For those of you who don’t know, Tofino is the surfing capital of Canada. I myself am nothing close to being a surfer, but I often go along for the ride to read my book on the beach or eat at any one of the awesome restaurants/food carts the small town has to offer.
On a recent trip to the beautiful Tofino, we were invited to stay at a friend of a friends place and skip out on a night sleeping in the van. As if that wasn’t awesome enough, I saw a large fruit box full of these beautiful vibrant meatly looking mushrooms. They were Chanterelles, and they had come early this year (first week of September). The good people that these friends of friends were, they also gave us the down-low on where to find these beauties.
A little background on Chanterelles
- Some consider Chanterelles to be one of the best edible mushrooms. Their rich flavour puts them on the same short list as other gourmet fungi such as truffles and morals,
- They are a rich source of vitamin D which they, like us, get from the sun,
- They are high in fibre, low in calories (except if you drown them in butter.
Who knew mushroom picking would be so much fun! We spent an hour in the beautiful rainforest searching for clusters of ‘gold’ which is the colour of these little fungi. In about 45 minutes we managed to collect about 4 pounds (2kg). We cooked them up in risottos, in garlic, and in pasta… yumooo.
Pick Your Own Mushrooms
I encourage everyone to get out into nature and find some mushrooms but keep in mind, there are some unspoken rules as well as some risks. Here are some tips I have picked up, for Chanterelles anyways;
- Find the mushrooms in heavily wooded areas with a mixture of different trees, making sure it is not soley pine. They like mossy areas that have had a lot of rainfall,
- They don’t grow near wild blueberry bushes,
- Watch out for look-alikes. Chanterelles have deep wrinkles or ridges underneath their caps, but do not have plate-like gills. The poisonous look alike the Jack-O’Lantern won’t kill you, but will give you some nasty digestive problems. Jack-O’Lanterns have true gills and usually grow on decaying wood (Chanterelles like soil). Find a reputable source to verify these differences,
- Avoid the small ones and come back in a few weeks when they are mature
- When harvesting your mushrooms always cut the stem above the base with a knife or some scissors. This allows more mushrooms to grow in the future,
- Give the mushrooms a little tap to release the spores, this supposedly also allows more mushrooms to grow in the future,
- Take them home and wash well, use a tooth brush to get in between the gills if necessary,
- Chanterelles should stay good for about a 1 week in a paper bag in your fridge or about a year in your freezer. They can also be dried,
- They go well with in soup, stews, with eggs or in creamy sauces. Also great just on their own,
- Return the following year to your previously harvested areas, and share your best harvesting spots with those you love most.
*If you are unsure of some mushrooms while picking, make sure you keep the separate from the mushrooms you are sure you have correctly identified. This ensures no cross contamination of potentially poisonous mushrooms. Find a reliable source to help you identify which are safe and which aren’t.
Sunset at Tofino
