There’s nothing quite like heading into the woods to forage for mushrooms—taking in the fresh air, enjoying the beauty of nature, and returning home with a basket full of treasures! However, gathering a large quantity of mushrooms can be a painstaking and challenging task.
But what if we could create specialized mushroom farms? Well, we did—both here and in other countries. Until recently, though, the only mushrooms cultivated in artificial conditions, sometimes even underground in basements or abandoned mines, were button mushrooms.
Growing a prized porcini mushroom, or “borovik,” without the forest has proven elusive. That is, until recently, when Professor Karpinski from the Forest Research Institute in Warsaw discovered the secret to cultivating these mushrooms. He managed to grow entire families of small boroviks in his test tubes.
This breakthrough by Polish biologists is significant. Soon, mushroom enthusiasts in many countries will be able to purchase specially cultivated boroviks that are indistinguishable from their wild counterparts.
