Cleaning mushrooms

How to Clean Chanterelles

Max. D Gray
By Max. D Gray. Updated: January 16, 2017
How to Clean Chanterelles

Autumn is synonymous with mushrooms and one of the most common edible mushrooms is the chanterelle mushroom, also known by many other names like pine mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, milk cap... This intensely colored orange or reddish fungus is a favorite in the kitchen, because it has a unique taste and combines perfectly with many ingredients.

Before preparing any stew with chanterelles or cooking directly with chanterelles, e.g. grilling them, they will need to be cleaned properly. However, note that if you pick the mushrooms yourself, you should already start doing this in the forest. Therefore, do not miss this OneHowTo article on how to clean chanterelles.

You may also be interested in: How To Dry Yellow Foot Chanterelle Mushrooms

Steps to follow:

1

First, when picking the chanterelles in the forest, you will have to remove the branches, leaves and other natural debris that can cover these mushrooms. Chanterelles usually grow under pine trees and other vegetation, so it is common to find this kind of natural debris nestled in the mushroom when you pick it.

2

Likewise, you can also shake the chanterelles a little so they are cleaner and, in turn, spores fall, contributing to the growth of new chanterelles. For the same reason, it is necessary to bring a basket and never bags, because that will help the dispersal of spores.

3

Once we get home, we can thoroughly start to clean chanterelles, using a paint brush or dry cloth. This way, we get rid of any earth that's left, as well as small branches etc.

4

If you're not going to cook the chanterelles immediately, it is important that you don't use a wet cloth, and instead clean the chanterelles when you're ready to prepare them. To keep them in perfect condition, we advise you to read our article on how to dry yellow foot chanterelle mushrooms.

How to Clean Chanterelles - Step 4
5

Also, you should make sure that there are no damaged or bug-eaten chanterelles to prevent small worms from passing onto healthy mushrooms and spoiling them all. If a chanterelle has only one damaged part, you can cut it off and keep the healthy part.

6

When you decide to cook the chanterelles, you can moisten a cloth or paper towel and thoroughly clean each of the mushrooms. It is not advisable to put the chanterelles under the tap because an excess of water will accumulate and this can spoil the recipe.

If you want to read similar articles to How to Clean Chanterelles, we recommend you visit our Food & drink category.

Write a comment
What did you think of this article?
1 comment
Anna BOHACH
The mushrooms on your picture are two different species. The yellow, more irregular ones are proper chantarelles and the orange, rounded ones are milk caps. They also taste totally differently, although both delicious. I used to eat them regularly when I was living in Poland.
1 of 2
How to Clean Chanterelles