This summer marks the 25th anniversary of the Pacific golden chanterelle’s designation as Oregon’s official state mushroom.
Chanterelles are special — golden chalices smiling through the black duff, waiting to be kissed with heat, butter and thyme. But as with most things we humans find special, chanterelles require a bit of effort.
You’ll have to take a walk in the woods.
Pacific Golden Chanterelles pop through the forest floor each fall. Screen capture.
Jeff Kastner / OPB
Like truffles and morels, chanterelles are ectomycorrhizal. This means they grow through a symbiotic connection to the roots of certain trees — it also means if you want to cultivate them, you’d have to bring the whole forest along. Researchers from Oregon State University have been exploring this idea for the past 20 years, studying both the general ecology of chanterelles in Northwest forests and how specific forest management practices can affect their growth. But being able to identify and promote a suitable outdoor environment hasn’t been much help in bringing chanterelles into indoor cultivation.
Foragers Duncan Bennington and Ari Solar display their haul at the Davis Restaurant in Eugene, Ore. Screen capture.
Jeff Kastner / OPB
That’s not to say people haven’t tried. A recent study on Japanese chanterelles suggests it might be possible to create ectomycorrhizal associations in a lab. In contrast with attempts to produce results with the more treasured matsutake, ectomycorrhizal cultivation of chanterelles has shown some promise. However, the study required growing symbiont tree species — in this case, pine and oak seedlings — inside the lab as well, perhaps defeating the purpose of indoor cultivation.
Chanterelle crostini with poached egg. Screen capture.
Jeff Kastner / OPB
Fortunately for chanterelle lovers, once they’re in season in the Northwest’s forests, they tend to be plentiful. They especially flourish in Oregon’s Douglas-fir, spruce and western hemlock woodlands, where they can be gathered from late summer until they’re buried by snow in late autumn, preferring younger — 10- to 40-year-old — timber stands over old growth. Because of their distinct appearance and prodigious growth habit, chanterelles are an ideal introduction to hobby mushroom foraging — they’re easy to find and difficult to mistake for something poisonous. Though as with all wild mushrooms, if you’re not sure, or not with someone who knows what they’re doing, don’t eat it.