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Chanterelles must be cleaned within the first 24 hours after collection. This process promises to be simple and educational. Each type of mushroom has its own rules, which it is better to listen to so as not to make mistakes. This will help you enjoy the wonderful taste and aroma of the delicious dish to the fullest after cooking.
How to process chanterelles after harvesting
When collecting, you can immediately notice that the chanterelles are quite fragile and require special treatment. It is better to start processing immediately after cutting. To do this, just clean the mushrooms from large debris in the form of leaves and twigs. The basket cannot be filled to the top, so as not to crush the bottom layer of the crop.
Already at home, begin careful processing.
Do I need to clean chanterelles?
Processing chanterelles is a mandatory step, which is best approached responsibly. The caps of these mushrooms are sticky and the debris will stick tightly.
Carry out the actions step by step:
- Soak briefly.
- Clean caps and gills.
- Rinse with plenty of water.
Don't skip any of these points.
How to clean chanterelle mushrooms
Not everyone can clean chanterelles correctly; many make mistakes. As a result, ready-made dishes may end up with rubbery and tasteless mushrooms, and small debris will squeak on your teeth.
Procedure:
- Take out one copy at a time and put it in a bowl of water for a quarter of an hour.
- Using a sponge, rinse the surface of the cap to remove any soaked small debris.
- Inspect completely to make sure there are no blackened spots, which simply need to be scraped off or cut off in the same way as the lower part of the leg.
It remains to move on to the last stage of preparation.
How to wash chanterelle mushrooms
You will also need to wash, paying attention to each mushroom. Place the top part of the cap under the tap first, gently massaging with your fingers and removing dirt.
Then turn it over and clean out the sand and soil between the plates under running water. Place everything in a colander to drain excess liquid.
Do I need to soak chanterelles in water?
Despite the fact that chanterelles contain bitterness, which repels pests, more often than not, pre-soaking is not required.
But there are exceptions, these include:
- Old large fruits have time to collect a large amount of unpleasant taste.
- Dry weather often results in mushrooms that are very bitter during the season. Chanterelles collected near coniferous trees and moss also accumulate an unpleasant taste.
- Some housewives make the mistake of freezing fresh mushrooms when there is no time for processing. This is also a factor in the accumulation of unpleasant taste.
Bitter chanterelles are tasteless, but are not hazardous to health if collected in environmentally friendly places, properly processed and stored. In other cases, soaking is not required, especially if they were previously soaked in water when removing debris.
It is worth paying attention to one of the varieties of this mushroom - the black chanterelle. Not everyone is familiar with this delicacy, but connoisseurs love to prepare it. It can be fried fresh, but only the cap is used (the stem is quite dense). But it gained great popularity in dried and ground form, which is added to dishes during cooking to give a special taste.
It must be pre-soaked to get rid of accumulated toxins.
Do I need to soak chanterelles before frying?
In this case, the matter is not only in the quality of the mushrooms, but also in the option of cleaning and preparing the chanterelles before frying. Cases when it is necessary to soak mushrooms have already been described.
The fact is that some chefs pre-boil the harvest before cooking it in a frying pan. Even if you come across specimens with the presence of bitterness, it will all go into the broth.
If the harvest is fresh and there is no doubt, after chopping the mushrooms, immediately fry them in a frying pan until cooked.
Do I need to soak chanterelles before marinating?
Before marinating, chanterelles are almost always pre-boiled. During such heat treatment, the bitterness, if present, will all go into the water, which must be changed after 10 minutes of boiling.
In order for large mushrooms not only to be cooked, but also to get rid of the unpleasant taste, they must be cut into pieces similar in size to the smallest specimens.
Some recipes recommend marinating only the chanterelle caps after processing. In this case, you should not be afraid of bitterness at all, since it is mostly contained in the legs. But if you are going to prepare caviar from them, then it is better to keep them in a salted and acidified mixture for no more than 20 minutes.
Is it possible to soak chanterelles overnight?
As already mentioned, chanterelles are a fragile mushroom. After cleaning and being in water for a long time, they will become lethargic, soft, and may partially lose color and taste, as well as useful substances. If there is no time, some advise storing on a shelf intended for vegetables, only in sorted form. You don't even need to wash them. Perform all necessary actions immediately before preparation.
Frozen semi-finished chanterelle product, if the mushrooms have not been pre-boiled, often tastes bitter. In such cases, prolonged soaking in a salty mixture and then boiling helps get rid of the unpleasant taste.
But as for the black species, many people soak it, leaving it in water for 12 to 24 hours.
Useful tips
It is worth considering advice from experienced mushroom pickers on how to properly collect, process and cook chanterelles:
- You should not go out on a “quiet hunt” after a long and dry period, as well as prolonged frosts. During this unfavorable period, the mushrooms have time to become saturated with harmful substances. There is a high probability of harvesting with bitterness.
- Choose places with clean air, away from industrial enterprises and highways.
- Inspect each specimen after cutting. Do not place chanterelles damaged by worms with healthy mushrooms. Cut off blackened areas, scrape off dirt and sand.
- The product should feel free in the basket so as not to break.
- At home, do not pour everything into the water, because small debris will accumulate at the bottom.
- Start processing immediately, without allowing the crop to begin to deteriorate. In a cool place, chanterelles can stay for no more than a day.
- Clean and be sure to boil the mushrooms if they are frozen.
- If a semi-finished product comes to the table, the quality of which is in doubt, then prepare a small batch to understand the taste. If necessary, when bitterness is present, soak or boil.
- Be sure to drain in a colander to get rid of excess moisture.
More often than not, chanterelles do not cause much trouble for housewives.
Conclusion
Cleaning chanterelles is very simple if all conditions are met during collection. Correctly performed steps will help you prepare a wonderful dish of delicious mushrooms or prepare them for the winter to enjoy the gifts of summer all year round.
