Porcini oil

Huile de cèpe

What it is

Unlike truffle oil, which is almost always built on synthetic 2,4-dithiapentane, porcini oil is usually what the label says: dried Boletus edulis left to steep until the mushroom aroma migrates into the fat. The caps are dried first because drying is what makes the aroma — a fresh porcini gives the oil almost nothing.

In the kitchen

Stir it into risotto or polenta off the heat; cooking drives the aroma off and leaves you with plain oil. If mushroom pieces are still in the bottle, keep it refrigerated and finish it within a month — low-acid solids under oil are a botulism risk at room temperature.

Goes with

Porcini Egg Parmesan Stone-ground polenta Chicken Thyme

Same species

Bronze bolete Pine bolete Porcini Summer cep

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