Concerning chanterelles

While I have yet to see this year's first chanterelles, I thought I should present them properly, since in the coming months I am planning to devote quite a few posts to their collection and cooking.

Golden chanterelles, C. cibarius

Golden chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius) is one of the easiest fungi to identify: its yolky colour and absence of true gills clearly distinguish it from similar species such as false chanterelle (Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca) and jack-o-lantern (Omphalotus olearius). Even if a mistake is made, false chanterelle is not poisonous but merely inedible, and jack-o-lantern's effects are not fatal, although extremely unpleasant. Also, the latter is very rare in the UK and as far as I am aware non-existent in Scotland. There was a news report a few years ago that someone died from eating deadly webcaps, Cortinarius rubellus, thinking that they were chanterelles, but come on, it is like mixing up white button mushrooms with shiitakes. If your attention to detail is that bad, foraging for wild mushrooms should not be on your list of possible weekend activities in the first place.

Deadly webcaps - not at all alike

Chanterelles are to be found in Scottish forests from May to October, they usually grow in large groups, so just one good spot is enough to fill a basket. I find that it is best not to clean them if they are not to be used immediately, but just shake off the slugs and put the mushrooms into the fridge in plastic containers, to be washed and cleaned right before cooking. If picked on a dry day, they will keep for a week or more. Unfortunately, this species does not lend itself well to preservation, as drying them ruins the texture, and freezing makes larger specimens bitter. It's best to cook them fresh.

As for their culinary use, chanterelles do great in sauces, stews and even salads. However, in my opinion, their unique flavour is at its best when they are combined with beaten eggs. Even a handful of them in an omelette makes for an extraordinary dish, and if you have enough for a quiche, this will take you straight to heaven. Metaphorically. Chanterelles are safe to eat even raw.

Despite many attempts at cultivation, chanterelles have so far evaded domestication. In 1997 an article in Nature, "Successful cultivation of the golden chanterelle" described a process by which fruitbodies were obtained from under 16-month old pine seedlings, suddenly giving hope to all chanterelle fans. Sadly, it was just a lucky fluke because the authors in the end failed to create conditions for consistent appearance of fruitbodies, and all chanterelles that are sold in grocery shops and supermarkets these days are collected in the wild.

Image credits:
Cantharellus cibarius
Cortinarius rubellus