Chanterelle real (ordinary): what it looks like, description

Common chanterelle is one of the most popular forest mushrooms, which will decorate even a festive table. It is distinguished by a unique taste and aroma, which can only be compared with white representatives. This mushroom is distinguished by a bright, memorable appearance.

What real foxes look like

It is advisable to have this information before you go on a “mushroom hunt” in order to accurately imagine what to fill the basket with. By the way, the name comes from the word “fox”, that is, yellow. For convenience, there are a number of signs:

• Unlike most of its counterparts, the color of the common chanterelle can vary, changing, depending on the conditions, from orange to brown;
• If mushrooms are characterized by the shape of an umbrella, then in an ordinary chanterelle this umbrella seems to be bent by the wind in the opposite direction;
• Fruiting bodies are one whole, since there is no visible transition from the stem to the cap.

To recognize an ordinary fox by these signs is quite simple. And after one is found, you should look around. This species usually grows in large families. The place must be remembered and returned to it next time.

Where do chanterelle mushrooms grow

Those who regularly go to the forest often compare ordinary chanterelles with fox tails that stick out of their holes. Mushrooms hide in last year’s needles or foliage, so you should arm yourself with a stick that is easy to lift. The common fox prefers birch or mixed forests. You can rarely meet her in a coniferous forest.

Which places to check first:

• After the past rains, you should inspect areas with light, sandy soil, and also pay attention to the edges or sunny glades;
• The rest of the time, you should look for ordinary chanterelles in wet areas near birches and oaks.

The first fruiting bodies appear in May and are found in the forest until September. But the mass collection falls on July – August.

Description of the common chanterelle

The large leg of the common chanterelle smoothly turns into an umbrella, the diameter of which is different: there are specimens with a hat from 2 to 12 cm. If you carefully examine it, you can see the features:

• Heterogeneous color: pale – along the edges and almost brown – in the center;
• The dome is elongated or convex: it depends on the season and the age of the fruiting body;
• The skin is smooth, the edges of the funnel are rounded, wavy;
• The pulp is dense, of the same color with a dome. Thanks to this, the mushroom perfectly tolerates long-term transportation and storage;
• The peel is separated from the pulp with great difficulty.

No wonder experts appreciate the common fox so much. Collecting it is a pleasure, it does not cause trouble in transportation, it goes well with various dishes.

The taste of the mushroom

No wonder the common fox has gained such popularity. This is one of the most delicious mushrooms growing in our forests. If you want the dish to be fragrant, then it’s better to think of nothing. It is not for nothing that chanterelles received recognition from culinary specialists. Real mushrooms can be added to salads and canned. Soups with dried chanterelles will appeal even to gourmets. But the most delicious they are fried.

Mushroom pickers love them for their dense fleshiness and a special sour taste with the smell of roots and fruits. But unlike milk mushrooms or valuya, ordinary chanterelles do not have bitterness and therefore do not require soaking. After roasting, they acquire the necessary softness, without losing their shape. Small mushrooms are especially good, which serve as a decoration for the finished dish.

As a side dish for the product, it is best to use: buckwheat; pasta; Brown rice.

Ordinary chanterelles can also be used as an independent dish, added to pizza and casserole, used as a filling for a pie. They go well with spices such as allspice, dill, cloves, marjoram, dried carrots and bay leaves.

Beginners sometimes pass by ordinary chanterelles, not honoring yellow mushrooms with attention: mushrooms and white mushrooms will really give this species a head start in digestibility, but the chanterelle also has a number of undeniable advantages:

• If you cook them correctly, grinding them before heat treatment, then all the beneficial properties will be preserved in full.
• The calorie content of the mushroom is very small – 19 kcal per 100 g of product. At the same time, ordinary chanterelles contain dietary fiber (23%), beta-carotene (17%), vitamins: A (16%), B2 (19%), C (38%), PP (25%), and potassium ( 18%), copper (29%), manganese (21%), cobalt (40%);
• Nutritionists note that the high protein content with low calorie content is an excellent tool for losing weight. Of course, with a diet.

False doubles

Most mushrooms have twins, and the real (ordinary) chanterelle is no exception: the photo clearly shows that they can be distinguished. but for this you need to have certain knowledge or skill. For those who visit the forest regularly, the difference is obvious. With a little practice, they can be easily distinguished.

Despite the fact that some believe that the false chanterelle is an unwanted guest in a basket of forest gifts, however, it belongs to conditionally edible, and not to poisonous mushrooms. After eating it, you can encounter indigestion, and most people will not feel any damage to health at all. After soaking, the twins can be dried, salted and even fried. Another thing is that their taste qualities leave much to be desired.

Features: 

1. The first thing that is important to pay attention to the mushroom picker is the place of growth. A false analogue – the orange talker – is found on deadwood, on old trees, and also comes across on the forest floor.
2. A false representative grows in single specimens, which never happens with ordinary chanterelles, which are always found in families.
3. The hat of the orange talker has regular and even edges, the skin is easily removed from it: while the edges of the common chanterelle are wavy, and the skin is separated with great difficulty.
4. Unpleasant odor is another indicator. If an ordinary chanterelle smells like apricots, then a false one has a musty aroma.
5. When pressed, the common chanterelle changes color to red: the false mushroom does not have this property.
6. The main difference is the leg. In a chanterelle talker, it is thin and hollow inside, in an ordinary one it is thick, without voids.

Collection rules

Going to the forest, you need to remember once again where and how chanterelles grow, pay attention to the weather and rainfall. If the summer is moderately warm and rainy, then you can move out for the “hunt” as early as the beginning of July. In extreme heat, the mass collection is postponed to August-September. The most important thing is to find the first hat. After that, it remains only to explore the entire clearing in order to collect several buckets of orange fruiting bodies.

Mushroom pickers with experience usually give advice to beginners:

1. You need to cut off the common chanterelle with a sharp knife, 1 – 2 cm above the ground surface. If you uproot it, then a lot of earth and sand will fall into the plates.
2. An overgrown specimen will not replenish prey, but it should not be left in the ground either. It is better to cut and hang on a tree, hat down. The spores will spill out, and a new crop will appear in a couple of years.

How the mushroom grows can be seen in the photo. The common chanterelle will appear in the same clearing year after year, if you carefully handle the mycelium.

The use of chanterelles ordinary

For the unique composition and suitability for food in any form, ordinary chanterelles are valued not only in cooking, but also when used to improve the body:

1. In cooking, this representative of the Chanterelle family allows you to diversify the table and cook many delicious dishes.
2. For weight loss, this is a real find, since a valuable source of protein has a low calorie content, which allows it to be included in the diet menu. Moreover, a powder is prepared from dried fruiting bodies, which is taken twice a day, in a teaspoon, which also stimulates weight loss.
3. In folk medicine, they have a stimulating and antitumor effect, helping with inflammatory diseases.
4. In cosmetology, they appreciate the adaptogenic or restorative function of the product, which is used in the main or additional components of cosmetic or medical-cosmetic compositions.

How to cook a common chanterelle

An ordinary chanterelle is almost impossible to spoil, so it is suitable for experiments with novice housewives:

1. Зacoustic for every day. This is a light salad of fried chanterelles, boiled potatoes, green onions, cherry tomatoes and lettuce. The proportions are arbitrary, it is better to season with sour cream or olive oil with lemon juice.
2. Fragrant soup. To prepare it, you need to fry the potatoes, add onions and chanterelles to it. Stir, hold on fire for another five minutes, transfer to a saucepan and pour water. Cook everything for 20 minutes, then grind with a blender, add cream, salt and pepper. Truffle oil will add a special flavor to the dish.
3. Chanterelle mousse. Perfect addition to any side dish. For cooking, you need to fry the mushrooms in vegetable oil, add cream and simmer until tender. Cool slightly and grind with a blender.
4. Pickled chanterelles. Sort mushroom raw materials, pour water and boil for 10 minutes. Add spices and vinegar (for 1 kg of mushrooms – 100 ml of water, 1 tablespoon of sugar and ½ tablespoon of salt, 125 ml of 9% vinegar).

You can decorate a salad, meat or vegetable dish with fried chanterelles: they will only benefit from this.

Medicinal use of the mushroom

Ordinary chanterelles are used in folk medicine in the form of powder, alcohol tinctures or oil extracts. Moreover, they can be bought ready-made or harvested independently. The most popular alcohol tincture. It is used to treat:

• Liver disease
• Pharyngitis, angina, ORVI and tuberculosis;
• Oncological diseases;
• Skin lesions of various etiologies.

Alcohol tincture is easy to prepare at home. You will need to take 2.5 tbsp. l. powder from ordinary chanterelles and pour them with 500 g of vodka. It is necessary to insist the mixture in the dark for 2 weeks. This tincture is accepted:

• In the treatment of the pancreas, drinking 1 tsp. twice a day;
• To cleanse the liver – 2 tsp. at bedtime, for two weeks;
• To remove helminths – 2 tsp. at bedtime for 3 weeks.

Conclusion

In Our Country, the common chanterelle is found almost everywhere. It grows in forest belts, small groves and protected forests. For a beginner, this is a great chance to bring home a really tasty and healthy mushroom, without the risk of poisoning. Representatives of the Lisichkovs are easily recognizable and do not look like any other species. And if a false chanterelle gets into the basket, then if precautions are taken in cooking, it will not become a threat to health.

Red beauties are easy to cook. You don’t have to be a culinary expert to fry them in a pan and make them a great alternative to goulash or a soup base. Low calorie content allows you to safely eat them even during a diet, which increases the demand for chanterelles among women and athletes.