Identification
Brown convex cap, thick stem with a white raised net, tubes white → olive with age. Flesh white, does not darken on the cut; smell nutty and pleasant.
Edibility
A benchmark edible: fresh, dried, pickled, frozen. The broth and dried porcini aroma are signature. High in protein for a mushroom and widely studied nutritionally.
In practice
- Check the tube surface: pinkish → it's the bitter bolete; red pores + blue staining → Satan's bolete.
- Wormy stems are trimmed; for drying, caps are sliced without washing.