Chanterelle season September 26, 2010 - BozemanDailyChronicle.com
Falls rains responsible for bumper mushroom crop

Don't look now, but there's gold in them there hills.
Rain and mild temperatures have conspired to produce one of the area's most prolific crops of mushrooms in more than a decade. And among those fungi are the prized chanterelle mushrooms which have "popped" in abundance in the mountains around Bozeman.
"Chanterelle season usually begins in mid-July," said Cathy Cripps, associate professor in the Department of Plant Science and Plant Pathology at Montana State University. "(The season) can go into August and September if conditions are right. Sometimes we have a very short season. Last year was an excellent chanterelle season and the same is true for this year. If it doesn't freeze they might keep coming up."
On the first day of fall, fungophiles (that rare breed persuaded by fungus to wander aimlessly through the forest for hours in search of their exotic quarry) have their fingers crossed.
Chanterelle mushrooms are a fairly distinctive variety among the fungi of southwest Montana. The mushrooms grow in a funnel-like shape, have a vibrant orange color similar to an apricot and smell vaguely of the same fruit. Another defining characteristic is the chanterelle's beautifully rounded ridges (as opposed to gills) that run down the stem.
"(Chanterelles) grow in patches and that is very important," Cripps said on Wednesday. "If you see one golden-yellow mushroom I wouldn't worry about it too much. If you see a big bunch, that is a key identifier."
According to David Arora's "Mushrooms Demystified," chanterelles "are strictly woodland fungi ... many species are characteristic components of cold northern and montane conifer forests."
In our part of the mushrooming universe, that means heading to the hills.
Cripps said mushroom hunters will want to seek chanterelles at higher elevations in areas of lodgepole pine or spruce-fir forest — a habitat found hillside in many place surrounding the greater Bozeman area.
Cripps said the mushrooms are often found in open areas beneath trees or in moss. They grow low to the ground and can have a "frilly" edge.
Because chanterelles are low bloomers, they are often covered with dirt or forest duff. This detritus can be a real chore to remove. As much as possible, it is best to clean your mushrooms in the field. It'll save some work on the back end and keep your basket clean.
Cripps said she carries a small, soft-bristled brush akin to what you'd use to clean a camera lens. She brushes off as much dirt as she can before adding the mushrooms to her basket. If the picking gets hot and heavy — as it often does during chanterelle season — Cripps said you can rinse the mushrooms in a strainer and then immediately transfer the specimens onto paper towels to dry before cooking.
This season has seen a bumper crop of chanterelles and that presents some unexpected challenges. Namely, what to do with all those mushrooms?
Unlike other popular Montana fungi such as morels and king boletes, chanterelles do not dry well. They tend to become tough and leathery following rehydration and resemble something entirely different than the meaty mushrooms found in the field.
Cripps has a simple solution: Throw a party.
If your friends can't finish off your pickings, chanterelles do well frozen. Cripps said the best bet is to chop them up, par boil them in a sauté pan and freeze them in small cups or an ice cube tray for future use.
There are a few chanterelle look-alikes in our area, though Cripps said none of those mushrooms are deadly. One mushroom of similar color grows out of fallen logs and tree stumps. If you go out hunting chanterelles, steer clear of anything growing out of wood, Cripps said.
As always, it is imperative to have a firm identification of your chosen quarry before consuming the contents of your basket. Each year there are multiple deaths related to poisonous mushrooms in the U.S. The best advice is to learn from people in the know, buy a top-shelf, well-respected guide to wild mushrooms and join your local mycological society.
The dividends of a proper mushroom-hunting education are well worth the investment.
And there's still time to get out on the hunt.
"Mushrooms are still coming up," Cripps said. "If the fall rains come, we can have a huge diversity of mushrooms.
"This is one of the best fall mushrooms seasons we have had in the last 15 years."
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