For me, the last summer hike to find chanterelles quickly became a revelation. Every spring, I look for yellow and black morels and like to eat them in various dishes. But members of the New River Valley Mushroom Club, my host on that June day, started our outing, and they expressed my same passion for morel mushrooms in search of-especially for food-summer chanterelles. Did I make a mistake by not picking mushrooms after the morel season ended?

As the events of the day-and the dinner that night-unfolded, the answer to this question became a resounding affirmation.

Our first discovery was the black trumpet (Craterellus fallax) found in oak and beech forests in the Virginia Highlands. These mushrooms flourish throughout North America. If no one stopped me, I would walk by these small (usually less than 3-1/2 inches), dark brown or black fungus, their lids are like vases, and like many individual chanterelles , With wavy margins. Their dark color explains why these fungi blend so well with forest swamps. Jeff Huffman, a mushroom lover in Roanoke, Virginia, raised a black trumpet so that my wife Elaine and I could smell it Unique fruity aroma.

When you encounter new mushrooms, please ask experts to appraise them before eating them.

Soon after, the club members stopped under some oak trees after a member announced "Smooth chanterelles!" Because of their yellow caps up to 5 inches in diameter, their orange-yellow stems, smooth chanterelles (C. lateritius) are easier to snoop than black trumpets. The smooth chanterelles exude a fragrant fruity taste, sometimes compared to apricots. Smooth chanterelles live throughout the northeastern part of North America, thriving in cities and suburbs and in the mountains and forests, just like we did before.

The third family member we met was golden, also called "Chanterelle" (C. cibarius) for short. Hoffman believes that golden chanterelles may be the most famous and popular member of this family. It is easy to understand why many collectors believe that they are not only the best tasting chanterelle family members, but also the best edible mushrooms of any kind. The golden chanterelles are characterized by orange or yellow caps, usually wavy at the edges and sunken in the center. They can grow up to 6 inches in diameter, so they are easily found throughout North America. The orange to light yellow stems narrow as they descend-another characteristic that many members of the chanterelle family have.

Hoffman believes that these three constitute the main chanterelles in the family worth learning. Nevertheless, several other species also agreed. These include the red cinnabarinus (C. cinnabarinus). Fungus lovers say that although cinnabar is delicious, it does not achieve the same "choice" title as the black horn, smooth and golden varieties. Cinnabar has tiny (usually less than 2 inches wide) red-orange caps with pink ridges and light red stems. This species lives in eastern Canada and western United States to Indiana, usually in oak forests.

Hoffman also listed C. appalachiensis as a valuable discovery. Despite its name, this species grows throughout eastern North America, usually in oak forests. Small (2 inches wide or less), slightly sunken, yellow-brown cap, and short brown-yellow stems are characteristic.

Finally, chanterelle foragers should be aware that different types appear at different times, depending on the region. For example, although golden chanterelles are most likely to be found in the eastern half of the United States between June and September, people in California encounter them in late autumn and winter.

Although searching for summer chanterelles is a noble adventure, there is almost always a warning in the fungus world. One of the warnings is that inedible and even poisonous mushrooms can sometimes look like selected foods.

"People sometimes confuse golden chanterelles with poisonous jack-o-lanterns," Hoffman said. "And it's easy to understand why."

In fact, both of these fungi have yellow to orange caps and descending stems. Golden yellow caps are 6 inches or less in diameter, pumpkin lamp (Omphalotus olearius) caps are 8 inches or less, and many individual fungi of the two species have caps between 4 and 5 inches in diameter. The important differences between goldens and jacks include smell (fruity and foul), the habitat where they usually grow (on the ground and on wood or buried in the ground), and their gills (blunt and sharp edges)) . In addition, chanterelles have white inner flesh, while jacks have orange or yellow inner flesh. All of this led me to make several important suggestions for collecting mushrooms:

Wild mushroom cream sauce We especially like this sauce instead of venison, although it can be paired with any game or domestic meat. Yield: 2 servings.

Wild mushroom and turkey leg burger

Bruce and Elaine Ingram are co-authors of the book "Locavore Lifestyle". For more information, please contact them at BruceIngramOutdoors@Gmail.com.

The standard and detailed guide to wild plants has been improved. "Mushrooms with Confidence" is a slim and convenient manual focusing on the most delicious and common mushrooms, so you can easily find those that are not only safe to eat, but also cooked Share with the joy of cooking!

This book is available at the Grit store or by calling 866-803-7096. Item #10165.

This pack of 500 shiitake mushroom plugs is a great gift for mushroom growers or gardeners who want to start diversifying their mushroom gardens! Shiitake mushrooms are one of the easiest, most productive, and easiest mushrooms to grow on logs, and are suitable for all skill levels.

This product can be purchased at the Grit store or by calling 866-803-7096. Item #8017.

Plant persimmon trees in zones 4 to 9, harvest sweet fruits, and make delicious cupcakes, cream pies, sweet bread, and ice biscuits.

This moist nut bread is the perfect way to run out of frozen persimmon pulp.

Most people think of "mushrooms" or hunting wild mushrooms in spring, but autumn mushrooms are usually more abundant and require less cleaning because many of them grow on trees and old wood, rather than on the ground.

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