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Mushroom Crowd

Susie Cushner Spicy and relatively rare, U.S.-grown matsutake mushrooms are sold fresh in the fall for abot $50 per pound--but in Japan, where they're traditional delicacies, a pound of early-season, locally-grown matsutakes can fetch up to $900.

Andrew Weil, M.D., has studied mushrooms in every which way: as food, as medicine, and, he freely admits, as mind-altering substances. They’re fabulous, he reports—on all three counts. Weil, the country’s pioneer in, bestselling author on, and general front man for alternative and complementary medicine, says he cooks the spores copiously, takes and prescribes them daily in capsule form, and occasionally speaks at mushroom-lovers’ gatherings. We asked him about his interest in mycology.

When did you first notice that you had a thing for mushrooms?
In 1971 I drove out to Oregon. It was in the fall, and in the Pacific Northwest it was the height of mushroom season. That was the first time I really saw a profusion of wild mushrooms and met people who were mushroom hunters and enthusiasts.

And you felt the allure.
Well, I think the first ones that I was attracted to were...I was very interested in magic mushrooms, which were just becoming known then. But I was also very drawn to food mushrooms, especially chanterelles, champignons, meadow mushrooms. And then not too long after that, within three years or so, I first began to be interested in medicinal mushrooms. And that was from looking at how prominent they were in Chinese medicine.

What are some of the prime medicinal mushrooms?
Reishi, maitake, oyster mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and most of the family called Polyporus, which are the shelf mushrooms that grow on living or dead trees.

I know you’re an excellent cook. What’s your favorite mushroom dish?
I like grilled mushrooms, Asian-style that is, brushed with a mixture of shoyu, sake or dry sherry, and dark sesame oil. I like bringing out the meaty texture and flavor of mushrooms, like shiitakes, even though I don’t eat meat.

Is there an ultimate mushroom among connoisseurs?
One is the matsutake, which is called the pine mushroom. That’s unbelievably expensive in Japan and Korea, although it grows in the Pacific Northwest. And I think it’s one of the most delicious mushrooms. Another is truffles, especially white truffles from Italy. Morels, which grow in the spring, are highly prized. And porcinis, the great big Italian mushrooms that grow throughout the U.S., as well.

Are there vintages? Do people talk about the great mushroom years?
Absolutely. It’s not that the mushrooms vary from year to year like wines; it’s that they are very abundant some years due to the timing and amount of rain and temperature variations. Last year was very good in the Pacific Northwest.

Have you ever grown your own?
I tried a bit. But living in the desert where I do, it’s not a good place, because the humidity is too low. But now I have this summer place up in British Columbia. That’s a great mushroom area, so in the fall there, October especially, it’s great mushrooming. I even have matsutakes on my property.

I understand there’s a mushroom named for you.
It’s one of the magic mushrooms, the Psilocybe weilii of Georgia. I’ve had samples of it sent to me, but I’ve never tried it. One day...