# Chanterelles??



## GLS (Jun 5, 2014)

Anyone seeing them?


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## K80Shooter (Jun 5, 2014)

In my part of Georgia it was around July 4th when they showed up last year.


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## NCHillbilly (Jun 5, 2014)

It's usually mid-late July here before they pop, I've found them in early July on the SC/GA border.


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## waddler (Jun 5, 2014)

None in Bogart yet.

Saw two fawns about the size of a rabbit this week. They just froze and I eased away from them. Had to be newborns. 

Gathering a good many Greenbriar shoots.


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## GLS (Jun 5, 2014)

If we get some rain between now and Saturday, I'll take a look where I found them last year.  I've heard of some small ones popping up--must be the reds.  We had a wet summer last year and plenty of chants.  Gil


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## The Longhunter (Jun 8, 2014)

Saw some Friday in Decatur GA, (not the county)


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## GLS (Jun 8, 2014)

Checked out nearby spot this afternoon:


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## NCHillbilly (Jun 9, 2014)

Oh yeah! Nice mess of chanterelles. I'm headed down to the flatlands here in a week or two, gonna be lookin' for sure.


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## waddler (Jun 9, 2014)

Chanterelles are supposed to be relatively easy to identify, but fear of mushrooms has a strong grip on most of us. When I find what I am ALMOST positive are Chanterelles, how can I get absolute identification?


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## GLS (Jun 9, 2014)

On all but "smooth" chanterelles, the "gill" structure is branched like tree limbs and runs down the stem.  The structure is irregular on the bigger chants.  If the mushroom has parallel, un-branched "gills", all in the top with none on the stem it's not a chant.  On small, immature chants, the branching is harder to detect, doesn't extend (yet) to the stems,  but the smallest chants will usually be in the company of larger chants with the same coloration.
Got a report from Clarke County from my daughter and they showed up after last week's rain.


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## waddler (Jun 9, 2014)

Spent 4 hours yesterday in Hardwoods picking Greenbriar and Mullein. Probably covered 20 acres. Only one mushroom and it was Red. Had lots of Goldens last year in these same places. Keep on looking.


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## Jake Allen (Jun 9, 2014)

I figure about 2 to 3 weeks away from prime time in my neck of the woods, (NW of Atlanta).


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## Countryboy71 (Jun 9, 2014)

They are starting to pop up here in middle GA.  I checked several patches this weekend.  Nothing large enough to pick yet.

Randy


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## waddler (Jun 12, 2014)

What is this?


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## NCHillbilly (Jun 12, 2014)

That is a chanterelle. Looks like a smooth chant.


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## waddler (Jun 12, 2014)

NCHillbilly said:


> That is a chanterelle. Looks like a smooth chant.



Thanks. 
Got a bunch just pushing thru. 
Will they continue to get larger? Last year there were some really large ones. How do you know when to pick them?


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## NCHillbilly (Jun 12, 2014)

Just depends on the weather, and individual mushrooms. Some get really big, some get stunted and don't make much of anything. The type of smooth chanterelles we have here get a lot bigger than the golden chanterelles on average. I pick them whenever I can find them in an edible state, fresher the better. They start getting ate up by worms pretty quick if you don't get them, they'll be bored full of little holes inside. They get tougher as they age, too.


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## TripleXBullies (Jun 12, 2014)

GLS said:


> On all but "smooth" chanterelles, the "gill" structure is branched like tree limbs and runs down the stem.  The structure is irregular on the bigger chants.  If the mushroom has parallel, un-branched "gills", all in the top with none on the stem it's not a chant.  On small, immature chants, the branching is harder to detect, doesn't extend (yet) to the stems,  but the smallest chants will usually be in the company of larger chants with the same coloration.
> Got a report from Clarke County from my daughter and they showed up after last week's rain.




So that smooth chant doesn't have any gill structure at all?


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## GLS (Jun 12, 2014)

The true smooth chant lacks the ridge or "gill" structure.  I have noticed on some of the regular golden chants, that the older ones once they start deteriorating become "smooth" when they lose ridging ("gills") underneath.  They are in the company of younger, fresher mushrooms so they aren't true "smooth" chants.  I  hope to get into another area this weekend to see how they are doing there.  It's an unusual location as they grow on a sandy road wherever oak leaves cluster together and compost on top of the sand.  We are getting nightly showers this week.


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## NCHillbilly (Jun 12, 2014)

No chanterelles have actual gills, they have gill-like folds that are part of the cap itself, not separate from it like true gills. There are a few different species of smooth chanterelles. Some are completely smooth underneath, but most have blunt ridges that fork and have cross-ridges like the "gill" pattern on the golden chanterelles, except they are blunter and much less gill-like..


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## Jake Allen (Jun 12, 2014)

I was taught to look for the ridges for a positive id.
These are Chanterelles we found July 11 last year in North Georgia.

I also found a few in South Ga, July 10, and Crossville TN, (on the Cumberland Plateau), on July 18.


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## NCHillbilly (Jun 12, 2014)

Nice ones, Jake! Those are the big smooth chanterelles. I like those, because they usually grow in big patches-when you find one, there's usually a bunch of 'em. Found a bunch of those on the SC/GA border along with quite a few golden chanterelles the first weekend of July last year. It's usually mid-late July here in the mountains when they start popping, I've found them as late as mid-October.


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## GLS (Jun 12, 2014)

Here are some reds from last year.  Tiny but tasty.  The dime is for scale.  They don't seem to have as long a season around here as the goldens.


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## NCHillbilly (Jun 12, 2014)

GLS said:


> Here are some reds from last year.  Tiny but tasty.  The dime is for scale.  They don't seem to have as long a season around here as the goldens.



We have loads of those little cinnibar chanterelles here. They taste good, but they're not very meaty and it takes a bunch of 'em to make a mess.


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## waddler (Jun 12, 2014)

Found some in 4 spots today, all small. They seem different, but are all golden and growing on hardwood floor. I'll get pics in a day or two when they are larger. One spot had them with a depression in the umbrella like top and they stood tall.


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## GLS (Jun 13, 2014)

Last night I topped off a piece of poached salmon with chants and capers sauteed in butter.  The night before, it was sauteed chants topping off fresh-pulled pole beans from a buddy's garden.  Tonight, grilled snipe topped off with sauteed chants in butter and garlic.


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## waddler (Jun 13, 2014)

Well, I woke up none the worse for having eaten part of the mushroom I showed in the pic, so apparently I am not allergic or anything. It was absolutely delicious. Cannot believe I have been in the woods all my life and was missing so much.


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## Jake Allen (Jun 13, 2014)

waddler said:


> Well, I woke up none the worse for having eaten part of the mushroom I showed in the pic, so apparently I am not allergic or anything. It was absolutely delicious. Cannot believe I have been in the woods all my life and was missing so much.



Good deal, that was smart. I was taught to positively identify the mushroom, then eat just a bite or two and wait several hours to see if I may be allergic to that mushroom, or make a bad id. Also, all of these mushrooms contain poisons, some alot less that others.
The bounty of the woods.


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## Hammer Spank (Jun 13, 2014)

I know where a bunch are.  My buddy gave me some last year that had been frozen in a ziplock bag and they were a bit mushy when defrosted.  I did my best to sautee them in butter and garlic but it just tasted sort of woody.  I assume they're best really fresh?


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## GLS (Jun 13, 2014)

Raw mushrooms don't freeze well.  Better to de-hydrate them for storage and re-hydrate as needed.


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## GLS (Jun 14, 2014)

I thawed out a few snipe and filleted the breasts and removed thighs and legs intact.  I sauteed them in olive oil and chopped garlic for a few minutes, removed them and added chopped chanterelles and a little butter.  I poured the chants and liquid over the snipe.  Nice breakfast for a Saturday morning.  The snipe leg and thigh bones are so tiny, I crunched them down the gullet.


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## waddler (Jun 14, 2014)

Last night I did broiled fish filets and made a veggie from sauteed Lambsquarter, greenbriar and yucca petals. The petals were overpowered by the other two, so from now on they are a side dish. Plus a pan of Chants sauteed with Olive oil and garlic as a side. Put it over Brown Rice and washed it down with a glass of wine.

It took a long time for me to get here, but I'm gaining ground.


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## waddler (Jun 15, 2014)

How do you distinguish between Chants and False Chants?


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## Jeff Raines (Jun 28, 2014)

Chants are popping up everywhere in Paulding County.


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## Big7 (Jun 28, 2014)

Few questions...

Like in above post I'd be skeered until I posted on here for yall to say ya' or na'.

Where do you look?

Swamp, woods with high shade canopy, tree stumps or what?

Any particular PH they like? Around ferns or anything else you can think
 of to help me learn to find them.

Many Thanks!


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## Jeff Raines (Jun 28, 2014)

Big7 said:


> Few questions...
> 
> Like in above post I'd be skeered until I posted on here for yall to say ya' or na'.
> 
> ...



I have found them growing high up on ridge tops and right beside creeks in the bottom.
In hardwood stands............just found some in neighbors yard today....Shhh,he doesn't know how good they are.


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## GLS (Jun 28, 2014)

Here in the low country I find them on oak hills inside the drip line of live oaks especially where wild grapes grow.  It's pretty poor soil where I look and I don't find big stands of them.  A few here, a few there.   One spot that has produced was recently rooted out by hogs. It's better to cut them rather than pull them up.  It helps to leave the "root" structure as it will produce all season.  It also cuts down on the grit and dirt in the basket which ends up on the mushroom tops.  Amazon  has  several mushroom knives with small brushes on the end.  The curved blade is practical for cutting them.


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## Chris Whitaker (Jun 29, 2014)

*Found a couple honey holes yesterday*


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## Chris Whitaker (Jun 29, 2014)

*Also came across three little ones, this one too scared to move*


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## bigelow (Jun 29, 2014)

Got these today. On a cliff near a small water fall.


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## GLS (Jun 30, 2014)

Nice weekend hauls, folks.  Great photo of the fawn.  Up thread someone asked for distinguishing false chanterelles from the real McCoy.  Here's a good link with photos:
http://www.mushroom-appreciation.com/chanterelle-mushrooms.html


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## NCHillbilly (Jun 30, 2014)

Nice hauls, Chris and Bigelow! They should be poppin up here in a couple-three more weeks.

Big7, oaks are the common denominator most of the time, as chanterelles are mycorrhizal with oak trees. Like, morels, though, you find them where they're at. One spot may be full of them and ten other spots that looks the same have none. You can spot them from a distance, though. The smooth chanterelles seem to be found more often in floodplain/low sandy areas than the golden chanterelles. The smooths often grow in large patches, the goldens are more scattered. I find chants here in the mountains everywhere from river floodplains to the top of oak ridges to banks of logging/fire roads to old cemeteries, you name it.


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## waddler (Jun 30, 2014)

GLS said:


> Nice weekend hauls, folks.  Great photo of the fawn.  Up thread someone asked for distinguishing false chanterelles from the real McCoy.  Here's a good link with photos:
> http://www.mushroom-appreciation.com/chanterelle-mushrooms.html



Are the False ones always bitter?

Waiting on rain in Bogart. All the first flush has dried completely up.


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## The Longhunter (Jun 30, 2014)

waddler said:


> Are the False ones always bitter?
> 
> Waiting on rain in Bogart. All the first flush has dried completely up.



Wait should be over.  Had a frog strangler last night.


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## Jeff Raines (Jun 30, 2014)

Got some chanterelles in the pan now to go along with my backyard eggs and sausage.


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## GLS (Jun 30, 2014)

Regarding the taste of a false chanterelle, I dunno.  I ain't trying one.


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## bigelow (Jun 30, 2014)

I've only had raw but I want to sauté with onion and garlic.


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## waddler (Jul 1, 2014)

GLS said:


> Regarding the taste of a false chanterelle, I dunno.  I ain't trying one.



I worry I might try one by mistake. There is a lot of conflicting material about the "falsies" on the net, and some of the pics are hard to separate. Actually, most say that the only thing bad about them is the taste. Hoping somebody here has first hand info.


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## NCHillbilly (Jul 1, 2014)

bigelow said:


> I've only had raw but I want to sauté with onion and garlic.



Never, ever, ever, ever eat a wild mushroom of any kind raw. That's one of the basic rules. Many mushrooms that are perfectly safe when cooked are poisonous raw. Many, many people have been poisoned from eating raw morels, for example.


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## GLS (Jul 1, 2014)

Here's a brief list of the avoidables in the SE at all costs (the caveat is it is not exhaustive) :
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/pp/notes/General_Principles/gpin004/gpin004.htm


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## eman1885 (Jul 1, 2014)

what is ya'lls favorite way to cook them? Ive sauteed them in olive oil ith minced garlic and that was good, but i would like some other ideas.

thanks


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## Jeff Raines (Jul 1, 2014)

eman1885 said:


> what is ya'lls favorite way to cook them? Ive sauteed them in olive oil ith minced garlic and that was good, but i would like some other ideas.
> 
> thanks



Sauteed in real butter and sprinkled with seasoned salt.


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## NCHillbilly (Jul 2, 2014)

Sauteed in real butter or butter/olive oil mix with salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, and a squirt of lemon juice is hard to beat. I also like them in stirfry, battered and deepfried, chants are good any way you would use any other mushroom.


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## bigelow (Jul 3, 2014)

I will remember that nch. I read up on them and did not see any warning about raw.  So I went for it. I wondered why I kept seeing things that night. Lol.


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