Blue-foot mushrooms

I had never heard of blue-foot mushrooms before we moved to Saint-Aignan. They are one of the four or five varieties of mushrooms grown in the old limestone quarry tunnels at La Cave des Roches in Bourré, near Saint-Aignan and Montrichard.

Blue-foot mushrooms in a glass display case
at the Cave des Roches — not very blue-footed

In the past, the mushrooms produced here in the Loire Valley were mainly what are called in French « champignons de Paris » — "button" mushrooms. This standard variety was first grown commercially in the network of old quarry tunnels that lies under the city of Paris; hence the name.

This jar of champignons pieds bleus cost 6.50 €

Now the Cave des Roches grows several other varieties, including both brown and yellow oyster mushrooms, shitakes, and blue-foots. They sell them to chefs at high-end restaurants in France, Britain, the U.S., and elsewhere, who want something less run-of-the-mill than button mushrooms.

The label says to cook the blue-foots with butter, garlic,
and parsley on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes.

Look at this Google search result. One page listed here says the blue-foot is too mild-tasting to be interesting, and another says it is so strong-tasting that it can overpower your palate. We've eaten them twice in the past week, and our palates haven't been overwhelmed. The cooked pieds-bleus are crunchier than cooked button mushrooms, but they don't have a lot more flavor.

On these cooked pieds-bleus right out of the jar,
you can see the blue stems.

"Crunchy" isn't the right word, of course, but I can't find a word to describe the texture. I kind of like it, but I'm not sure Walt does — he says they are slimy as well. He says he prefers champignons de Paris. Eating a pied-bleu is a little like eating a crunchy cornichon or dill pickle — I'm talking only about texture, not taste. The blue-foot is not tender, soft, or mushy, that's for sure.

This is a gratuitous photo of our vegetable garden this year.

Click on the picture to see it full-size.

We probably won't be rushing over to Bourré to buy more pieds-bleus any time soon. But I think I will go over there and buy some oyster mushrooms (pleurottes in French), both the yellow and the gray kinds. I'm sure I've eaten them before but it's time to try them again.