Latvians have always been mushroom connoisseurs and gatherers. The first mushrooms were brought home by the most active mushroomers at the beginning of April. A month later, the chicken of the woods hunt was on, but since the end of May, people in several regions have been posting baskets of the first chanterelles on Facebook.
However, experts say that the so-called mushroom timetable this year is within the normal range, with the warm spring only bringing more of the forest's bounty than usual.
Ričards Andersons, a mushroom spotter who has had this as a hobby since childhood, was already taking home baskets of morels at the end of April, and on June 3 he got his first chanterelle of the year.
"At the moment we can mostly find chanterelles. Boletes usually grow later here," said Ričards Andersons.
Ričards goes mushroom picking in the Grobiņa parish in the Dienvidkurzeme region.
The mushroom sellers met by TV Kurzeme in Liepāja Pētertirgus market, who are charging 8 to 10 euros per liter for the first chanterelles, confirmed that chanterelles can also be found in the remotest parts of the region - in Kalvene and Mazgramzda.
According to experts, mushroom picking at this time of year is quite common - June is the time of year when mushrooms can be found in forests in Latvia.
Mycologist Inita Dāniele said that
"the first mushrooms are like that - especially now we have these social networks - everyone who has found a handful of chanterelles feels the need to announce it to the whole world. That's normal. It's a normal time for mushrooms to appear, and it's nothing out of the ordinary."
"There are always some first boletes around the middle of May, and they are not massive. And chanterelles in mid-June - that's completely normal, there's nothing unusual," Dāniele said.
The only difference from other years, according to Inita Dāniele, is that this year there are more first mushrooms than usual due to the warm spring.
