Golden Delight - My First Experience With Chanterelles

Chanterelle season is almost over. I hope to be able to get out and find some more before they go to sleep for the winter. For those of you who do not know about them. Chanterelle mushrooms ( Cantharellus cibarius ) is a nice little golden mushrooms that are growing around here. They grow a lot of places, but I only recently discovered them so I'm no expert.

It was said. I have to say that one of the most beautiful sights I've seen lately (and not the picture) is that of those little gold incedibly mushrooms poking up from the intense green mossy forest. Just the color contrast is amazing in itself.

My neighbor down the street asked me if I'd like to get my son to join him and his on the little mushroom gathering adventure. We agreed on a Saturday morning we were off. We went to every body's secret spot. Larch Mountain, about 30-40 minutes drive from Portland. I had never been there before and was excited to see it. I love hiking and the outdoors in general, so I was eager to go. I knew we were getting close to the mushrooming of a good place when I began to see cars parked in random places along the roadside.

We parked up and let the boys and the dog out of the car, had a quick sandwich and were off. In the forest we go.

chanterelles are not hard to find, but they really only have 2 look-recall. One is called, appropriately, False Chanterelle and, if you know what your looking for, it's pretty easy to tell the difference. False Chanterelle is more than an orange, unlike a lot more gold colored chanterelle. In addition, False Chanterelle is connecting to the gills to the stem. Golden Chanterelle (good) have gills that run all down the stem and gills are not really true. They are very shallow.

of other look-alike, Jack-O-Lantern. While the False Chanterelle can be that is edible, it will only give you gastrointestinal distress. Jack-O-Lantern on the other hand, is toxic, is not fatal, but no less toxic. Fortunately for us here in the Pacific Northwest or on the appearance, reminiscent of a lot of growth here.

Now, back to Chanterelle. I never had the fungus that smells of apricots until I brought this home. Kind of strange, yet intriguing too. I was told my friend that are delicious sauteed with some butter, but they are really good with eggs.

I got them home and first sauteed up a couple. Very nice. Then, I went out to the coop and grabbed a couple of fresh eggs and scrambled them with a couple more. What a pleasure. Tasty eggs, mushrooms and added a subtle fruity sweetness to them. Chanterelle, the smell of apricots, also has a slightly peppery flavor to it. This combination is perfect with eggs.

If you have never gone mushrooming, I say try it. Definitely go with someone who knows what they're doing, and if you have a friend who is a Mycologist, all the better.

to be safe and enjoy what nature has to offer.