Pacific Golden Chanterelle
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They grow in a symbiotic relationship with confiers, especially Douglas Fir and Western Hemlock. In a green forest setting, their golden color tends to highlight their convex cap and ridged gills, making them very easy to find.
Storing them is almost as easy as finding them. If refrigerated in an air tight container, fresh specimens have a few weeks' shelf life.
Their taste has been describes as both mild and nutty. Maybe "coney" would be a more appropriate adjective.
They fit right in with vegetarian, fish and fowl dishes. Slice and fry up a hand full with green chilies, orange peppers, red onions and a zucchini of choice, for example, and you have the beginning of a great vegetarian enchilada.
In 1999, Oregon named the Pacific Golden Chanterelle the official state mushroom.
Various Chanterelle species grow in forests around the world, many, but not all, of which are also considered choice edibles.
The picture above picture shows the Woolly Chanterelle (Gomphus floccosus), known to cause gastrointestinal problems. Some mycologists consider it poisonous.
© 2007 Patricia A. Michaels