Golden Chanterelles

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Description:

The Golden Chanterelle or Cantharellus cibarius is what most would describe as the perfect wild mushroom-attractive in sight, aromatic in smell, bug free almost always, relatively clean when foraged, and has fairly large growth parameters, adapting to co-exist within the rootlets of most major tree species in our Northern Hemisphere's forests. However, it is rather shy and tends to find the nooks and crannies of forests trying to be obscure even with its bright flashy appearance and acting like a hidden treasure not wanting to be found. It has also found suitable habitat throughout Mexico where forest conditions and tree types align, continuing southward throughout Central America, and where moister forested areas exist on the African continent. Interestingly South America has yet to form thriving populations and the eucalyptus forests of Australia and New Zealand do not seem to be its favorite environment either. Nevertheless, the annual timing of the differing wet periods in the varying bioregions make it available for long periods; June thru January being the most consistent periods. 

Moreover, it is a very popular easily identified wild mushroom species that animals and insects-for the most part-have not yet learned of its culinary pleasures. The bright golden yellow color and/or other physical properties allow the Golden Chanterelle to withstand natures assault from critters, deer, and insects to consume rapidly, and how lucky us humans are to have for our salivating selves. These colorful golden yellow beauties can be rather contrasting against dark dank soils or a leaf covered forest floor making a discovering of them an enlightening experience. It is not uncommon for foragers to crawl around on all fours over hours cutting them at the base and working very hard long days to fill their packs, buckets, and baskets. A favorite fresh "Wild" mushroom in trendy health food grocery stores has made the Chanterelle rather mainstream and known outside the foodie world and is growing in popularity for its earthy woodsy flavors, beautiful appearance, and health attributes. In dried form Chanterelles take on a different texture that for some might be bit tough and for others the perfect mushroom jerky. If the dried reconstituted Chanterelles are too tough for you a earthy umami rich broth or sauce is an option or grind up and make powders for infusions like spice rubs or salts.

Association: 

Ectomycorrihizal with broadleaf trees such as redwood forests with mixed hardwood, live oaks, tanoaks, deciduous oaks, Sitka Spruce, Douglas Fir, and Western Hemlock

Species:

Cantharellus cibarius sp.

Cantharellus formosus (Pacific Golden Chanterelle)

Cantharellus subalbidus (White Chanterelle)

Cantharellus cascadensis (Hybrid Chanterelle)

Cantharellus roseocanus (Rainbow Chanterelle)

Cantharellus californicus (California Golden Chanterelle)

Seasonal Availability: Country or State

January-April: Oregon/California

May-July: Europe/Morocco

July-September: Canada/Washington/Oregon

September-December: Washington/Oregon/California

Perishability level:

Low very resilient species and can be stored outside of cold refrigeration for longer than most wild mushroom species. 

Prepare/Cooking:

Clean with soft brush or slightly moist towel/sponge and cure by placing on sheet pan lined with wax paper or nonmetal surface and place in refrigerator. If the chanterelles are bit water saturated, dry or cure for a short period near fan or in the open air. They can be either peeled into thin strips or cut into medium thin slices. Being a fat soluble mushroom, butter or vegan alternative butters works best to cook with, however grape seed oil or a hot oil that has little flavor will work fine also. A somewhat fibrous tough mushroom they need to be cooked and sauteed  thoroughly and slowly on medium high heat stirring mushrooms every so often allowing the water to cook out of the mushroom. A large looking portion will cook down to much less than you would think once slightly caramelized so prepare more than you might think you need. 

Description:

"Cep" to the French, "Porcini" to Italian, "Steinpilze" to the German, "Penny Bun" to the UK, "King Bolete" to the Americans for this favorite wild mushroom that has formed almost a cult status in countries like Italy and now in American cities like San Francisco where foodies seek out freshly prepared dishes. The entire planet seems to adore Boletus edulis -the latin name- for this beloved mysterious mushroom that seems to appear over hours and disappears as quick. Following early Fall rains, late Spring Snow melt, or monsoon thunderstorms in the heat of Summer this ectomycorrhizal mushroom species grows rapidly starting out truffle like compact and firm with lighter colored pores and maturing rapidly into large specimens with darker reddish brown pores. The California King Bolete or Boletus grandedulis species are known for indeterminate growth or unrestricted growth parameters and reaching upward of 10lbs or more with one single mushroom filling your entire mushroom basket during forays! However, once surfaced, exposed, or within the nose of a hungry animal they become a favorite seasonal delicacy and how they must enjoy these tasty morsels as much as us humans. This makes it a contested challenge to out race the smarts of the very seasonally evolved animals of the woods (do not worry the animals and creepy crawlers win most of the time!). Nevertheless, being one of the fastest growing species and most perishable our wildcrafters timing is paramount and uncovering small subterranean buttons called "#1's" is like digging up truffles and is a skill that takes time, whereas the #2's and #3's are larger more ripe specimens that are less hidden. The fruiting can be over as quick as they start teasing many, but how lucky we are that drying them reveals an even more concentrated flavor and retains a wonderful texture! These dried slices can be made into powders or reconstituted by soaking in water and cooked like they are fresh.

Association: 

Ectomycorrhizal with broadleaf trees or conifers

Species:

Boletus edulis sp.

Boletus grandedulis (California King Bolete)

Boletus regineus (Queen King Bolete)

Boletus barrowsii (White King Bolete)

Boletus rex-veris (Spring King Bolete)

Seasonal Availability: Country or State

November-March: California/ South Africa: sp. B. grandedulis

April-July: Pacific NW/California: sp. B. rex veris

August-October: Pacific NW/Sierra Nevada/Rocky Mountains: B. edulis

Perishability level:

Very highly perishable and once picked or cut needs to be refrigerated immediately at low temperature ideally 34 degrees F and used within 4-7 days generally with small very firm buttons having a slightly longer shelf life.

Prepare/Cooking:

Boletes are best cleaned with a brush and very little water. They are best cut into medium slices or shaved like truffles if they are very firm. Boletes can be consumed with less cooking than most mushrooms and is the only wild mushroom that can be shaved "raw" over dishes but make sure the mushroom is washed very clean before shaving! Boletes tend to not soak up water as easily as other gourmet wild varieties and therefore tend to not cook down as much as other wild mushrooms so be conservative on how much you prepare. Boletes dry very well and preserving this way can be done by cutting into thin slices and drying in the oven on a vey low temperature with the oven door cracked open slightly to allow air flow.

Description:

As the cold wet dormant forest awakes from its winter slumber and begins its spring transformation of new growth, this "favorite" wild mushroom lurks hidden within either thriving green lush forests, dormant tilled orchards, freshly laid wood chips, disturbed lands from logging or ravaged woodlands from raging forest fires. This adaptability to grow in a wide range of conditions has also allowed it to evolve into many sub varieties and spread to almost all corners of the earth besides Greenland, a few Caribbean islands, and eastern Papua New Guinea. In North America the season begins with the "Orchard" Morels which defies morel conventional wisdom and begins fruiting in the middle of our Winter under much colder temperatures than the "Naturals" and "Logging" morels that begin to show themselves around mid April when the first real Spring warm up occurs. As the sun angle rises further into May the "Burn" Morels or Black "Conica" Morels start to grow within freshly burned forests triggering a manic scramble to huge remote swaths of steep mountainous land to find the honey holes of commercial amounts of morels. The burn morels generally dictate the global market price and fluctuates year to year depending on suitable legal National Forest lands managed for mushroom hunting and how wet and moist the spring and summer ends up being. Several other species of burn morels such as the Gray Morel grow mid to late summer and even into Fall before multiple days of below freezing temperatures will shut down the incredible fruiting cycle of our beloved burn morels. Morels are sensitive mushrooms and once harvested need to be kept very cool or spore release mechanisms will spoil the mushrooms in hours! Pickers learned quickly to sun dry large amounts and take advantage of the sequence of heat that not only triggers the flush or fruiting cycle but dry with it as well. Either sun dried or fan dried on racks, burn morels are one of the best dried foods on earth and reconstituted can have deep earthy smoky umami rich flavors. Lastly, remember to always cook morels very thoroughly on medium to high heat and raw or undercooked can cause uncomfortable digestive reactions.

Association: 

"Possibly" ectomycorrhizal, conifers

Species:

Morchella elata

Morchella conica

Morchella tomentosa

Morchella deliciosa

Morchella importuna

Morchella rufobrunnea

Morchella esculenta

Morchella crassipes

Morchella spongiola

Seasonal Availability: Country or State

December-March: California; M. rufobrunnea

April-July: California/Pacific Northwest; M. elata, M.conica

July-September: Pacific Northwest; M. tomentosa

Perishability Level:

Very highly perishable and need to be kept in drilled buckets or breathable baskets for ventilation when collecting and stored in refrigeration within hours of cutting the mushroom from the forest. Morels should be used within 7-10 days after foraged with burn morels having a slightly longer shelf life when fresh. 

Prepare/Cooking:

Morels should have their white stems removed and discarded before cooking and if not a burn morel cleaned in the kitchen by cutting in half lengthwise and swooshing in a bowl of water to remove sediment and debris. Burn morels tend to be rather clean and bug free and do not always need to be cleaned after collecting. When cooking use medium to higher heat and do not eat or serve undercooked which can cause digestive discomfort.

Description:

The fourth of july brings more than fireworks to the mushroom world when this powerhouse of a morel species emerges from fire scorched blackened landscapes that have suffered from what pickers call "hard burn", a term describing an opened up overstory canopy and allowing the sun to really heat up the dark ash covered top soil. As the mid summer monsoon season begins and thunderstorms develop over our intermountain west along with intense heat Morchella tomentosa or the Gray Morel waits patiently for the precise time to show its beauty to the natural world. Often searching and scrambling along steep high altitude rocky slopes under severe thunderstorms in intense summer heat Gray Morels are found in very remote wilderness settings making it one of the more difficult challenging species to find. Gray Morels grow mid to late summer and even into fall before multiple days of below freezing temperatures will shut down the incredible fruiting cycle of our beloved burn morels. Gray Morel are sensitive mushrooms but not as perishable as the Conica or earlier season burn morel species, however once harvested need to be kept very cool or spore release mechanisms-especially the lighter colored "blonde" gray morel variety- will spoil all the mushrooms in hours! Pickers learned quickly to sun dry large amounts and take advantage of the sequence of heat that not only triggers the fruiting flush but dry with it as well. Either sun dried or fan dried on racks Gray Burn Morels are one of the best dried foods on earth and reconstituted can have deep earthy smoky umami rich flavors. Moreover, Gray Morels are the best for stuffing (think bacon, Crab, Foie Gras, cheese, etc.) with double and triple walled caps making them firm and meaty. Lastly remember to always cook morels very thoroughly on medium to high heat and raw or undercooked can cause uncomfortable digestive reactions. 

Association: 

"Possibly" ectomycorrhizal, conifers

Species:

Morchella elata

Morchella conica

Morchella tomentosa

Morchella deliciosa

Morchella importuna

Morchella rufobrunnea

Morchella esculenta

Morchella crassipes

Morchella spongiola

Seasonal Availability: Country or State

July-September: Pacific Northwest/Montana/Idaho; M. tomentosa

Perishability Level:

Very highly perishable and needs to be kept in drilled buckets or breathable baskets for ventilation when collecting and stored in refrigeration within hours of cutting the mushroom from the forest. Morels should be used within 7-10 days after foraged with burn morels having a slightly longer shelf life when fresh. Our cherished Gray Morel has one of the longest due to its thick sometimes triple walled structure.

Prepare/Cooking:

Morels should have their stems cut off below base of cap and discarded and if not a burn morel or dirty cleaned by cutting in half lengthwise and swooshing in a bowl of water to remove sediment and debris. Burn morels tend to be rather clean and bug free and do not always need to be cleaned after collecting. When cooking use medium to higher heat and do not eat or serve undercooked which can cause digestive discomfort. Gray Morels

Description:

Not one but two mushroom species-in a weird parasitic symbiosis-are actually what creates our magnificently almost fluorescent colored lobster mushroom. In this odd fungal relationship the development begins when the plain white colored Russela brevipes and the parasitic Hypomyces lactifluorum fungus settle within close proximity of one another and R.brevipes is enveloped by the bright orange H.lactifluorum species. If you look close enough around the gills or underside of cap often you can see the devoured white colored gills of the host R. brevipes mushroom. Moreover, the flavor profile that people enjoy is primarily found in the orange reddish outer layer whereas the white colored host R.brevipes species on its own is rather bland in taste. Interestingly this endemic mushroom to North America and Central America has adapted to dry even summer like conditions with early fruiting's beginning in July or August after very little rain and continuing to fruit until forest soils become too wet or saturated and cold weather moves in typically around late October or early November. 

Association:

Parasitizing Russela and Lactarius species

Species:

Hypomyces Lactifluorum

Russela Brevipes

Seasonal Availability:

July-October: Pacific Northwest

Perishability Level:

Medium to high and store in refrigeration at 34 degrees immediately after  collecting from forest and do not keep in a warm kitchen or other area for prolonged periods while using and instead take out only what your going to use and leave the rest refrigerated. If whitish spores develop wash with water to remove.

Prepare/Cooking: 

Besides a brush or damp rag lobster mushrooms can be cleaned under running sink water and thoroughly washed cleaned. This is one of the only gourmet wild mushrooms that can be cleaned in this fashion. Thin or thick slices can be cut with this species with many people preferring thicker meatier slices 

Description:

Escaping cultivation until 1979 the Maitake which means "dancing mushroom" in Japanese is the best tasting polypore mushroom that humans have discovered so far. The name dancing mushroom is not clear and could be due to the geometric shape and how the adjacent overlapping petals appear like a cluster of butterflies or the fact that people became so overjoyed when discovering one in nature they frolicked in dance like fashion around the mushroom. Most polypore mushrooms like the Reishi and Conk species can not be eaten and only seeped in warm water for teas or ground up in powdered form making the Maitake a very unique medicinal and "culinary" mushroom. The medicinal attributes include boosting the immune system and acting as an antiviral thus its derivative Maitake D-fraction is being studied for treating advanced breast and prostate cancer. If your looking for "wild" Maitake your best bet is east of the continental divide in eastern North America, Europe, Northern Asia including Japan and up to Siberia. These wild maitake clusters found at the base of trees can exceed 100lbs but more commonly found in 5-10lb amounts.

Association:

Parasitic on broadleaf trees, in particular oak, beech, and ash

Species:

Grifola frondosa

Seasonal Availability:

Year around now that many farms are growing the species. The wild species is found in late Summer thru early Fall before freezing temperatures arrive.

Perishibility Level:

Fresher the better for this species as flavor profiles can change as the mushroom ages after trimming off its wild host or mushroom block in the farm. However, the mushroom does have a fairly long shelf life and should be kept in very cold refrigeration around 34 degrees and only specimens that are going to be used taken out into the warmer kitchen or wherever you are preparing. 

Prepare/Cooking:

For most this is the tastiest polypore mushroom available with the Sulfur Shelf/Chicken of the Woods, and Beef Steak fungus not quite reaching the same level of flavor enjoyment. Professional chefs have experimented with different cooking techniques and have concluded that differing methods reveal differing flavor profiles so you might want to try roasting or grilling if frying in a pan with butter or oil isn't your favorite. Most people peel the leaflets or petals apart from the base and cook on medium heat with a longer slower method of cooking allowing the tougher mushroom to break down. 

Along with the above species listed and described the following will also be added to this website page in the near future: Cordycep Militaris, Cauliflower, King Trumpet, Velvet Pioppini, Nebrodini Bianco (Abalone Mushroom variety), Beech mushroom, and more.