Pioppino

This is probably the most underrated mushroom there is. In my mind, it belongs in the conversation with oysters and shiitake, yet nobody seems to know about it. Well, let me introduce you.

The Pioppino, also known as Black Poplar (which is probably what we should be calling it seeing as nobody seems to remember Pioppino) is in my top 3, and the main driver behind this is texture. The whole thing is edible, including the stem, and when you cook it the texture is strangely similar to cooked asparagus — and coincidentally, it happens to go incredibly well with asparagus from a taste point of view (ps that em dash was all me, I was overusing these long before ai slop came around).

Speaking of taste, it's got that earthy/nutty flavour similar to shiitake, and it's almost like a red wine umami type of deliciousness; it's a different kind of mushroomy flavour, but it's still mushroom (if that makes sense). I honestly can't get enough of it. The cool thing about it as well is that it adds some serious presence to anything you put it in: stir fries, pastas, whatever you put your mushrooms in. When you put in the poplar, you get these crunchy bites of mushroom that provide that wow factor for any meal.

When cooked more as a side, it goes brilliantly with the aforementioned asparagus, and based on its shape, it also falls naturally beside beans and carrots. Just on its own, though, is a real treat as well — throw it in some butter or whatever oil you fancy and just let it do all the talking.

Finally, we've been experimenting with pickling this bad boy and it seems to be working out. Doesn't have quite the pickle crunch, but we're honing in on a soy/maple syrup combo that might just find its way onto our market table.

Anyways, you got to try this one. I feel like it may be my purpose in life to bring this beauty into the mainstream.

Jack, the Pioppino Provider.