Chanterelle Mushrooms:

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Black Trumpet Mushrooms (Latin name:Craterellus cornucopioides) are common, delicious edible mushrooms that are easy to identify.  They’re perfect for beginning foragers because they have no close look alikes.  Though common, they can be hard to spot because they blend in with the forest background.Once you have found one, clump, take a good look at the area around it as you will often find others peeping up through the leaf duff.

Black trumpets look like . . . black trumpets. Ok, that's a bit of an oversimplification, but it's essentially true. 

These mushrooms are vase or bull-horn shaped, and generally black, dark grey or dark brown in hue. If the mushrooms are exposed to the sun they can dry out and lighten, sometimes to a light gray or tan, but will still have all the other features.

The top "cap" of black trumpets are more or less round, with a flower-like ruffled edge. As they age and dry out, these edges frequently split. The underside of black trumpets lack true gills. They may be smooth, crinkled, or have linear groves that vaguely resemble gills, but are actually wrinkles in the mushrooms surface, rather than separable gills. The undersides may be lighter in color than the inside and top and/or may become lighter the closer it is to the ground.I have done a separate page for them, CLICK HERE to learn more about this wonderful mushrooms.

1. Growth on the ground, not from living or dead wood.
2. Growth only around trees, especially hardwoods.
3. Bright red-orange or magenta-orange color for the caps,
   
4. Trumpet or funnel shape.
5. Cap size no larger than 2" across, usually smaller, between 1" and 1.25". Depending on rainfall, mushrooms may mature before reaching full size.
6. Caps round, generally with "ruffled" edges at maturity.
7. Caps frequently exhibit a darker and/or depressed center, especially in mature specimens
8. Caps do NOT have a significantly lighter ring of color at the edge
9. Underside of the cap and "gills" are a slightly lighter shade than the cap, being either orange or orange-pink.
10. No more than 3" high, usually 2" - 2.5" tall
11. Can grow singly, but often grows in pairs or small clusters of three. Does NOT grow in large (5+ mushroom) clusters.
12. Growth is often gregarious: many mushrooms or mushroom clusters in a small area
13. Stem tappers sharply, no more than .2" wide at the ground, and lightens at the base to orange-yellow, yellow, or pink. 
14. Stem is opaque, with a white cottony inside. There is often a small hollow tube in the very center
     of the stem.
15. "Gills" are deeply decurrent: they run down the stem for a significant amount. 
16. Does not possess true gills, instead has a network of false "gills" which are actually wrinkles in the underside of the cap. This is the most important feature, and we will go into it at length in the "deeper dive" section. 
17. False gills have a network of cross-hatched wrinkles
18. False gills are thicker where they attach to the cap, and also have rounded edges
19. Courtesy of the Foraged Foodie
    

HOW I STORE CHANTERELLE MUSHROOMS

Probably the MOST important thing I want to say to you as you forage Chanterelle mushrooms is to not store them in plastic either as you collect them from the ground or keep them in the fridge. Chanterelle mushrooms hold a huge percentage of water and can become very sodden if kept for any length of time in an enclosed plastic or Tupperware container. Store in cardboard, cloth or paper to maintain shape and keep the mushrooms in the best condition. Stored properly, these wonderful mushrooms can last 3 weeks in your fridge.

HOW I CLEAN MUSHROOMS

In all honesty, there is no exact science as to how to clean a mushroom, its up to how clean you want it and how much effort you want to put in. Sometimes I cup the mushroom in the palm of my hand and have a small flat paintbrush from the dollar store, (doesn't have to be fancy)  I brush from the stipe downwards.Most of the possible woodland debris will come off. Dunking them in cold water afterwards could also be done, just make sure to put on water absorbent paper or cloth afterwards and dry fry before adding oil or butter so as to remove excess moisture that chanterelles have. Sometimes I just look at them, give them a shake and think "that'll do"

WHEN I FORAGE MOST MUSHROOMS 

I nip off the bottom soil end covered part of the stipe and place them cap down in my foraging bag or container, it keeps them a lot cleaner and is then less work in the kitchen.

ALWAYS BE SURE YOU ARE 100% CERTAIN OF THE MUSHROOMS YOU FORAGE> WHEN IN DOUBT< THROW IT OUT

Honestly, I use them in everything I can! They are wonderfully vibrant in color and make any dish shine! Take care not to overcook them or they turn oily, just put them to your dish last thing and heat them through, you are good to go! 

A SIMPLE DISH OF MUSHROOMS IN PASTA- ALWAYS A WINNER!

Ingredients

• 1 cup (240ml)t low-sodium chicken stock 
• 2 tablespoons (30ml) extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds (675g)  mushrooms of your choice
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 medium shallots or an onion! finely minced (about 3/4 cup; 120g)
• 2 medium (10g) garlic cloves, minced( I'd you cook with garlic) 
• 1/2 cup (120ml) dry white wine or a splash of beer or cider for sweetness
• 1 pound (450g) short dried pasta, your choice what to use, what do the kids like?
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3 ounces; 85g) if that's ok for your health
• 3 ounces grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, what am I talking about? use as much as you like! its parmigano!
• 1/4 cup (10g) chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves (optional)

1. Heat a large cast iron or skillet and dry fry your chanterelles until the water has disappeared from the pan, Slide them out again onto a plate and add oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until moisture has evaporated and mushrooms are deeply browned, 12 to 15 minutes.
   
2. Add shallots, garlic, and thyme and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant and shallots are softened, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add wine or sherry, and cook, swirling pan and scraping up any stuck-on bits with a wooden spoon, until wine is reduced by half, about 30 seconds.
   
3. Add chicken stock mixture, season lightly with salt, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, add fish sauce (if using), and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushroom mixture is thickened to a saucy consistency, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat.
   
4. Meanwhile, in a pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta. If using dry pasta, cook until just shy of al dente (1 to 2 minutes less than the package directs). If using fresh pasta, cook until noodles are barely cooked through. Using either a spider skimmer (for short pasta) or tongs (for long fresh pasta), transfer pasta to pan with mushrooms along with 3/4 cup (180ml) pasta cooking water. Alternatively, drain pasta using a colander or fine-mesh strainer, making sure to reserve at least 2 cups (475ml) pasta cooking water.
   
5. Heat sauce and pasta over high and cook, stirring and tossing rapidly, until pasta is cooked the way YOU like it and sauce is thickened and coats noodles, 1 to 2 minutes, adding more pasta cooking water in 1/4 cup (60ml) increments as needed. At this point, the sauce should coat the pasta but still be loose enough to pool around the edges of the pan. Add butter which makes your sauce richer and stir and toss rapidly to melt and absorb into the sauce. Remove from heat, add 3/4 of grated cheese and all of the parsley, and stir rapidly to incorporate. Season with salt to taste. 
6. Serve immediately or when ever you can get the family to stop what they're doing and get to the table, Always a good idea to bring more  grated cheese as I promise you it will have run out b4 everyone is served...