Mushroom Obsession

was created to help parents get their kids out from behind the screen and into nature to safely explore the mystical and magnificent world of exotic edible mushrooms: how to safely hunt them in the woods, cultivate them in your own back yard, and even how to make them taste magnificent in the kitchen! If you consider yourself "mushroom obsessed," this site is the place for you!

The Big Problem With Chanterelles — and How To Solve It

Every year at this time I experience anew a key frustration shared by those who love to hunt … and eat … Chanterelle mushrooms.

My brother Don shows off a harvest of Golden Chanterelles he bagged during a Sept. 23 foray in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest north of Mt. St. Helens.

My brother Don shows off a nice basket of Golden Chanterelles.

For they only appear for a brief window in the Fall, September and October, typically; and while they are wonderful while we have them, they are best eaten fresh and no one really seems to know how to preserve them effectively so they can be enjoyed throughout the remainder of the year.

I believe I have solved this problem … so hang in there with me.

First we’re going to ask this question: Can Chanterelles be preserved for future use? If so, how?

We’re going to look at three different ways you can preserve:

1) Prepare them in a base mixture (such as Chanterelles Shazam), and freeze that mixture.

2) Freeze them whole (or cut into large pieces) in solid blocks of ice.

3) Dehydrate them.

Each method has its pros and cons, but if you understand them, and employ methods in accordance with the use you plan for them later on during the winter, spring and summer months, you can be enjoying the plentiful Chanterelles for months to come!

I’m going to explain a lot by video, so let’s start with a video that sets us up for all three methods:

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Larry Short

Larry Short is an author and novelist with three decades of experience in Christian communications, digital innovation, and nonprofit management. A graduate of Biola University, he created WorldVision.org, won the Evangelical Press Association’s Best Personality Feature of the Year award in 1981, and published his historical fantasy novel, Fountains of the Deep, on Amazon Kindle. He is currently writing Apocalypse, his first science fiction novel. Now that he’s formally retired he spends his time leading ministry directors at his church, feeding his mushroom obsession, working for the local school district part-time, and traveling. He has served as a young adults pastor, elder, prayer ministry coordinator, community groups coordinator, and deacon of welcome and assimilation at an Evangelical Free church in the Northwest, as well as a grandfather, exotic mushroom hunter and hobby cyclist.

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