I have several extra lbs of Chanterelle mushrooms

Hey there,


The other day I found a huge patch of wild chants that I'm now trying to get rid of since I don't have the space for them! If you're interested, shoot me a PM. I'm in the SW burbs.

Hi,

What region were these collected?

Chanterelles in this area are typically found in July and August. They are also usually smaller, if I have a good sense of scale for these.

Regards,

Hey there,

These were found in the Chicagoland area.

Very early year for most of the edible species. I found Morels the earliest I've ever found them this season!

HI,

When did you find morels this year?

Regards,

Found my first morel this year on April 10th.

Hi,

Roughly where do you hunt mushrooms? Usually Kankakee has morels late April and early May. I'd have to ask around what was the earliest for this far north in Illinois. Many plants seem to be roughly two weeks earlier this growing season.

Regards,

Roughly, cook county :/


I'd tell you more but i'd have to force-feed you chanterelles until you forgot what I said.

Hi,

I have been involved in mushrooming for around 25 years. I know better than to ask precise locations, though a regional inquiry is perfectly respectable. I had a friend who when asked where to find mushrooms, he would show a handy dandy picture of a forest.

My favored places for collecting chanterelles are presently off limits per the Lake County Forest Preserve. Favored as in I know where they are. I do find black trumpets walking around my neighborhood.

My personal favorite is grifola frondosa aka Hen of the woods, because one or two fill my needs.

Regards,

Grifola frondosa happens to be my favorite mushroom too!

Specifically, the texture and flavor combination outweighs any other mushroom I can think of.

Chanterelles are my favorite, I'll be happy to take those off your hands

I just let my gf know that they've been spotted, off to our secret spots to see if any are there!

I'm not accusing you and I don't know where you are hunting mushrooms, but for those who want to know It is against the law in Cook County to forage for mushrooms, morels, or other fungi on Forest Preserve property except for scientific research with a permit. Fungi are a food source for other fungi and preserve animals/insects. I don't know much about mushrooms, but nature=beauty in my book, and should not be disturbed without carefully thinking about how removing a species can affect regrowth, the food chain, and the delicate balance of the environment in which the species grows.

Wow. Wish I lived closer. I love chanterelles.

Cathy2 -- how does hen of the woods differ from chicken of the woods? I've had (and love) the chicken of the woods mushroom, but never hen of the woods. I've seen photos, so I know they look different, but is the taste and/or texture different?

Mike,

Would you consider donating a collection of those chanterelles to the herbarium at the Field Museum? I sent them a link to this post last night, because this is a very early find. I can provide you a contact name.

Cynthia,

Common names for mushrooms can mean different mushrooms in different locales. In this area, chicken of the woods aka sulfur shelf is a Laetiporus. It is a bright orange fleshy mushroom growing from trees on decline.

Hen of woods is a grifola frondosa, which grows at the base of oak trees. It is light brown, brown to dark brown mushroom that can be quite large and heavy. A friend collected a 40+ pounder in Indiana. The largest I ever found was around 12 pounds, which is why one or two can be plenty.

You may want to search for these mushrooms to get a visual image, because they are night and day in appearance.

Food Nut,

It is illegal to collect mushrooms in the Cook County and collar county forest preserves. It is legal to collect mushrooms from the Illinois state forest preserves. If you have access to private land, you can do as the owner permits. Illinois Mycologial Association club forays are with permits, which includes documenting collections.

Mushrooms are fruiting bodies, which emerge when moisture and other conditions are suitable for reproduction. Collecting a mushroom is substantively different than collecting a plant, which once lifted is simply gone. When you collect a mushroom there is still mycelium underneath to support another fruiting when conditions allow.

Selling wild mushrooms collected on public lands is a huge no-no. Just as selling venison hunted on public lands with a permit cannot be resold. It is not only illegal, it gives credence to forest managers who want to restrict amateur mycologists.

Regards,

Matt,

Beautiful chanties! I will be going out hunting in the next few days after seeing your inspiring pics. Last year, I also had too many chanterelles to consume without making myself ill. I sauteed my overflow and froze the beauties in little batches. We enjoyed nice omelettes throughout the winter.

Cathy2,

We found our first morels of 2010 on April 17th. The season was already in full swing. Octarine and I had gone out earlier in April but came home with empty baskets. It was only when we went out with my super sleuth mushrooming mother that we were able to enjoy our first springtime meal of veal in morel cream sauce. In 2009, we found the first morels on April 10th.

Last year was my best season for collecting chanterelles in the roughly Cook county area. The specimens were nice sized and relatively free of worms. Typically, the chanterelles around here become wormy minutes after emerging from the earth. At least that is what it seems like to me.


Stephanie

Cathy2 wrote:
Common names for mushrooms can mean different mushrooms in different locales. In this area, chicken of the woods aka sulfur shelf is a Laetiporus. It is a bright orange fleshy mushroom growing from trees on decline.

Hen of woods is a grifola frondosa, which grows at the base of oak trees. It is light brown, brown to dark brown mushroom that can be quite large and heavy. A friend collected a 40+ pounder in Indiana. The largest I ever found was around 12 pounds, which is why one or two can be plenty.

Actually, I knew what they looked like, having looked them up online after you so generously shared some of the huge chicken of the woods that David Hammond brought to last year's picnic. It was simply fabulous -- a taste to dream about. I was wondering how it differed from or was similar to the hen of the woods in flavor, since you prefer the hen to the chicken.

Cynthia,

Sulfur shelf is thicker, meatier texture. If you trim it off too generously, then it is woody and difficult to chew. I am just not too in love with it.

I find I can do much more with grifola frondosa: dried, pickled, frozen, fine eaten just fried, et al. It is a more useful mushroom to me.

Regards,

Food Nut wrote:I'm not accusing you and I don't know where you are hunting mushrooms, but for those who want to know It is against the law in Cook County to forage for mushrooms, morels, or other fungi on Forest Preserve property except for scientific research with a permit. Fungi are a food source for other fungi and preserve animals/insects. I don't know much about mushrooms, but nature=beauty in my book, and should not be disturbed without carefully thinking about how removing a species can affect regrowth, the food chain, and the delicate balance of the environment in which the species grows.

These were collected from private property with permission from the landowner.

MushroomMatt wrote:These were collected from private property with permission from the landowner.

You're very fortunate to have access to private land.

I do hope you will donate some to the Field Museum. Your chanterelles are amongst the earliest found for the region.

Regards,

I'd love to donate some to the Field Museum! Is that where our area's herbarium is?


Do you have any information as to how I would go about doing something like that, and what the process entails?

Matt,

I just sent you a personal message with a contact e-mail address at the Field Museum. I will alert him to look for your e-mail.

Thanks!

Regards,

Poaching in the forest preserves has always been an issue, but the rise of foraging is changing how it’s done, said John McCabe, director of resource management with the Cook County Forest Preserves. He said forest preserves employees have found swaths of land where plants have been pulled up or destroyed completely.

McCabe credits social media for the increase in foraging, the practice of gathering plants and sometimes animals for consumption or profit. He said people who frequent the forest preserves will often post about where they went and what they gathered, leading to others following in their footsteps.

Some gather small amounts of plants for personal use, but the majority of foraging is strictly for profit, Hasler agreed.

“There is a market for that,” Hasler said. “They know where to go, they know what they’re looking for and they know where to take it once they get it.”

Foraging can be done sustainably, but oftentimes foragers decimate an area, filling up trash bags full of edible plants to sell across the city, McCabe said.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/env ... story.html