Good morning & afternoon finding Chants

[Ugahunter2013]

After i found my first few Chants close to the house a few days ago I had a pretty good idea of where some may be on some river property of mine. The area i was going to look is in a bottom on the low side of the river. Lots of massive hardwood trees, cypress, hickory, etc. Very little light penetration through the canopy. Starting out i found one right off the bat going down in the bottom. I didnt find any in the actual bottom where i thought i would, but most were on the high side of the bottom. I found a few here and there and then i walked along a creek bottom and found the treasure trove. A handful of different spots loaded with Chants. Most of them were old and had gone bad. Also most were not that big. I ended up having to leave before i could continue down the creek becausw a bad storm moved in. Probably picked more banana spiders off me than i picked Chants! Total haul was 2 1/2 pounds.

 

[Ugahunter2013]

Also found this guy. The circlular shape threw me off so i left it. Seems like most of the Chants have an irregular shape?

 

[Red dirt clod]

Good finds, my 2 spots have stopped producing. Maybe after this rain today more will pop up.

 

[Ugahunter2013]

Went back when the rain subsided and really loaded up. I had to quit when i couldn’t fit any more in the bag. The last spot was absolutely loaded! Most of them are not huge. Will they get bigger? I am pretty busy next week and probably wont have a chamce to come back. I left a lot and marked all the spots. Total haul this afternoon was 7 1/2 pounds!

 

[NCHillbilly]

Now, go look up how much those sell for a pound......

 

[Ugahunter2013]

Now, go look up how much those sell for a pound......

I thought i saw somewhere the orher day it was $30/lb. Thats crazy...How long generally does ir take them to grow to “full size”?

 

[Killer Kyle]

Chanterelles average something like $22.00-$28.00 lb at a farmers market I believe. A man from Dahlonega runs Yahoola Valley Mushrooms, and he sells them fresh on the cheap at $20.00/lb. The hard part is actually getting somebody to buy them.

Yall had a good haul! 7lbs is about all I can stand cleaning at any one time. It takes so dang long!
You got plenty to put back for the year. You've got a gem of a spot there!

 

[Killer Kyle]

I thought i saw somewhere the orher day it was $30/lb. Thats crazy...How long generally does ir take them to grow to “full size”?

Chants just grow however big they are going to grow. There really is no time table on how they grow. One may grow 6" high, while the one next to it only grows 2" high and never gets any bigger.

 

[Ugahunter2013]

Chanterelles average something like $22.00-$28.00 lb at a farmers market I believe. A man from Dahlonega runs Yahoola Valley Mushrooms, and he sells them fresh on the cheap at $20.00/lb. The hard part is actually getting somebody to buy them.

Yall had a good haul! 7lbs is about all I can stand cleaning at any one time. It takes so dang long!
You got plenty to put back for the year. You've got a gem of a spot there!

You aint lying! It took me forever to clean those things, then sautee them, and put them up. Took so long i haven’t been back to get more. I did put enough up to last me quite a while. Funny thing was i was in town leaving work for lunch and something caught my eye. It was 3 big chants growing under a big oak tree on the edge of our parking lot. I keep an eye out for them now!

 

[Ugahunter2013]

Found some beside the house this morning. Not sure how much but i guess a pound or 2. Also found the biggest one yet.

 

[Out of cell range]

@Killer Kyle @Ugahunter2013 @Red dirt clod @NCHillbilly Thanks for mentioning Yahoola Valley Mushrooms. I am that man in Dahlonega. I do sell chanterelles cheap when they are abundant. A lot of people who go to the farmers market in Dahlonega are familiar with Chanterelles and have them in their yard. Speaking to their size and growth. They begin to grow in late mid/late June early July through October depending on conditions. Humidity and temperature are the biggest influences on growth. They will stop getting bigger if there is a dry spell and then continue to grow after a rain. I pull them from the ground and cut the dirty base off in the woods. I brush them off in the woods with a short handled paint brush before putting them in my mesh bag. I prefer picking them just before they mature (the cap curls up) or as they mature. I will pick all of the mature ones wether they make it into my bag or not as this encourages new growth or the smaller fruits to grow bigger. When you find a "patch" all of those Chants are the same organism. The part you see are like apples on a tree. The "tree" is underground. Picking will stimulate more fruiting so pick the bigger ones and leave the runts to extend your Chanterelle season and get the most out if your spot. I tear the buggy ones up and scatter out the pieces so they will their spores wiil continue to release. During deer season look for Chicken of the woods, hen of the woods, lions mane and other tasty fungi. I teach several classes that can on the subject if you or anyone you know is interested in learning more about wild edibles.
Also you should NOT collect them in plastic bags. The mushrooms you harvest are alive and breath oxygen just like us. They will suffocate in a plastic bag and wilt more quickly. Collecting in plastic bags encourages bacterial growth and can make your haul hazardous.
I hope this will help you all get the most out of your Chanterelle spots.
Happy Hunting!!

 

[Red dirt clod]

I’m just south of you, had a decent crop this year. A big patch grows near my garden and several more in my woods.

 

[Out of cell range]

Right on! I find that they often associate with white Oaks.

 

[GLS]

This has been the poorest year for me. We've had one day of rain in the last 50. My pet spots have been bone dry. I've monitored this site all summer and it's as if the clouds separated when coming close to my areas and rejoined after bypassing the areas.
https://www.iweathernet.com/total-rainfall-map-24-hours-to-72-hours

 

[Out of cell range]

I had a similar experience this season. I passed on 50+ lbs to let them mature. I had to go out of town for a weekend so did not harvest prior to my weekend farmers market. I went back and they were all dry and not worth picking.

 

[GLS]

Nic uses an onion sack to carry mushrooms which is a good idea. It tends to scatter spores better than a bag and affords some air drying of surface moisture. I use a small basket made of oak splits. At one time I didn't clean mushrooms until ready to cook in a few days as I thought that they kept better than being washed. I've since started washing them when I get home and the shelf life doesn't seem to be impacted one way or the other. I let them air dry on a towel before putting in a paper bag and stored in the fridge for a few days. I prefer to cut the mushroom in the ground rather than to pull it up. Whether true or not, I've always read that it is less destructive of the underground system on which the mushroom flushes. Regardless, it's a good idea not to bag mushrooms with dirt intact on the ground end as it makes a mess of the other mushrooms creating extra work in cleaning. I read some bunk on the internet by certain chefs that to never wash mushrooms, but brush them off only. That's great if one likes the sound and texture of grit while chewing . The first batch I picked I ruined by cooking and following the bunk I read. Alton Brown has disputed the brush only method as well as a master chef buddy of mine. While the mushrooms are somewhat absorbent of moisture, the amount of water added is minimum and quickly cooked out. Gil

 

[JonathanG2013]

Great find. I am going to have to look for those also. Have never had one. Are they best sauteed?

 

[NCHillbilly]

Nic uses an onion sack to carry mushrooms which is a good idea. It tends to scatter spores better than a bag and affords some air drying of surface moisture. I use a small basket made of oak splits. At one time I didn't clean mushrooms until ready to cook in a few days as I thought that they kept better than being washed. I've since started washing them when I get home and the shelf life doesn't seem to be impacted one way or the other. I let them air dry on a towel before putting in a paper bag and stored in the fridge for a few days. I prefer to cut the mushroom in the ground rather than to pull it up. Whether true or not, I've always read that it is less destructive of the underground system on which the mushroom flushes. Regardless, it's a good idea not to bag mushrooms with dirt intact on the ground end as it makes a mess of the other mushrooms creating extra work in cleaning. I read some bunk on the internet by certain chefs that to never wash mushrooms, but brush them off only. That's great if one likes the sound and texture of grit while chewing . The first batch I picked I ruined by cooking and following the bunk I read. Alton Brown has disputed the brush only method as well as a master chef buddy of mine. While the mushrooms are somewhat absorbent of moisture, the amount of water added is minimum and quickly cooked out. Gil

I always wash them. It doesn't hurt a thing. Grit and dirt do.

 

[NCHillbilly]

Great find. I am going to have to look for those also. Have never had one. Are they best sauteed?

They're good any way you would use a mushroom. Chants are my favorite of all mushrooms on the planet, I'd say.

 

[JonathanG2013]

They're good any way you would use a mushroom. Chants are my favorite of all mushrooms on the planet, I'd say.

Is there an easy way to identify those compared to the toxic jack o lantern mushroom?