In Lithuania's Dzuki National Park, getting lost among the pine trees while
hunting for mushrooms is a phenomenon so common that it has its own name: "nugrybauti."
The thickening canopy of trees absorbs traces of sunlight, and with it a sense of direction. If you lift your gaze from the forest floor, you can see that the surrounding forest - a few minutes ago a familiar landscape of sun-drenched glades and winding paths - is replaced by an expanse of thick brown shadows.
"In Lithuania we have a special word for this feeling. Nugrybauti: getting lost in the forest while hunting for mushrooms," says guide Tom Baltusis, owner of Dzukija Berries, a company that organizes foraging tours.
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For a nation so attached to gathering, these forests in Dzuki National Park in southern Lithuania hold a special appeal. Just an hour's drive from the capital Vilnius, the park - the largest in Lithuania - is covered in dense pine forests concealing a vast tapestry of bogs, alder swamps and high bogs. It is a protected landscape that supports an amazing abundance and variety of edible mushrooms.
Mushroom picking has long been a cornerstone of local Dzukija life, and the practice - once a necessity and now a favorite pastime - has shaped the habits, cuisine and economy of the region for centuries.
Nowadays, there are about 300 varieties of edible mushrooms in Dzukija (a historical region in the south and southeast of Lithuania in the middle reaches of the Neman River), which attracts mushroom hunters from all over the world to this quiet corner of the Baltic. And locals hunt for some of the largest, rarest and tastiest mushrooms in Europe amidst vast tracts of virgin forest.
A mushroom paradise
Dzukija's unique soil composition was formed thousands of years ago when massive ice blocks from the Ice Age left behind vast sandy deposits throughout the region. The moist, well-drained soil provided an ideal environment for fungi (mycelium) to thrive underground, which exchange nutrients with the park's millions of pine trees in a process known as ectomycorrhiza.
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"This is a paradise for mushrooms, but the sandy, infertile soil has made farming impossible," Baltusis explains. "We can only grow a small number of crops, so the main source of food and income has always been the forest."
For centuries, families have hunted, gathered berries and mushrooms, which not only provided them with sustenance, but also allowed them to sell forest products to neighboring regions.
Historic mushroom trade
Remnants of Dzukija's thriving mushroom trade survive in isolated picturesque villages like Zervinos, where locals once picked, dried and dried
mushrooms to send to chefs and the Soviet elite in Vilnius, Warsaw and St. Petersburg.
Grutas Park, 40 kilometers to the west, is home to an exhibition of Soviet-era monuments collected by Vilumas Malinauskas, Lithuania's "mushroom millionaire" whose business exporting mushrooms from Dzukia to Europe made him one of the country's richest men in the 1990s.
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Today, dozens of cars parked on the highway, with hoods holding boxes of chanterelles, testify to a more modest mushroom trade in Dzukija. One roadside vendor, Agne, says that "picking was once a means of survival. Now it is just a way of life."
Local experience
Local mushroom hunters here are some of the most discriminating in Europe, carefully monitoring rainfall, humidity and even the lunar cycle, which some believe stirs up groundwater and affects the fruiting of their favorite varieties. Most harvest more than they can eat and sell the surplus to passing travelers.
"Mushroom pickers in Dzoukija know exactly how to find what they need," Baltouchis says. "Mushrooms of the hog genus like to grow near white moss and oaks, mushrooms of the genus Leccinum prefer birch groves, and chanterelles like to grow among junipers."
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"And of course, every local keeps their favorite spots a closely guarded secret. If you ask anyone in Dzukija where to find the best mushrooms, they will simply say, 'In the forest'," he adds.
A taste of diversity
About 300 species of mushrooms are eaten in dozens of villages and townships in Dzoukia, Baltouchis says, and he can list them all. But determining the exact number is difficult, he adds, "because some species considered conventionally poisonous elsewhere are often favored by the park's most experienced mushroom pickers."
Species such as Honeycreeper, considered mildly toxic in countries like Norway, are boiled for long periods of time by some locals to safely use as a flavorful addition in soups; and false morels - dark brown, wrinkled and deadly if eaten raw - are among the first spring mushrooms prized by experienced mushroomers in Dzukija; they are boiled in three to five waters to fully extract the toxins.
A place for mushroom lovers
"The abundance and variety of mushrooms, as well as the beautiful natural scenery, attract travelers from all over the world to come here," says Regina Baltushene, co-owner of Dzukija Berries with Tom Baltuschis.
Specializing in
environmental tourism, they run mushroom picking tours from their traditional homestead and offer expert guidance on how to safely hunt the wild mushrooms of Dzukia, hosting mushroom pickers from around the world to help them discover the best of the region.
"Many visitors to Lithuania admire our kind of recreation," Baltusis says. "In a globalizing world, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find traditions so specific to one particular region, but mushroom picking is the perfect chance to experience the culture and nature of Dzukia at the same time."
From forest floor to fork
When mushroom season begins in late August, locals in Dzukija take the opportunity to add mushrooms from the park - dried, dried, chopped or powdered - to the country's most popular meat, fish and potato dishes before the mushroom harvest abruptly ends in December.
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The aromatic boletus mushroom is added to zeppelins (cooked flatbreads made of thick potato dough), while Lithuanian mushroom soup and kugelis (a type of casserole, main ingredients:
potatoes, lard, milk, onions and eggs) are filled with porcini, which are abundant in Dzukija. Oil-fried cheeses, redcaps and umbrella caps with their characteristic meat flavor are all popular local snacks.
Free mushroom picking
"Everyone is free to pick mushrooms and berries here, with the exception of state-protected areas and territories," saysBaltushene.
The country's "right of way" laws, based on the principle of "common law" - a legal concept that asserts that wildlife should remain open to all for recreational activities - allow citizens to access natural resources such as Jukia mushrooms and berries, even on private property, as long as the privacy of homeowners is respected.
"In Lithuania, forest owners are obliged to allow everyone to pick mushrooms on their land," she adds.
Next generation
Mushroom picking is part of the life and identity of the people of Dzukija, who have been picking since childhood, learning about each type of mushroom from their parents and grandparents.
Educational centers in the regional center of Varenna, affectionately called the "mushroom capital" of Dzukija, and the annual Mushroom Festival in the city are part of an effort to preserve the park's traditions and teach younger generations about the cultural significance and benefits of mushroom picking.
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"If mushroom harvesting traditions are not preserved, the region will lose its identity and future generations will miss out on a double benefit," says Regina. "And a great time and delicious dishes made from wild mushrooms freshly picked in Dzukija."