Starters: Ama-shroom

19 October 2014 - 02:03 By Melissa de Billot
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The best things in life are often rare - as is the case with SA's indigenous beefsteak mushroom, writes Melissa de Billot

Amakhowe is the Zulu word for a species of indigenous edible mushroom that grows wild in mainly subtropical habitats of southern Africa. They are found in northern KwaZulu-Natal but also occur in Mpumalanga and as far south as the Transkei. They are highly sought after as a delicacy by chefs and home cooks alike.

They are large, finely fleshed beefsteak mushrooms that grow up to 30cm in diameter, and are dependent on the activity of termites (hence the botanical name Termitomyces umkowaan) and soaking rains to grow.

The flavour of these mushrooms is sublime. They are best eaten on the day they are harvested. The best way to bring out their sweet and mildly nutty flavour is to slice them thin and pan-fry them quickly in butter until soft and slightly crispy on the edges. Some finely chopped parsley and crushed garlic can be added, but is not essential.

Mushroom lovers who live in these areas eagerly await the first spring rains. Within a few hours of a soaking shower the mushrooms start to germinate, and the hunt begins. Traditionally, herdsmen and others who know where they pop up every year will find them first, and before the cattle and maggots get to them. They are harvested and taken swiftly to local farmers' markets, where they fetch high prices.

My mother has a colleague who, as young boy, made money to buy his school textbooks by selling amakhowe at his local market. Others display the mushrooms at roadsides, where addicts driving past will screech to a halt to make a purchase.

In Zulu cuisine amakhowe are added to traditional meat and vegetable stews, cooked in pots over an open fire. They are also prized as an excellent substitute for porcini mushrooms in French and Italian dishes.

As a child growing up on a sugar- cane farm in KwaZulu-Natal, one of my earliest memories is of dashing out into the cane fields the day after a heavy rain storm, competing with my siblings to find the biggest mushrooms and rushing home to cook them for supper.

Now that I live in Gauteng, they are almost impossible to find. I was lucky enough a few years ago to be at a small Italian restaurant in the northern suburbs of Joburg, where the chef presented our table with a tray of fresh amakhowe that had just arrived from Mpumalanga. He enthusiastically offered them to us as a starter, then dashed off to the kitchen and came back 10 minutes later with a platter piled high with finely sliced fried mushrooms, prepared the way I remember them from my childhood.

Research has found that this species of mushroom has higher amino acid levels and is generally more nutritious than commercially farmed mushrooms.

Sadly, as urban areas grow and natural habitats shrink, these exceptional mushrooms are becoming increasingly rare. Despite attempts by large commercial mushroom growers, amakhowe cannot be farmed on an economically viable scale. Termites are the only creatures that know how to breed amakhowe. Long live the termite.

Identifying the mushrooms is fairly easy, once you know what they look like. But it's best to go foraging with an expert because there are many toxic mushrooms around.

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