Around June the time has come: with a bit of luck, you can take the bright yellow chanterelles home with you on a walk in the forest and use them to make a tasty mushroom meal. Due to their characteristic appearance, these mushrooms can only be confused with the false chanterelles in our latitudes, which are not poisonous and therefore harmless. But be careful: In some regions, the stock of mushrooms, also known as "chanterelles", has declined sharply, which is why they may only be collected for personal use and not in large quantities.

A mushroom brush is a good help when cleaning chanterelles

First cleaning takes place in the forest

Chanterelles prefer sunny spots - and like to hide there in the middle of a damp moss cushion, which is often found along forest paths. Although the typical yellow caps of larger specimens can often be seen from afar, you have to look for the much more common small ones in their moss bed by carefully pulling it apart with your fingers. Due to their hidden location, self-collected chanterelles often have a lot of dirt attached to them: soil, sand, tree needles (the delicious mushrooms are often found near pine trees), moss residue and sometimes small insects. This is not the only reason why the first cleaning takes place in the forest:

  • Carefully turn mushrooms out of the ground or cut them off just above the ground.
  • Check and sort the chanterelles for "authenticity".
  • False chanterelles can be distinguished quite well, for example by the lack of smell
  • Simply leave unsuitable or wrong chanterelles on the forest floor
  • so you can continue to multiply through falling spores
  • Check mushrooms for maggot infestation (cut larger specimens lengthways)
  • remove the coarsest dirt with a brush or similar

Never transport chanterelles or other forest mushrooms in a plastic container or plastic bag, they will take it very badly. An airy basket lined with a cotton cloth or, in an emergency, a cotton or jute bag works best.

Clean chanterelles properly - That's how it's done

When you get home, you should clean the chanterelles immediately and prepare them for further use - like all mushrooms, these can only be kept in the refrigerator for a few days. If it is not possible to use it immediately, clean it at least roughly and then store it in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator. Don't leave fresh or prepared mushrooms at room temperature for a long time - with a bit of bad luck, you can easily catch food poisoning that way.

Brush - don't wash!

Like almost all mushrooms - with the exception of species such as the Krausen mother hen - you should avoid washing mushrooms to clean them if possible. Mushrooms naturally contain a lot of water - and thanks to their special structure, they absorb more moisture like a sponge. Incidentally, this is also the reason why they are referred to as “mushrooms”, especially in southern Germany and Austria. Instead of washing them, it is best to brush the chanterelles individually with a mushroom brush and clean stubborn dirt by rubbing with a clean kitchen towel. However, only apply light pressure - chanterelles are very sensitive and quickly develop unsightly pressure points. Cut away dry and soggy areas with a sharp paring knife.

Wash only if very dirty

However, if the mushrooms are very dirty and/or you have collected very large quantities, cleaning them by hand can become very tedious. In this case, you can also wash the chanterelles, but you should never water the mushrooms. Only expose them to water for a short time and then dry them thoroughly with a clean kitchen towel. This is the best way to wash chanterelles: place the mushrooms in a colander, such as a pasta colander, and rinse them thoroughly with a powerful spray from the hand shower.

Trick for large quantities: Clean the chanterelles with flour

The "flour trick" has proven particularly useful for heavily soiled or large quantities of chanterelles:

  • Always fill small amounts of mushrooms into a freezer bag.
  • Dust the mushrooms with a tablespoon or two of flour.
  • Seal the bag and shake the contents vigorously.
  • Now pour the floured mushrooms into a sieve and shake it.
  • The flour binds the dirt that falls off when you shake it.
  • Rinse off the residue carefully with the hand shower (e.g. in the shower).

Don't forget to dry the mushrooms carefully so they don't soak up moisture and lose texture and flavor.

Cut and process the chanterelles correctly

Finally, when the chanterelles are clean, you can cut them up and prepare them. You can leave smaller specimens whole, only larger ones should be halved or even divided into thirds. Cutting into slices, on the other hand, is only necessary for certain applications (e.g. drying in the oven or on a string). Prepare the mushrooms as fresh as possible: if this is not possible, you can store them in the vegetable compartment of your refrigerator for three to four days.

tips

If you can't use the chanterelles right away, the mushrooms can also be frozen or preserved in some other way.

Category:

Vegetable garden