Wild Chanterelle Mushrooms
Chanterelle mushrooms (Cantharellus cibarius) are popping up all over the place. It takes a little bit of knowing to identify them. Jack-o-Lanterns are a poisonous lookalike, and so therefore, it also takes a bit of courage to harvest and eat chanterelles. Yesterday I harvested some, and made a delicious garlic-butter saute with them.
Chanterelle flavor is mild compared to meatier mushrooms like portobellos (Agaricus bisporus) or shitakes (Lintinula edodes). They take on the flavors they are cooked with, which is nice when its garlic and butter.
If you’d like to sample chanterelle’s flavor without chancing it, you may want to try the 5 & 10 Restaurant in Athens, GA who has been featuring them on the menu. Or, I just saw them for sale at Daily’s Co-op, in which case, you can try your own garlic-butter-chanterelle saute.