Abernethy Forest, Scotland, UK, August 2023
Chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarius)
I've been hiking and wild camping in Scotland's gorgeous ancient woodland and have found SO many amazing mushrooms - I can't wait to sort through pics and post for you all to see!
Most excitingly though, I found LOADS of chanterelles, which I've only ever found one or two of before. I gathered a potful (more than pictured here, and still leaving most of what I saw) and they made an amazing addition to my campside ramen. Tonight some more will go in a pasta sauce, then I'm planning a risotto for the rest :)
These mushrooms are delicious and highly sort after. They can be recognised by their irregular caps, apricot smell, veins on the underside rather than true gills, and white flesh which can be seen when they're cut in two.
There are two main potential confusions to be aware of:
Jack o Lanterns (Omphalotus olearius) - these are similarly sized orange mushrooms which might be mistaken for chanterelles at first. However, they clearly have gills on the underside rather than veins. These fungi are poisonous.
False chanterelle (Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca) - these are a more plausible confusion, as the name suggests. They have true gills, but they look a lot like the veins of the chanterelle.
They can be distinguished from 'true' chanterelles by their yellow-orange flesh when they are cut open, their lack of apricot smell, their darker cap centres and more regular caps. The best way to distinguish them is to cut them in half - you will see the colour of the flesh, and also whether there is a margin between the cap flesh and the gills. True chanterelles do not have this, whereas false chanterelles will show that the gill is separate to the cap. Young chanterelles and false chanterelles really do look quite similar, so be careful! Luckily, false chanterelles aren't seriously poisonous - they produce the symptoms of mild food poisoning, and there are some dubious reports of psychedelic effects.
