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Chanties ! ! !


Lily

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I never had or heard of Chanterelle mushrooms before, until last Winter my coworkers talked about it. I searched google, saw tons of the pictures. My eyes were well trained to ID the Chanterelle mushrooms by the google Images. I was ready to find some of my own Chanterelle mushrooms when summer came.

It was about late Spring, or early Summer, I found my first Chanties. They were so tiny small, but I knew they were Chanties. Back then, I didn't know Chanties need much longer time to grow big than gilled mushrooms can popped out over night . I kept looking for it and looking for it. One day,  at a gameland path, my eyeballs almost popped out of my eyesockets ! I saw a big chunck of yellow some sort  looked like daylily flower --- Chanterelle mushroom! Then I saw another one, another one... The whole hill, the whole path, they were everywhere! Can you imagine how exciting I was! I started to pick with trembling hands. I wasn't sure that was a dream or reality. I dreamed a lot. Many times I mixed up my childhood dreams with the real life stories. So I picked a basketful of my good Chanties went to my car trunk, that was true. Then, I picked another basketful. It was nearly sunset, getting darker and darker. I had to go home. 

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They were too old, taste rubbery. The Spring young ones are very tasty. 

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Dave, I admit that I am greedy when it comes to pick wild mushrooms.  After I found my Chanterelle-heaven, I visited that area many times. I picked more than enough for me to eat. I sundried some, froze some, and cooked down some fresh ones.  The sundried ones are used for stew; the froze one is just so so( I won't froze them anymore ); I like cooked fresh ones better. Sauteed with butter, garlics, pepper then store in freeze bag to store. 

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Those look a little past their prime to me too, but I may just be too picky. I left hundreds, if not thousands of smooth chants like those in the woods this year. I did get to put a bunch of prime ones away though. I dehydrated some and froze some raw. They seemed fine to me when I got them out of the freezer and cooked them. Tender and tasty. I'm chomping at the bit. I found several hot spots and can't WAIT until they grow again. They're not going to get ahead of me next time.

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Stave, I had some very young Chanties, they are phenomenal! as they're aging, they become tougher and tougher.  What I'm going to do with my hot spots, when  summer comes,  after a good rain, give them at least 1or 2 weeks to grow. check it. when harvest them, cut the stems, don't pull the roots out, this way won't destroy their mycelium the roots,  and leave some of them to spread spores. 

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Yes, I cut their stems too. It also helps keep dirt to a minimum. Mushrooming is a funny thing, in that, I hunt and hunt for a new edible kind, finally find them, but since I'm not familiar with them, I'm not always sure where they are in their growth. That's the way it was this year for me with the chants. Fortunately, it was a good year for them here, and I hunted hard for productive spots, found several, studied those spots so I can narrow future searches, and got to see them in different shapes, sizes, and ages.... a crash course. I even continued to go back to those I left behind to take note of how they degraded. Now, since I have so many good spots located, next year instead of spending all of my time frantically hunting them... I can relax a bit, and watch them and get to know them a little better. You watch, this year they won't grow and I'll be running around like a maniac again. Lol

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My favorite way to preserve Chanties is to saute and then freeze. They keep well like this (in my non-frost-free chest freezer). Older ones do tend to have less flavor than young ones. Chanties persist in-situ for a long time (as long as there not excessive rainfall, which may cause them to deteriorate more quickly). So, I think that sometimes the older ones lose flavor after being rained on several times. But, IMO even the older ones are very good. Ones that seem chewy/rubbery may be best used in recipes that incorporate moisture. I like Chanties in white sauce (Bechamel) and in risottos. I also dehydrate a few, but the sauteed/frozen ones are best preserved.

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