a Gascon (and now English) term which is cèpe in French, refers to some of the finest edible fungi. The Gascon word meant tree trunk; and it and ‘cèpe’ have sometimes been used as a synonym for the general term boletus, which covers a larger group of fungi, but is more properly restricted to the four species which most French authorities agree to be true cèpes.
Lemoine and Claustres (1977) define true ceps as follows. They have flesh which is white and stays white; a broad foot, sometimes as broad as the cap is wide and giving the whole cep a shape like that of a champagne cork; a handsome, hemispherical cap; and tubes which are first white, then yellow, and finally green. (These tubes, which form a spongy mass under the cap, are the most notable characteristic of the boletus group. They are quite unlike the radiating ribs of ordinary mushrooms, but serve the same function, i.e. they constitute the gills on which the spores are carried. Species other than ceps may have tubes of different coloration.)
Ceps, like certain other edible fungi (e.g. chanterelles and truffles), have a mycorrhizal relationship with trees; i.e. they exchange nutrients, through their mycorrhizae or filamentous root systems, with tree roots. Some show a marked preference for trees of a particular species. Like other boletus mushrooms, ceps are liable to infestation by larval insects. Young specimens are most likely to be free of this nuisance. The four ceps, with the French names which are most often used for them, are as follows:
The cèpe de Bordeaux is the best known of these, and is distributed all over Europe although the inhabitants of Bordeaux have succeeded in asserting a proprietary claim to it. It is found from August to November, often in the vicinity of oak or chestnut trees, less often beech trees. The species occurs in southern Africa (e.g. in pine plantations in what used to be the E. Transvaal); and it is well known in N. America, where it is called the king boletus and has a fruiting season from late August into the late autumn. There are American records of king boletes weighing over 2 kg (5 lb) and measuring 30 cm (1′) across the cap.
This, anyway, is the principal cep. It has a glossy brown cap which looks like a glazed bun (whence the English common name ‘penny bun’) or a shiny stone (the German name Steinpilz means ‘stone mushroom’). The Italian name, which usually appears in the plural as funghi porcini, means ‘piglet mushrooms’ and presumably refers to the fat stem. Generally, the favourite.
Some, however, find the cèpe d'été even better. It is the first of the four to appear, having a season from May to September but a noticeable preference for dry weather. The cap is velvety, and pale brown; the foot covered with a distinctive network of white lines.
The tête de nègre has a darker cap, occasionally even black, which is sometimes distinctively ‘crackled’. It thrives in airy oak forests and the maquis, and prefers warm climates such as those of S. Europe, although found as far north as the south of Sweden, and in Russia.
The cèpe des pins does not choose only pines as its arboreal partner, but grows also beside chestnuts, oaks, and even beech trees. Its cap is first plum-coloured, then dark reddish-brown. In France it is most common in the west, the centre, and the south. Its distribution includes all Europe, as far north as Murmansk; N. Africa; and parts of Asia, including China.
All these ceps are excellent. The most famous recipe for them, Cèpes à la bordelaise, seems to have undergone changes when it was adopted outside its region. Bontou (1898), describing how he introduced the dish to Paris in the 1880s, says that the oil and garlic used in the bordelaise had to be changed to butter for Parisian tastes.
Ceps, especially B. edulis, are often dried and keep their flavour well. The addition of a few dried ceps to a stew or to a dish of bland cultivated mushrooms improves these greatly.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
Bontou, Alcide (1898), Traité de cuisine bourgeoise bordelaise, repr Bordeaux: Féret (1977).
Lemoine, Cécile, and Claustres, Georges (1977), Connaître et reconnaître les champignons, Rennes: Ouest France.
