I remember my first autumn in Finland was a great year for mushrooms. One day in late August, I walked into a Finnish forest for the very first time. I stepped on thick green moss and walked deep into the woods. It was so easy to find them. Big and small mushrooms were everywhere. Some herkkutatti were even bigger than my rain boots!
Before we left, grandma told us to bring small buckets and knives. The buckets were for carrying the mushrooms (bucket is another must have Finnish item!). We used the knives to pick them and clean off the dirt and moss. We came home with so many mushrooms. Our buckets were full of herkkutatti and kantarelli.
Herkkutatti are easy to recognize. They have big brown caps and thick white bodies and fresh ones are firm and crunchy. Grandma told us to fry them with just butter and salt becasue it’s the best way to enjoy their taste. Kantarelli is another favorite for Finns. They are yellow all over and usually grow in groups. Most of the time, they hide under moss and pine needles. When you find the first one, it usually means there are many more nearby. In Finland, people often make a creamy sauce with Kantarelli and eat it with boiled potatoes.
Looking for mushrooms is all about luck. Sometimes you find a lot as soon as you enter the forest. Other times, you walk for an hour and find almost nothing. But that is okay because walking in the woods is very relaxing. There are mainly three types of forests in Finland: birch forests, pine forests, and mixed forests.
Usually, the ground in pine forests is covered in moss. Birch forests have more bushes and grass. Even though Kantarelli often grow near birch trees, I like pine forests more. The ground in pine forests can be muddy or sandy. In sandy pine forests, there is tall, colourful moss such as white, green, and red. You can also find wild blueberries and lingonberries there. Walking in these sandy forests feels great. You can see very far because there are no big bushes or low branches in your way. The moss feels like a soft wool carpet under your feet. When the sun shines through the trees, it looks like a home for elves.
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