Surprisingly for edible species, they are not worm-prone, but chanterelle mushrooms need to be boiled, frozen or rolled into jars within the first 24 hours after collection.
After lying for even 10–12 hours, the fragile plates begin to lose their shape, and the bright orange cap begins to lose color. It is recommended to cook chanterelle mushrooms both for direct consumption and for freezing.
How to cook chanterelles
You will need: chanterelles, water, salt
1. Before cooking, the chanterelles must be very well cleaned of debris and thoroughly rinsed several times through a colander. 2. Soak them in cold water or milk for an hour and a half to make the mushrooms more tender. 3. Place mushrooms in a saucepan. 4. Pour cold water over the chanterelles, a volume twice as large as the volume of the mushrooms themselves (for 1 cup of chanterelles, 2 cups of water). 5. Add a little salt; There is no need to add salt if, after boiling, you plan to use the mushrooms in other dishes that need to be salted during the manufacturing process. 6. Boil the chanterelles for 20 minutes over medium heat. 7. The foam that appears during cooking must be removed periodically. 8. After the chanterelles are cooked, drain the water through a colander. 9. To boil dried chanterelles, it is better to soak them for three hours. Then cook in slightly salted water for no more than 20 minutes.
Important facts
A unique property of chanterelles and dishes made from them is their effect on the optic nerves. The famous fungotherapist Viktor Chikuenok conducted experiments and proved that this mushroom can reduce night blindness and increase visual acuity. At the same time, the assumption was confirmed that the chanterelle cleanses the liver thanks to chitinmannose (included in many drugs for salmonellosis and helminths). The popular belief that chanterelles cure cancer has not been confirmed.
Important! The beneficial effect is preserved only when mushrooms are cooked. Fried and baked chanterelles lose some of their properties.
When cooked, a healthy mushroom retains most of its energy and nutritional value. It is important to observe the exact cooking time and temperature conditions.
How to cook soup with chanterelles
Chanterelle soup products
Chanterelles - half a kilo Potatoes - 300 grams Carrots - 1 piece Onions - 2 heads Flour - 1 tablespoon Cream - 100 milliliters Parsley - a few sprigs Bay leaf - 2 leaves Salt and pepper - to taste
Chanterelle soup recipe
Heat pre-washed and chopped chanterelles in water, change the water when boiling, and cook for 15 minutes. Peel the potatoes, cut into slices, add to a pan of boiling water. Cut the onion into thin half rings, grate the carrots on a coarse grater and fry over low heat with 1 tablespoon of flour and cream for a couple of minutes, then add to the soup. Add salt, pepper and cook for another 10 minutes. Sprinkle with herbs, cover the soup with a lid and leave for 10 minutes. Serve chanterelle soup with sour cream and enjoy!
Why is it better not to boil?
Chanterelles have a large bouquet of positive chemical properties. It not only has a good effect on the well-being of the eyes, but also kills some pathogens that have entered the body in one way or another. They also contain ergosterol, which is used in modern medicine to treat and cleanse the liver, and generally has a good effect on the health of the digestive system.
These properties of mushrooms are very susceptible to elevated temperatures, so the cooking time, if you need it, should be reduced to a minimum. And you shouldn’t fry it for too long. 10-15 minutes is enough, there is no need to wait for the crust to appear, long-term frying will only reduce the taste sensations and beneficial properties, and will also make the mushrooms hard and not very tasty.
Recipe for chanterelles in sour cream
Products for cooking chanterelles in sour cream
Half a kilo of chanterelles, the lower (light) part of a bunch of green onions, sour cream 30% fat - 3 tablespoons, salt and pepper - to taste.
Recipe for chanterelle mushrooms in sour cream
Wash the chanterelles, dry them, cut large chanterelles. Finely chop the onion, fry in vegetable oil, add mushrooms, stir and add salt. Fry until the water evaporates and the mushrooms are golden brown (20-30 minutes). Then add sour cream, stir, simmer over low heat under the lid for 15 minutes. Your chanterelle mushrooms in sour cream are ready! .
Salad with boiled chanterelles
Products
Boiled chanterelles - 200 grams Boiled chicken fillet - 250 grams Onion - 1 head (80 grams) Olive oil - 2-3 tablespoons (can be replaced with odorless vegetable oil) Pickled cucumbers - 2-3 medium pieces Herbs for decoration (you can take dill or parsley) - a few sprigs Sour cream - 40-50 grams
Salad recipe with boiled chanterelles and cucumbers
1. Cut the chanterelles into strips. 2. Cut the chicken fillet into approximately 1 cm cubes. 3. Peel and finely chop the onion head. 4. Slice the pickled cucumbers. 3. Add oil and mix well. 4. Place the food in the salad bowl. 5. Immediately before serving, top with sour cream and garnish with herbs. It is not recommended to add sour cream in advance.
Shelf life
It is known that fresh mushrooms spoil in the shortest possible time, but how long can a frozen product be preserved? On average, all freezing methods considered are designed to store stocks for a year. However, it should be borne in mind that after 3-4 months the taste will become less pronounced. In addition, to prevent the mushrooms from becoming bitter, it is necessary to carefully avoid even short-term thawing, since repeated freezing is unacceptable. For the same reason, it is worth carefully considering the volume of containers for storage in the freezer.
Fkusnofacts
- Chanterelles are very easy to process before cooking - just rinse with water, because... Thanks to the content of quinomannose, chanterelles have “immunity” from insects and worms.
— Chanterelle season is from mid-June to October. The peak season is mid-August. Chanterelles grow mainly in mixed or birch forests. They also love sandy soil, open glades or forest edges. These mushrooms always grow in bunches, so they are convenient to collect. They are almost never rotten or wormy.
— Chanterelles are very convenient to transport in buckets and baskets, since the mushrooms practically do not wrinkle even under their own heavy weight.
— When collecting, it is important not to confuse chanterelles with false—poisonous—mushrooms. You should know that false ones have a rounder cap, brighter color and a hollow stem. — If there are a lot of mushrooms, you can freeze them. Moreover, so that the mushrooms do not become bitter, and also so that they take up less space, it is recommended to freeze boiled mushrooms. If in this case the mushrooms are bitter, add a little brown sugar when cooking.
— Chanterelles are low-calorie and contain only 19 kcal per 100 grams. Meanwhile, chanterelles are considered heavy food, so mushrooms should be consumed with restrictions.
— The average price of quick-frozen chanterelles is from 300 rubles/1 kilogram (data for Moscow as of June 2022). When choosing chanterelles, preference should be given to wild mushrooms - they have more benefits and are crispier. Chanterelles grown under artificial conditions have a less vibrant taste and contain fewer nutrients.
— Benefits of chanterelles: B vitamins (the body obtains energy from food), beta-carotene (protection of the immune system), vitamin D (growth, health of bones and teeth), RR (redox processes).
A little about the features of the species
Like many other popular names for mushrooms, it is very suitable for chanterelles; the cap looks like a curled fox tail.
If you decide to pick mushrooms yourself, it is important to know that there are both original chanterelles and their varieties: velvety, faceted, yellow blackberry - all these types can be eaten. But there are also false chanterelles and olive omphalotes. Omphalotes grow only in the tropics, and false ones grow on trees, unlike real ones.
To verify the authenticity of the chanterelles, you can compare them with photographs from the Internet, or smell them - this amazing smell cannot be confused with anything. You can go harvesting from early summer to mid-autumn. This depends primarily on the climate.
How to pickle chanterelles
Products for pickling
Chanterelles - 1 kilogram Water - half a glass Table vinegar 9% - half a glass Salt - one and a half tablespoons Sugar - half a tablespoon Bay leaf - 2 leaves Black peppercorns - 5 peas Nutmeg - on the tip of a knife Cloves - 1 inflorescence per jar
How to pickle chanterelles
Sort the chanterelles, remove the rhizomes, peel, wash and cut. Pour water into a saucepan, put on fire, add mushrooms. Cook for 20 minutes after boiling, skimming foam regularly. Add vinegar, salt, sugar, pepper, bay leaf, nutmeg to the mushrooms, cook for another 5 minutes. Place the mushrooms in jars, pour in the marinade and put a clove in each jar. Close the jars with lids, turn them over and wait to cool. Store jars of pickled chanterelles in the refrigerator for 1 year.
Freezing
You can preserve mushrooms by salting them and canning them. Combined with fried potatoes, they make an amazing dish. Therefore, if you managed to harvest a considerable harvest, you can safely pickle the chanterelles. If you want to preserve the original appearance of this product, it is recommended to freeze it.
In this case, you will receive the entire set of proteins, amino acids, and vitamins in one dish. Freezing such mushrooms is not too difficult.
The mushroom must be processed immediately after collection. If the temperature in the apartment is low, then these representatives of the mushroom kingdom can be stored for no more than 24 hours. Initially, it is necessary to carefully sort out the product, eliminating wrinkled and old specimens. Don't forget to clean the mushroom of various debris, such as sand or twigs, needles or leaves.
Storing such mushrooms is not at all troublesome.
Take a close look at the back of the chanterelles' cap. This is usually where a lot of dirt accumulates. Rinse the product with a stream of water, then lay it on a towel to dry. Do not waste time on this stage, because excess moisture can only cause harm. After drying, put everything into containers (bags) and put them in the freezer.
Many housewives are interested in how to remove bitterness from chanterelles? This is very easy to do, you just need to boil them first. Pour the product into a saucepan, add cold water, wait until it boils. Don't forget to add salt and remove any foam. The product should be cooked for no more than 20 minutes.
Then you need to drain the chanterelles in a colander, rinse them, and place them on a towel. Plastic containers or bags are best suited for freezing. It is necessary to freeze mushrooms in small portions, because defrosting them again is not recommended. You can also freeze stewed or boiled chanterelles along with the liquid. In the future, they will be the basis of hodgepodge, stew, and soup.
It is important to remember that storing this product for longer than four months is not recommended, and defrosting should be done at room temperature.
How to salt chanterelles
Products for pickling chanterelles
Chanterelles - 1.5 kilograms Garlic - 3 heads Bay leaf - 2 leaves Cloves - 6 inflorescences Dill - several sprigs Salt - 5 tablespoons Sunflower oil - 3 tablespoons Black peppercorns - 10 peas
How to cook salted chanterelles
Peel the chanterelles and rinse thoroughly. Pour water into a saucepan, add 1 tablespoon of salt, bring to a boil and add chanterelles. Add herbs and spices, cook for 15 minutes. Peel the garlic and chop thinly. Place the mushrooms and brine in a bowl, add salt and garlic. Place a weight on top and leave in a cool place for 12 hours. Then put the chanterelles into jars and close them. The chanterelles will be completely salted in a month.
Drying
How to dry chanterelles? Initially, choose mushrooms that are suitable for drying. One way is to dry it in the sun. The chanterelles are strung on a thread and then hung over the balcony. In order for the mushroom to dry well, the place must be protected from insects and also well ventilated. Storage of forest products (drying) does not allow moisture or dampness. This process takes approximately 1 week.
A more reliable way is to dry representatives of the mushroom kingdom in ovens or Russian ovens.
You must first thoroughly clean the mushrooms. It is not recommended to wash them, otherwise they will absorb a lot of water. Then they start cutting: the caps are separated from the legs, the latter, if necessary, are cut into circles. Next, everything is laid out on a baking sheet or wire rack.
Preheat the oven to 45 degrees. When the chanterelles are somewhat dry, increase the temperature. Open the door slightly to allow free air circulation. The small caps will dry out first; ready-made mushrooms must be removed in time. Dried chanterelles can be used to prepare delicious dishes in winter.
It will be useful for many housewives to learn how to prepare chanterelles for the winter. The article contains the best recipes for preparing these mushrooms: freezing, drying, pickling, pre-frying and salting.
: Frozen chanterelles
Many housewives prefer this particular preparation option. This method allows you to defrost mushrooms in winter and prepare any dish from them.
Ingredients:
- chanterelles;
- salt.
Cooking method
:
We take fresh chanterelles, clean them of dirt and leaves, and rinse them in warm water. After this, take a saucepan, fill it with clean water, and bring it to a boil. After this, add a small amount of salt: two tablespoons per liter of water. Bring to a boil.
Place the mushrooms in boiling water and cook for five minutes. Transfer the chanterelles to a colander, strain the water and place the lightly boiled mushrooms on a napkin or waffle towel until they cool completely.
Freezing mushrooms should be done in the freezer. Before this, they should be placed on a wooden bottom or in a plastic container, and then in a plastic bag.
Important: chanterelles (in principle, like most mushrooms) cannot be frozen again. This will negatively affect their taste.
For freezing
Only freshly picked, clean and young mushrooms should be used.
