Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Chanterelle along with all the Chanterelle containing recipes presented on this site, with 8 recipes in total.

This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.

These recipes, all contain Chanterelle as a major wild food ingredient.

The name 'chanterelle' can refer to a number of edible fungi in the genus Chanterelle, though typically it refers to the Golden Chanterelle, Cantharellus cibarius (also known as the Girolle) which is one of the most recognizable edible fungi (it is native to Asia, Europe, North America and Australia). Typically this is orange or yellow in colour (ranging in hue from cream yellow to golden) meaty and funnel-shaped and the gills always run all the way down the stem. It has forking gills on the underside, running all the way down its stalk, which tapers down seamlessly from the cap. It has a fruity smell and a mildly peppery taste, and is considered an excellent food mushroom. In Europe this is one of the most collected mushrooms and the variant 'Girolle' (which has a meatier stem) is the one usually collected.

Chanterelles are a feature of Viennese cooking and are typically served with venison. Typically they can be found in woodlands (especially under pine, birch and beech) in September and October, though a few may fruit early, in June. They pickle well but typically do not freeze or dry. Thy are excellent eating and make a very tasty omelette if gently fried with garlic. They are also safe to eat raw and make a colourful addition to salads. The most likely confusion is with the Jack O'Lantern fungus but this is generally rare, has a very unpleasant smell and typically grows on the trunks and buried roots of sweet chestnuts and oak.

Chanterelles are well-suited for drying, and tend to maintain their aroma and consistency quite well. Dried chanterelles re-constitute very well and their flavour is intensified by drying. Dried chanterelles can also be crushed into flour and used and used as a seasoning in soups and sauces. They also freeze well, though older chanterelles, when frozen, can develop a bitter taste.

Cantharellus pallens has sometimes been defined as a species in its own right, but it is normally considered to be just a variety (C cibarius var pallens). Unlike 'true' C cibarius it yellows and then reddens when touched and has a weaker smell. Eyssartier and Roux classify it as a separate species but say that 90% of the chanterelles sold in French markets are Cantharellus pallens and not C cibarius.

The false chanterelle (Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca) has a similar appearance and can be confused with the chanterelle. Distinguishing factors are colour (the true chanterelle is uniform egg-yellow, while the false one is more orange in hue and graded, with darker centre) and attachment of gills to the stem (the true chanterelle has ridges or wrinkles, which can be quite deep, but not true gills). Though once thought to be hazardous, it is now known that the false chanterelle is edible but not especially tasty, and ingesting it may result in mild gastrointestinal distress. The poisonous species in the genus Omphalotus (the jack-o'-lantern mushrooms) have been misidentified as chanterelles, but can usually be distinguished by their well-developed unforked gills. Omphalotus is not closely related to chanterelles.

For other edible mushrooms, see the guide to edible mushrooms

References:

[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants