If you ever decide to take a walk in the forest you will notice an abundance of many living things growing in the ground. Among these are the wild mushrooms that are highly prized by many food lovers. Wild mushrooms are very different from their cultivated cousins because they pack more flavor and some of them have really unique flavors that is truly appreciated by people who love food. There are even some rare mushrooms that can sometimes turn these walks into treasure hunts.
For example, the chanterelles are a very popular type of mushroom. These are very expensive mushrooms mainly because of how difficult it is to acquire them. Because of this, not a lot of people get to eat them. But if you know how to identify them properly you can get many edible mushrooms in the forest, including the prized chanterelles. Unfortunately, not all mushrooms are edible. In fact, some of them are quite poisonous.
But despite the dangers of getting wild mushrooms people still hunt for them. If you live in the Pacific Northwest, the forests in your area will have chanterelles. If you want to try to find chanterelles and have a good idea of how to identify them here’s what you should do.
First, get your materials ready. Get a pair of gloves, a basket or any container that you will use to put the mushrooms in, a very good picture of a chanterelle, a knife and some water.
Before you go out and hunt for mushrooms you need to do some research first on the mushrooms that are found in your area. Read a little about mushrooms in general, and mushrooms in your area in particular. When you’re ready get a picture of a chanterelle and bring it with you in your hunt so you can refer to it when you find mushrooms. The good thing about the Pacific Northwest is that there are no poisonous mushrooms that look like the chanterelle that grows in the region, so you’re pretty much safe. Chanterelles have a very distinct bright yellow-orange color with a little brown here and there. They’re so bright that if you look at it from afar it may actually look like a flower.
Chanterelles grow between September to December. If you’re not familiar with the forest, it would be a good idea to get a guide to lead you through the trails. The guide will have a good idea where to find mushrooms so ask him for the best locations.
When you do find mushrooms take chanterelle picture out and verify that it is the same. To make sure it is a chanterelle pick the mushroom up. Don’t forget to wear gloves when you do this as a precaution. Turn the mushroom over and look at the slits. A chanterelle will not have as many slits. It would be a good idea if you can also bring a picture of the underside of a chanterelle for this purpose.
When you’ve identified that it is a chanterelle you can now gather the mushrooms. Pick the mushrooms up and put it in your container. Use a knife to get as much of the root out as possible.
Image from fragmentsfromfloyd.com