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The gray chanterelle is a nondescript, but usable mushroom from the Chanterelle family. To correctly recognize the gray chanterelle, you need to familiarize yourself with its description and photographs.
Where do gray chanterelles grow
The fungus, which is also called the twisting funnel, grows almost everywhere in mixed, deciduous and coniferous forests. Chanterelles prefer high humidity; they usually hide in damp grass in meadows, forest edges, under trees and along forest paths.
For the first time, funnel-hoppers appear in the forest in the middle of summer, but most of all they can be found in September. Mushrooms grow most often in large groups of up to 10 specimens each. However, it should be noted that it is still difficult to see them, especially against the background of fallen leaves - the nondescript color serves as an excellent disguise for the chanterelles.
What do gray chanterelles look like
At the mention of the chanterelle mushroom, thoughts of bright red mushrooms noticeable against the background of green grass immediately appear. However, gray chanterelles do not just carry their name - their colors are very faded, dark gray on the upper side or even black. In Germany, mushrooms bear the gloomy name "pipes of the dead"; at first glance at the gray chanterelle, it is difficult to suspect that it has a rather pleasant taste and useful properties.
According to the photo and description of the mushroom, the gray chanterelle, the cap has the shape of a cone, its edges are wavy and curving outward like a funnel, hence the second name of the mushroom, a winding funnel. Often the edges of the cap are torn. Below the cap is bluish-gray, with flat plates; the diameter of the upper part of the mushroom usually reaches 6 cm.
The cap of the gray chanterelle gradually turns into a gray leg, short and tapering downward. In structure, the leg is hollow inside, but with dense walls, and at the same time most of the leg is underground, and above the soil surface it protrudes very slightly. The cut gray chanterelle has a fibrous light gray flesh with a neutral odor.
Is it possible to eat gray chanterelles
At first glance, the gray winding funnel seems to be absolutely unappetizing - it is dark and wrinkled when fresh, after cooking it becomes black at all. But in fact, you can eat the mushroom. Subject to competent processing, it is able to please with a pleasant taste and give an unusual shade to familiar dishes.
Taste qualities
According to its taste characteristics, the winding funnel belongs to the 4th category of mushrooms. This means that the gray chanterelle is significantly inferior to its "noble" brethren, such as the porcini mushroom, the boletus, and so on.
However, connoisseurs still speak very positively about the taste of the gray chanterelle. Experienced mushroom pickers note its pleasant smell with notes of mango, melon and peach.
Benefit and harm
The gray chanterelle is appreciated not only for its taste and smell, but also for its health-promoting properties. A nondescript mushroom has a very rich vitamin composition, which contains:
- vitamins B and D;
- pantothenic and nicotinic acids;
- manganese, selenium and phosphorus;
- potassium and iron;
- riboflavin;
- trametalic acid;
- chitin mannosis.
Due to such a rich composition, the gray chanterelle increases immunity and fights infectious processes, helps with a tendency to allergies and has an anti-cancer effect. Eating the mushroom is beneficial for protecting the liver from hepatitis A and B viruses, as well as improving brain function and increasing focus.
Gray chanterelles have not only beneficial properties, they can sometimes harm the body. It is not recommended to eat mushrooms:
- with chronic and acute ailments of the stomach and intestines;
- during pregnancy;
- during breastfeeding;
- under the age of 5.
Do not eat raw chanterelles - this will help provoke a strong allergic reaction.
Collection rules
It is customary to collect funnels, including gray ones, from mid-August to late autumn, until mid-November. Look for inconspicuous gray-black mushrooms in mixed and deciduous forests. Twisty funnels are often disguised as fallen leaves, so you should pay special attention to dark areas in the autumn grass.
Gray chanterelles, like any mushrooms, perfectly absorb all harmful and toxic substances from the air and precipitation. You need to collect fungi only in clean forests, away from major roads, factories and other enterprises.
When collecting gray funnels, it is recommended not to dig them out of the ground, but to cut them off at the surface with a sharp knife. This will keep the mycelium intact, from which new fruiting bodies can then grow.
False doubles of gray chanterelles
Due to its unusual color, the mushroom stands out brightly against the background of others - it is difficult to confuse it with any fungi. However, the black chanterelle or horn-shaped funnel is very similar to the gray chanterelle.
The varieties of the mushroom are united by the dark color of the cap and a similar structure. However, there are differences - the black chanterelle is darker and richer in color, and its cap looks more like a well-defined funnel. In addition, in the gray chanterelle, the underside of the cap is covered with wrinkled plates, while in the black variety the underside is smooth.
Chanterelle recipes
Among Russian chefs, the gray chanterelle is not very popular, it is not so common, it can be difficult to find it, and the mushroom looks unattractive in appearance. However, the fungus can be used in food in any form - dried, boiled, fried, and salted.
A very healthy and dietary dish can be prepared from the gray chanterelle in combination with chicken fillet. The recipe looks like this:
- a small amount of fresh mushrooms is washed and cut lengthwise into pieces of the desired size;
- then onions are cut into half rings and, together with funnels, are fried in a pan in olive oil;
- chicken fillet is pepper and salted, and then also spread in a frying pan greased with vegetable oil and fried on each side for 2 minutes so that the meat slightly crusts;
- a small amount of fried mushrooms is spread on each of the pieces of chicken fillet, poured with sour cream, and also sprinkled with grated cheese and herbs, salted and pepper again;
- Cover the frying pan with a lid and fry the fillets with mushrooms over low heat for about 5 minutes.
Another recipe suggests preparing meatloaf using gray fungi. You will need a lot of ingredients for it, but they all belong to the category of inexpensive.
- 2 peeled potatoes are grated and then mixed with 1.2 kg of minced meat, chopped boiled egg and 100 g of boiled semolina.
- The ingredients are salted to taste and a little pepper is added, and then left to brew for a while.
- Meanwhile, 300 g of gray fungi with onions are fried in oil in a pan, salted and mixed with a few peas of pepper, preferably black.
- The minced meat infused in a separate container is spread on a piece of foil in the shape of a rectangle, and 300 g of boiled rice is added on top and fried mushrooms with onions are placed on it.
- The foil is folded to form a roll and placed on a baking sheet.
It takes 35 minutes to bake a roll with gray fungi at a standard temperature of about 200 ° C. Then the finished dish is cut into slices and served.
The recipe for cold salting of gray chanterelles is very popular.
- About 1.5 kg of mushrooms are washed, then the caps are cut off and poured over with boiling water.
- Peel and cut into small slices 3 heads of fresh garlic.
- In a jar for salting, 2 bunches of dill are placed on the bottom, half of the total number of funnels are poured on top.
- Add 3 large tablespoons of salt to the ingredients, half of the chopped garlic and 2 more bunches of dill.
The next layer is to lay out the remaining chanterelles, cover them with salt, the remains of garlic and dill, and then close the jar or pan so that there is little access for air. A heavy object, or oppression, is placed on top of the lid, and the chanterelles are left to grease for a day.
At the end of the day, the oppression is pressed and the lid is drained, and the mushrooms are completely poured with oil.
Conclusion
The gray chanterelle is a very nondescript mushroom that usually does not attract the attention of mushroom pickers. But if at least once you try the twisting funnel in salted, boiled or fried form, the impressions of this fungus will remain only positive.
