Mushrooms work their magic

Peak season

Matsutake mushrooms: The matsutake is one of the most treasured ingredients in Japanese cooking. It has a powerful, hard-to-describe perfume (it makes me think of cinnamon and pine resin with a little ripe cheese thrown in; one mushroom expert compares it to “red hots and sweat socks”). You’ll pay up to $90 a pound in Japanese grocery stores. Probably the easiest way to prepare them to get the best of that distinctive flavor is to brush them lightly with sake, wrap them in foil, then grill them. The supply of matsutakes can be sporadic -- they are collected by hunters in the wild -- but farmers market vendor David West says he should have them through the fall.

David West, $42 per pound

Chanterelles: Fresh chanterelles seem to be getting more plentiful and easier to find. Even grocery stores such as Whole Foods and Bristol Farms often have them in stock. But they’re a tricky mushroom to handle -- they dry out and lose their fragrance quite quickly. Still, you want them to be firm, not soft. The ideal texture, West says, is like a wine cork. Certainly, they shouldn’t be wet -- that’s normally a sign of spoilage -- but they should be slightly moist. They should be fragrant too. Give them a sniff; there should be a scent slightly reminiscent of apricots. You’ll find chanterelles no bigger around than a dime and others that are a couple of inches across. They are equally good in flavor, though chefs seem to prefer the smaller ones because they look better on the plate (a chopped large chanterelle looks a lot like any other chopped mushroom). Because of their trumpet-like shape, chanterelles can be a little difficult to clean. The best way I’ve learned is from Osteria Mozza’s Matt Molina: Submerge the mushrooms in a bowl of water and brush clean; then dry them in a salad spinner. To cook them, just sauté over moderately high heat with butter and a little minced shallot. West says chanterelles from the Pacific Northwest will be available through November, then after a short break we’ll start getting them from the Central Coast in about January.

David West, $24 per pound

Asian pears: It’s certainly no problem finding Asian pears at farmers markets, but no one offers an assortment of varieties to match Penryn Orchard Specialties. A determined pear-o-phile can taste up to nine varieties at their stand (they also grow an amazing assortment of persimmons). My favorites at a recent outing were the Shinseiki, which has a very crisp texture and a flavor like honey, walnuts and flowers; the 20th Century, another crisp pear that tastes like a sparkling combination of apples and citrus; the Kosui, which has a vanilla undertone; and the Chojuro, a buttery Japanese pear with a caramel sweetness.

Penryn Orchard Specialties, $2.50 per pound

-- Russ Parsons