funghi, setas, champignons,cogumelos...

HUNTING HAS STARTED

AAutumn is the wonderful time when the temperatures slowly drop, nature once again presents a firework of colors, pumpkins shine in the fields, and when the mushrooms shoot out of the ground. In many people, the desire to hunt mushrooms awakens. Armed with knives and baskets, they make their way into the forest and officially ring in the mushroom season.

However, the mushroompicking season has no real beginning and end. Due to the diversity of species, they grow all year round. It is true, that most varieties peak during the fall, but some species also grow in the summer and in the middle of winter.

According to archaeological evidence, mushrooms have been considered an important part of human life as food or medicine for around 6,000 years. In Greek mythology, it was believed that mushrooms arose from the illumination of Zeus because they appeared after rainstorms and they were praised by the Romans as the food of the gods. Today, mushrooms are a staple ingredient in many cuisines around the world.

No living being has been judged so differently throughout history as the potentially immortal mushrooms. While people still believed in the Middle Ages that fungi were not living beings, they were later classified as plants. In the meantime, however, they were recognized as having their kingdom alongside plants and animals. Mushrooms are fungi and differ in the way they obtain their nutrients. Generally, plants make their food using the sun's energy (photosynthesis), while animals eat, then internally digest, their food.

Mushrooms produce their food by metabolizing dead or decaying matter. They reproduce by producing spores instead of seeds. There are an estimated

5.1 million fungal species, of which only about

148,000 species have been described. After insects, fungi are the most speciesrich group of organisms. Some are used for medicinal purposes, others have hallucinatory effects, while others are delicious, healthy, and edible additions to various dishes.

Some of the most famous and prized varieties thrive in the Mediterranean. Common wild mushrooms foraged throughout the region are button mushrooms, chanterelles, morels, oysters, porcinis, trumpets, and, of course, truffles. The matsutake or pine mushrooms are also some common wild mushrooms foraged throughout Spain and Portugal. In Italy, they are called funghi, in

Spain setas, and Portugal cogumelos. Μανιτάρια is the Greek word and mantarlar in Turkish. In France, they call mushrooms champignons, and the most famous being the Champignons de Paris – also known as button mushrooms or portobello.

Edible mushrooms are a great addition to any diet and also ideal for a meat-free diet. They are high in fibre, and low in fat and carbohydrates, while also being a significant source of vitamins A, C, B6, B12, and selenium. The different mushrooms also have different health benefits. Some are true brain and energy boosters, others are hormone balancers and stress relievers as well as antioxidant powerhouses and immune boosters.