porcini-sponge-nettin

Note the fine white netting on porcini’s bulbous stalk, the spongy under-cap as opposed to gills. (There is some debate on whether you should pick or cut. Vera Stucky Evenson herself told me she doesn’t know of any harm that comes of plucking. I tend to cut so as not to dirty my bagful of mushrooms, and then I blow pine needles over the cut stems to hide my tracks.)