Chanterelle Mushrooms Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you prepare chanterelles to eat? ›

You pan-fry them in a dry skillet for a bit before introducing butter, along with garlic if you wish, to finish the mushrooms and provide a soft, velvety mouthfeel with just a bit of crunch around the edges. Eat the chanterelles by themselves, in an omelet, or just spooned over a good steak.

They're prized for their delicate flavor. Both the stems and caps are edible. Nutritionally, chanterelle mushrooms are high in fiber, and contain vitamin B and D–and some trace minerals, as well.

Fill a colander with cold water and place the mushrooms in it. Rinse them briefly, ensuring that they are submerged for no more than a few seconds. The purpose of this brief rinse is to remove any remaining dirt or debris without saturating the mushrooms.

Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add chanterelles and cook for around 3 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until they start to brown. If they release water - that's okay, just allow it to evaporate on its own.

Though not as common as some other mushroom varieties, dried and fresh chanterelle mushrooms can likely be found at many specialty stores, online retailers, and farmers' markets in your area. You can enjoy them raw or cooked, though most people prefer the flavor and texture of cooked chanterelle mushrooms.

If you're specifically worried about the *quantity* that you eat: Particularly with chanterelles, they contain a toxin called gyromitrin when raw. Consuming large amounts of raw chanterelles can lead to vomiting and headaches. However, cooking these mushrooms destroys the toxin, so they're safe when cooked.

The main reason for chanterelles' $224-per-pound price is that they're infamously difficult to cultivate. They mostly grow in the wild, meaning they must be foraged, and they require a period of heavy rainfall in a coniferous forest, followed by several days of continuous heat and high humidity.

Chanterelle mushrooms are an excellent source of polysaccharides like chitin and chitosan. These two compounds help to protect your cells from damage and stimulate your immune system to produce more cells. They're also known to help reduce inflammation and lower the risk of developing certain cancers.

If you want to store mushrooms, keep them in the refrigerator in a paper—not plastic—bag. Chanterelles store longer than most mushrooms—up to ten days. Or, you can give them a quick saute in butter until they release their moisture and freeze them for up to a year.

Chanterelles keep best in the refrigerator in a sealed plastic container. Use paper towels to prevent the mushrooms from touching plastic. Change the paper towels when they become wet from condensation. The total time you can store chanterelles varies, depending on the condition of the mushrooms when they were picked.

Should I cut or pull chanterelle? ›

Make sure to leave a few mushrooms, or fruiting bodies, here and there in your patch. As they mature and go through their natural cycle, they will release spores that propagate the area. When harvesting, it doesn't matter if you cut the mushroom at the stem or pull the whole mushroom and trim the bottom.

In California, autumn is the ideal season for mushroom hunting. Some of the most sought-after mushrooms, like chanterelles, porcini, and candy caps, are available from September through November.

Plus, the growing season only lasts from late spring until early autumn. It's a tight market. On average, chanterelles run for about $224 per pound. For reference, a pound of organic portobello mushrooms from a Whole Foods Market in Brooklyn, N.Y., costs $5.99 per pound.

The damp cloth should hopefully keep them from drying out, while also providing them with a breathable 'cover'. There are two ways they go bad. They get mushy and will mold, or dry up.

Cleaning Chanterelles and Similar Mushrooms

Start cleaning your mushrooms hours before you use them and you'll have clean dry mushrooms when you're ready to cook. You can even do this the day before. Clean chanterelles require just a little brushing, but from some habitats they're dirty and must be washed.

Cooking. When you are ready to use the chanterelles, trim off any discolorations including dry spots, mud, and debris. The best cooking preparation method is to “strip” the chanterelle like you would string cheese. Chop or strip into smaller pieces if the recipe calls for it.

But what do chanterelle mushrooms taste like? They boast a complex flavor profile, characterized by a delicate balance of earthiness, nuttiness, and a slight hint of fruity apricot. The texture of chanterelles is also noteworthy – tender yet meaty, making them an excellent addition to a wide variety of dishes.

Pull then cut and clean

Common wisdom we learned when starting to forage mushrooms years back was that you should cut chanterelle mushrooms at the base of their stems rather than pulling them out of the ground.