mushrooms"

"In 2007, The North Korean leader Kim Jong II gave President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea 500 such boxes equaling 4 tons of matsutake mushrooms prior to a summit meeting."

Age and Grade 

These are sold under number a system for chefs: 1, 2, 3, etc. 1's, the young buttons with an unbroken veil have the most potent flavor and the highest price. After the veil breaks and the mushroom has started to mature the aroma and flavor become weak.

Habitat: loss and gains

Unfortunately, the harvest in Japan has been declining from habitat loss. To meet the demand (they're impossible to grow), matsutake recently discovered in China, Korea, Sweden, Mexico are filling the gap along with the Pacific Northwest, which exports more than any place in the world.

Commercial pickers roam pine forests in the Pacific Northwest each fall on the hunt for them, and locations are closely held secrets. There's reports of people hiding out on trails robbing commercial pickers at gunpoint as well as much scarier tales.

From Mycophilia:

"Stories about matsutake related violence in national forests (one man shot through the heart, his mushrooms missing; five dead in a prime matsutake patch, etc.) Have receded into legend."

There's a silver lining though. In Eastern North America, matsutake numbers are increasing, and, according the book "The Mushroom at the End of the World" they seem to be slowly infiltrating red pine plantations throughout Eastern North America. My own experience supports this too.

Identification

True matsutake:

• Have a veil covering the gills when young.
• Have a powerful aroma when young that may smell like pine soil, cinnamon candy, and radishes.
• Always grow with coniferous trees-never deciduous.

Look A Likes

There's a few look-a-likes that may grow in similar habitat at the same time. Although there's no poisonous look alikes in the Midwest, on the West Coast there's Amanita smithiana, which is lethally poisonous and has been consumed by amateur foragers in recent years.

Amanita Smithiana

These amanitas unfortunately grow at the same time and potentially in the same places as matsutake in the Pacific Northwest. The mature mushrooms can be separated from matsutake as they lack the spicy, cinnamon-esque aroma and grow with a stem deeply rooted in the ground. Younger mushrooms, especially for beginners can be trickier.

The mushrooms contain allenic norleucine and chlorocrotylglycine, which can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and most importantly, kidney failure and death. In order to pick matsutake in the Pacific Northwest you must be able to identify them beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Tricholoma caligatum

The most common matsutake look-a-like is Tricholoma caligatum. Unlike true matsutake, these don't have a strong pine aroma, may taste bitter, and only grow with hardwoods.

You will never see them growing near red pine, jack pine, or other matsutake host trees. T. caligatum is edible, but it's nothing special.

Cathelasma imperiale

 I haven't seen these yet, and some hunters have told me it's more rare than Matsutake themselves. It grows with conifers and is said to be a mediocre edible.

Midwestern Matsutake

Matsutake grow in the Midwest, but those places are rare. To hunters who know, they can be a holy grail of mushrooms. If you want to quest for them yourself, see my post: Hunting the Midwestern Matsutake: II. 

Cooking

The flavor of matsutake is deeply connected to Japanese food, so that's the best place to get inspiration for your matsutake recipes. First you'll need to clean them, and that can be difficult.

Cleaning

Unless you're picking yourself, the mushrooms have probably been sitting in a grocery store. Sitting on a shelf they dry out, making sand and dirt stick to them that can be difficult to remove. To clean matsutake, I like to peel them with a vegetable peeler.

Flavor 

With pine mushrooms, it's all about the aroma and flavor. I've cooked lots of wild mushrooms, but matsutake are in a class of their own. They're uniquely flavored and hard to describe, with an aroma powerful that some people won't like them. To me, it's one of nature's most incredible flavors, and the definition of delicacy. 

Mycologist David Arora describes the aroma as a combination of red hots and dirty socks. Personally, I think they taste like the essence of pine soil, with a little spice thrown in. 

Dried

You might see dried matsutake for sale, or be tempted to dehydrate mushrooms if you have a good harvest. Unfortunately Matsutake lose their flavor after drying.

A better method is to wrap them in foil and freeze-the David Arora technique. From there they can be cooked straight from the freezer.

Quick tips

• Matsutake gohan is the most traditional recipe. 
• Traditionally the mushrooms are torn into pieces for cooking. 
• No butter, cream or cheese should be served with Matsutake. 
• Don't combine them with too many things or you won't be able to taste them.
• Cooking matsutake on high heat in a sauté pan will make their aroma waft into the air.
• They pair well with fish and seafood.
• Try grilling them "medium rare" as I share in my post here.
• Try eating them raw for a real treat, drizzled with good tasting oil (especially nut or seed oil) and sprinkled with a pinch of salt.

Recipes

• Matsutake Miso Soup 
• Matsutake Fried Rice 
• Raw Matsutake
• Matsutake Ramen

More Matsutake 

More 

35 Essential Wild Mushrooms Every Forager Should Know 

Related Links 

Hunting the Minnesota Matsutake II

The Mushroom at the end of the World

Mushroom Expert: T. murillianum

Mycophilia