Hedgehog mushroom

It’s a great mushroom that goes well with other flavours, from a codfish to a hare or a rabbit; you can even make mayonnaise with it.

Its scientific name is Hydnum repandum, it is known in basque as tripaku or tripaki argi and llengua de bou in catalan. As mentioned before, it has a great taste but it must be consumed in small doses as it can be hard to digest. The oldest mushrooms are usually somewhat bitter. It’s a mushroom that grows in autumn, but it can still grown in winter, when in the mountain the rest of the autumn species have disappeared, especially in pinewoods with heather. It can resist temperatures of up to -5 ºC.

It can be easily spotted although it can be mistaken with certain species (also edible) that may look alike. Its hymenium, the exterior part of the cap, has small stingers that give it a rough texture.Apart from the Hydnum repandum there is the Hydnum rufescens, which has a smaller size and an orangey colour in its cap. The biggest mistake can be made with the Hydnum albidum, which appears in pinewoods, mixed with kermes oaks or holm oaks, these species are the best for cooking and they can be spotted for their bright white colour.