Every year between June and November you can collect delicious, fresh chanterelles in sparse mixed forests. Particularly promising are the rarely used forest paths, on the edges of which a lot of moss grows and there is also plenty of sunshine. Here the yellow fruit bodies often hide in the moss cushion - but once you have found one, others are not far away. Chanterelles always appear in groups. The tasty mushrooms are often very dirty and therefore need to be properly cleaned and often washed. We will explain how to do this in the following article.

Washing chanterelles is one way to thoroughly clean them

Pre-clean chanterelles you have collected yourself in the forest

You should pre-sort the mushrooms you find in the forest - and sort out the false chanterelle right away, because even a single specimen can spoil an entire dish! - and pre-clean roughly. Specimens that already look very ugly, are already very dark and / or already have a rubbery consistency are best left in the forest. These are no longer usable for consumption. Don't take even very large specimens home with you. It is basically not necessary to cut lengthwise as with porcini and other tubular mushrooms, since chanterelles are rarely attacked by maggots. However, you should already remove the coarsest dirt as well as any grazing and other damaged areas.

Roughly clean and wash the chanterelles - this is how it works

When you get home, you have to clean the chanterelles right away. Like all mushrooms, they only last for a short time and should therefore be processed immediately. Pick up the small mushrooms one at a time and cut off the bottom part of the stalk. Check the hat carefully with a small knife and carefully scrape off dirt and any forest residues. Then put the mushrooms briefly in a water bath:

  • Fill a bowl with fresh, cold water.
  • Put in the mushrooms.
  • Wash them gently by submerging them in water.
  • Check whether dirt is still adhering to the mushrooms.
  • Then take the mushrooms out of the water with a slotted spoon.
  • Put the chanterelles in a colander and let them drain.
  • Then dry them well in a clean kitchen towel.

Instead of bathing the mushrooms, you can put them in a colander and rinse vigorously with a hand shower. But no matter how you wash the chanterelles: The mushrooms should only come into contact with the water for a few seconds. Otherwise, they will quickly soak up the damp liquid and later develop an uncomfortably rubbery consistency when frying, not to mention the loss of aroma and flavor. Perhaps you have already heard or read that mushrooms should generally not be washed: this is basically correct. On the other hand, chanterelles in particular are very dirty - because they are hidden deep in the moss - and can only be thoroughly cleaned by washing.

Prepare or preserve fresh chanterelles afterwards

After cleaning and washing, you can blanch the chanterelles and then freeze them. The small mushrooms can also be frozen raw, but then they often become bitter. If they are to be used immediately, they taste best when they are simply prepared: Fry finely diced onions in bacon in a pan. Add the raw (not blanched!) or frozen chanterelles, a good dash of heavy cream and a teaspoon of sauce stock. Bring the sauce to a boil and then simmer for about ten minutes.

Classic kitchen trick: Clean the chanterelles with flour

Since a lot of dirt that is difficult to remove often sticks to chanterelles, you can also use this old kitchen trick to get the mushrooms clean.

Materials needed:

  • fresh chanterelles
  • a sieve
  • Flour (Type 405 is sufficient!)
  • a big spoon
  • a freezer bag
  • and kitchen paper

How to clean the chanterelles with flour:

Place the chanterelles to be cleaned in the freezer bag and add a tablespoon or two of flour. Seal the bag - bags with a zipper are particularly useful for this purpose - and distribute the flour evenly by gently shaking until all the mushrooms are covered with a thin white layer. Put the floured mushrooms in the sieve and rinse off the flour and dirt with cold water. Since the dirt adheres to the flour, it is removed at the same time. Drain the mushrooms well on some kitchen paper.

tips

Instead of washing the chanterelles, you can tackle stubborn dirt with just a damp kitchen towel. This has the advantage that the mushrooms don't absorb as much water - although washed chanterelles are always clean, they also release a lot of water when frying and are therefore more likely to stew in their own juice. Washing therefore only makes sense if you want to prepare the mushrooms with a sauce.

Category:

Vegetable garden