Forage for Dinner: Chanterelle Mushrooms

Foraging for mushrooms is a fantastic pastime and a wonderful skill. It gets a person outdoors and into the depths of nature, the forest in this case, and it pays off dividends in the specialty foods one can bring home. A pound of fresh chanterelle mushrooms can easily fetch $25.

But, for the novice mushroom hunter, it’s not about the price so much as the wonderful prize at the end of the search. And chanterelles are one of the most rewarding mushrooms to find and a great treat that can provide a lot of food when they are in season.

Chanterelle mushrooms, in one form or another, are to the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Africa. They grow throughout the continental US; however, they have different seasons depending on where you are. But, wherever that is, this is a mushroom worth knowing about and an easy one to identify for beginners.

Even so, it is always the policy to check with an experienced forager when learning to hunt for mushrooms. This is a fun, safe activity, but it does require some practice before doing it solo. There are helpful groups online on just about any social media site.

Chanterelle Mushrooms

Source: Nutritious Mushrooms/Youtube

There are dozens of species of chanterelle mushrooms, all belonging to the genus Cantharellus, and they are edible. Though different species can look different, there are some commonalities that help with identifying (or beginning to identify) a chanterelle.

• They grow as singular mushrooms in large groups on the forest floor from the soil. No chanterelles grow on wood, even though they are exclusively forest mushrooms.
• While there are red (e.g. cinnabar chanterelles) and white varieties of chanterelles, most—and the most popular—are golden. They have little wrinkles (“false gills”)on the underside rather than the gills, which is a very important identifier. There is also a type that has a smooth underside.
• They have a funnel, vase-like shape when mature, with some specimens, particularly young ones, having a flattish cap that curls under. The stems, aka stipes, morph into the caps as a solid piece, not two separate elements.
• Depending on the species, chanterelles can be a few inches tall and wide, and smaller varieties, such as cinnabars, can be less than an inch tall and wide.

Chanterelles are special to foraging (and markets) because they cannot be cultivated commercially. They must be foraged. These mushrooms have a symbiotic relationship with certain trees, and it is something growers can’t quite replicate.

Chanterelle Lookalikes

Source: Learn Your Land/Youtube

Chanterelles are pretty simple to identify, and they have a handful of tell-tale signals that they are Cantharellus and not something else. Nevertheless, with any mushroom one forages, it’s as important to be aware of the lookalike mushrooms that might cause id problems.

• The jack o’ lantern mushroom (Omphalotus illudens) is a common lookalike for golden color chanterelles. They, too, are golden-colored. However, jack o’ lanterns have actual gills, unlike the chanterelle’s wrinkle. They grow in clusters rather than singularly in groups. And they grow on decaying wood, especially oak, and including the decaying roots, rather than from the soil. Jack o’ lanterns are poisonous.
• The false chanterelle (Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca) is a common lookalike in conifer forests. Like chanterelles, they grow singularly and can appear either alone or in scattered groups. However, they do have true gills rather than the chanterelle’s “false gills”.

Really, with chanterelles, there are only a couple of lookalikes, and they can be quickly eliminated with careful, knowledgeable assessment. Even so, there are some helpful hints to further solidify a true chanterelle find:

• Chanterelles are solid mushrooms without a separate stipe and cap. They also have a solid interior.
• They do not have gills, ever. Some species have smooth undersides rather than false gills (those wrinkles), but none have gills. That’s an automatic disqualifier.
• They peel away in the strips much like (for lack of a better description and with all apologies) string cheese or boiled chicken.

Cooking Chanterelles

Source: Chef Andre Uribe/Youtube

A large percentage of a chanterelle mushroom is water, and when washed, they absorb even more. So, it’s best to not wash them but rather brush them clean. With that in mind, they are prone to absorbing too much moisture in dishes with water, so they aren’t often used in them.

The best way to really enjoy chanterelles is with a simple sauté: olive oil on medium heat with some onions and garlic softened, then strips of mushrooms added in. They take less than five minutes to cook. It’s apparent when they are ready because they shrink to about half the size.

They also are a great addition to tofu scrambles. They can be added to pasta, particularly ones with oily sauce where the mushroom’s flavor can stand out.

Related Content:

• Forage for Dandelions: They’re Plentiful, Nutritious, and Perfect as Fresh Produce
• How to Forage and Use Delicious Dandelions
• 5 Edible Flowers to Forage This Spring
• How to Forage and Use Violets!
• How to Forage and Use Rosehips

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