Forest gold - chanterelles
If I asked everyone what mushrooms they know, chanterelles would certainly be the most popular mushroom that many of us, residents of a mushroom-loving country, have seen, touched, and tasted. Despite this, I still decided to tell you more about chanterelles because I am sure that no matter how much you have heard about them, I will still find something that will surprise you at least a little about these forest beauties.
WHAT THE NAME SAYS
Chanterelles (also known in various sources as gaidaitis, voverė, voverukė, voverėlė, voverikė, and by Dzūkians as lepeškos) are called Cantharellus in Latin, which, tracing the word's origin from Greek (kantharos), means a clay vessel for drinking water. If we look at the typical shape of a chanterelle, it certainly resembles some kind of vase.
WHERE AND UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS THESE MUSHROOMS GROW
This mushroom not only delights us Lithuanians but is also highly valued and appreciated worldwide (excluding cold continents). In terms of their lifestyle, chanterelles are very social mushrooms because they live in partnership with trees (this mutually beneficial partnership is called mycorrhiza). Therefore, we will not find chanterelles in a meadow; we need to look for them in pine forests, spruce forests, under oak trees, or other deciduous trees. This mushroom is not devoted to any single tree species but likes to maintain connections with different friends. And precisely because of their complicated relationship with plants, chanterelles can only be found growing naturally in the forest, as humans have not yet managed to cultivate them artificially.
Chanterelles' favorite summer is the true Lithuanian one, when it is not too hot and humid. Then, going to the forest, we can expect to enjoy not only the forest but also a harvest of these yellow beauties.
HAVE YOU EVER FOUND A WORM-RIDDEN CHANTERELLE?
Probably not, and if you did find worms in this mushroom, it was more of an exception than a rule. Chanterelles are one of the slower-growing mushrooms (it is said that the fruiting body – the part of the mushroom we pick – grows in 5 or more days and can slowly release spores for over a month). Of course, the growth rate will depend heavily on the prevailing conditions at the time, but enduring that long when all sorts of creatures around are eager to nibble or lay their eggs is not so simple. Therefore, chanterelles are armed with chemical substances that help them defend themselves and enjoy a slow life. These chemical substances act as powerful insecticides and can paralyze and eventually kill living creatures that enter the mushroom, so it's no wonder why everyone in the forest avoids chanterelles. Well, not us bipeds – their hunters! These substances certainly do us no harm; on the contrary, they could effectively serve to cleanse our bodies of various parasites and eggs. However, unfortunately, it seems that these excellent substances are not heat-resistant, so only other excellent things remain in cooked chanterelles.
NUTRITIONAL VALUE
So, what else do chanterelles have besides magical worm-dissolving substances? This mushroom is rich in B vitamins, as well as vitamins A, E, and C. Additionally, chanterelles contain unique vitamin D2 (very important for calcium absorption) – a form of vitamin D that mushrooms themselves produce, just as our bodies produce vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. So here you have a vegan form of vitamin D! By the way, if you keep collected chanterelles (and other mushrooms) in sunlight for at least 5 minutes, the vitamin D concentration in the mushrooms will immediately increase. Chanterelles also contain various minerals: potassium, iron, and copper. They also have 8 essential amino acids and proteins. So let's eat to our health!
THE WHOLE WORLD EATS THEM
Despite the fact that the Dzūkian mushroom picking pros do not even consider chanterelles, or more precisely "lepeškos," to be real mushrooms (as for them, only porcini are real mushrooms), these gourmet mushrooms have been eaten worldwide for centuries. Various sources mention chanterelles reigning in pots as early as the 16th century, but the peak of chanterelles in the culinary world occurred around the 18th century in France, where various aristocrats savored chanterelles at their palace feasts. Since then, this mushroom has been one of the most popular edible mushrooms.
And deservedly so – a mushroom with a wonderful, firm texture and distinctive aroma will delight many taste buds. Certain pigments found in chanterelles are also present in apricots, which is why their scent can be similar to these ripe fruits. Be sure to sniff carefully the next time you find some!
IMPORTANT WHEN PICKING
Even if you are very hesitant mushroom pickers, chanterelles are one of the safest mushrooms to pick and enjoy. This is because they are difficult to confuse with any other mushrooms.
Whether you pull or cut chanterelles doesn't matter. What is truly important is to damage the forest floor, where the mushrooms grow, as little as possible. Therefore, do not dig around a found mushroom in the moss looking for small ones – you will damage the mycelium. Also, do not pick very small mushrooms – while such mushrooms are very nice in a pan, they haven't fully formed and released their spores yet.
Although upon finding mushrooms you want to quickly gather them and look for more – a little patience to clean the found mushrooms immediately will pay off greatly when you need to tidy them up at home and prepare them for food. Because dirt from a few sandy chanterelles will stick to the clean ones, and you'll end up with a lot of work cleaning them all at home.
THE MOST DELICIOUS WAY TO PREPARE CHANTERELLES
After bringing the mushrooms home, you need to clean them as quickly as possible. First, try to clean the mushrooms as thoroughly as possible with a knife, brush, or damp cloth, and only wash them if there is still dirt remaining. Mushrooms should be washed with as little soaking as possible, ideally quickly rinsed under running water and immediately dried. This is because mushrooms absorb water very quickly (especially porcini, red-capped scaber stalks, slippery jacks, and larch boletes), which makes them less aromatic and intensely flavored, and they shrivel faster. If the mushrooms are clean enough, it's better not to wash them at all.
Absolutely do not parboil chanterelles! Otherwise, you will enjoy a tasteless mushroom mass. Since mushrooms already contain a lot of water, the best way to prepare chanterelles is called dry sautéing. Cut the chanterelles and place them in a dry (without any fat), heated pan and sauté. After just a minute, you will see how the mushrooms release all their internal water and begin to stew in it. If you were to sauté them in fat, most of the water would remain "locked" inside the mushroom. Do not add too many mushrooms at once; there should be only a single layer in the pan, otherwise too much water will be released and the mushrooms will boil instead of browning. Sauté until all the water has evaporated and the mushrooms begin to lightly brown. Watch carefully as the water evaporates quite quickly and the mushrooms can burn. Finally, the mushrooms will be ready to happily absorb new flavors – you can add salt, your favorite spices, and other additions, such as butter, oil, or cream. Mushrooms prepared this way are evenly stewed and become more aromatic, intensely flavored, and less watery. And if you want to taste the true flavor of chanterelles, then sauté them dry without adding any other spices.
If you've collected more chanterelles than you can eat at once, you can dry them. True, when rehydrated, they become a bit chewier, but their aromatic properties only intensify. Therefore, they can be used to enhance soups, broths, and stews. Dried ones can be ground into flour, which will make it even easier to flavor food. Just grind a smaller amount for consumption, as the aroma evaporates more quickly. I've seen a famous chef living in New York use dried chanterelles so sparingly that after cooking them, she re-dries them for next time.
Lightly fried chanterelles, along with their liquid, can also be frozen. However, they should not be kept in the freezer for too long, as they may develop a bitter taste.
Enjoy and savor the gathering of chanterelles and their unique aroma!
