AN UNUSUAL HAT

Guess What it's Made of

While in Hungary we were visiting a little village on the way to the Danube Bend.

          Our guide stopped at a kiosk along a pedestrian shopping street to show us a hat. His question, “What do you think this is made of?”

            The hat was soft and smooth reminding me of a plush felt. All kinds of guesses were uttered but none of us guessed correctly and were stunned when he said, “Mushroom, it’s made from a mushroom.”

            He continued to tell us, “These hats are unique to this area, made in Romania, Hungary and Bohemia. It does look like doeskin, doesn’t it?  It is a special kind of mushroom that is quite hard to find and grows mostly in Bohemia. Therefore there are not a lot of hats like this on the market.

            “You start with the largest mushroom you can find, then strip the active core layer by cutting the woody top layer. Then the fibrous interior is soaked in a weak lye solution. made from ashes and water. After three days the soggy mass is mashed as flat as possible and placed on a mold to dry. Pieces can be glued together but it is best to have one solid piece.”

            In response to a question about durability he responded, “These hats can last for a long time. They do not shed, grow bugs,  harden or get brittle.”

            Later in the day I asked our guide to write down the name of the mushroom for me so I could get it correct in my journal. It is a Fomes fomentarius , often called a Fomes cork. 

            Unfortunately I live in a warm climate and in general do not like hats myself, but it was tempting to buy it anyway just because it was so unique.