A few years ago I was pumped to get out and grab some chanterelles when the season was about to really take off. One of the places I love to pick at is a well known park filled with white oak trees in the Twin cities metro. It’s a frequent haunt of St. Paul mushroomers, as well as the black cap raspberry honey hole of the local Hmong population. Competition means I might find a few (or most) of the mushrooms gone once the season gets going for what I’m hunting, but if I take a gamble, I can still grab a few.
It had just rained the night before and there weren’t many people out, but when I parked my car I noticed two flannel shirted men with wide sunhats, both carrying little transparent cloth bags filled with chanterelles.
After a few jealous cave man grunts, I made a circuit of the trees I know that fruit in the park. A button here, a button there, it was picked pretty clean. I almost left, but I remembered a couple trees that give a handful every year, they’re a bit out of the way, along the edge of the woods near a clearing. When I got to the patch, there was nothing, I walked in a little deeper and then turned around, defeated.
The first one I found.
On the way out of the patch I spotted a single white mushroom right on the deer path I had been following. I thought it was just another russula or something, but my hunger to find some mushroom, any mushroom, made me pick it up.
It was firm and weighty, like a chanterelle, but it was white. I smelled it. It was a chanterelle, but with a softer scent. I had read of white chanterelles, but never in MN, or the Midwest-they were a prize, and geographically out of reach, there’s another species of white chanterelle from the Pacific Northwest (Cantharellus subaldibus), and a European version (Cantharellus Pallens) that I’ve heard of.
Either way, I wrote it off as a chanterelle that got wet or something, and lost it’s color, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hold my breath a little too. After a couple minutes I found another and my heart started to race. All I could think was: “I found white chanterelles. I found white chanterelles. I found white chanterelles!”
White Chanterelles/White Oak
I scoured the area to snag all that I could, and ended up with about 6 or seven. I double and triple checked all of my guides and they still all say the same thing:
“the white chanterelle, only in the Pacific Northwest, etc, etc.”
Part of what I love about hunting mushrooms is that there are gaps and holes in what we know, things that can surprise you. Now I’m not a professional mycologist, not even close. I’d like to think that these are a special species of chanterelle, but some of my more knowledgeable friends think these might be an a-typical variation, a hiccup of sorts, which could mean they are still golden chanterelles, just with a different color pattern. Have you ever found these in the Midwest? If so I’d love to hear about it.
2015: found some white chanterelles hiking in Provence, France. They were more vase shaped than those from the Midwest.
Preservation
Like other chanterelles, (excluding black trumpets and yellowfeet) these should not be dried for cooking since it destroys their flavor. Pickling or conserve would be my first choice. Making duxelles and then freezing would be good too.
Cooking
They are similar to golden chanterelles meaning they’re firm mushrooms, and require longer cooking to be ready to eat than most. One of my favorite things to do is to get a saute pan smoking hot with oil and cook until lightly golden, then season with salt and pepper and finish with a small knob of butter right at the end, then drain on a paper towel to remove excess oil, and eat. I made a basic demo of sauteing a chanterelle here a while back.
Recipes
Here’s some favorite recipes I use with chanterelles, especially good with these are the whole roasted chanterelles with thyme and the conserve.
- Wild Mushroom Conserve
- Wild Mushroom Duxelles
- Chanterelle Torte
- Potted Chanterelles
- Mangalitsa Pork Chops With Chanterelle-Skyr Sauce
- Herb Gnocchi with Cockscombs and Chanterelles
- Black Trumpet Bouchées With Chanterelle Mousse
- Chanterelle Custard, Hedgehog Mushrooms And Chives
- “Last Chance” Cream of Chanterelle Soup
- Heirloom Tomato Salad with Pickled Chanterelles and Ramp Leaf Oil
- Squab With Gooseberries And Chanterelle Wild Rice
- Whole Chanterelles Roasted With Thyme
- Rabbit Poached In Wild Carrot Broth With Chanterelles
- Wild Mushrooms With Garlic And Parsley
- Classic Chanterelle Omelet
- Carbonara of Chanterelles and Black Trumpets
- Sole With Chanterelles
- Chanterelle Infused Vodka
- Mixed Wild Mushrooms With Garlic And Parsley
- Bavette Steak With Mushroom Pan Sauce
- Chanterelles With Sweetcorn, Cream, and Chervil
- Veal Liver With Chanterelle Cream Sauce And Garlic Mustard
Hi there,
I’ve been enjoying your blog. I also found a handful of White Chanterelles in Minneapolis two days ago they were growing near some golden Chanterelles next to a small swamp . It’s been great following the seasons of fungus. And cooking with them. Today I found a chicken of of the woods surrounded by a large fairy circle of fresh golden Chanterelle, no bugs whatsoever! I heard they have found four sub-species of Golden Chanterelles in Minnesota.
Hi Joseph, yeah I saw two different species of golden chants today, fun to try and pick out the differences. I much prefer the hearty variety with the thick, white stems, they cook up so nice. The white chants are very curious too, glad to hear someone other than my friend Mike and I are finding them! Good luck, and Happy hunting. A
Thanks for your blog! Found a handful in SE MN. Smelled like chanterelles, looked like chanterelles, but with yellow cap and whitish-yellowish stalk just like in your pics and how you describe. Checked the guides, have some experience with “regular” chanterelles, so I’m glad to read your account of these other ones. Thanks!
Years ago when I was in college in Western WI; I had no money and pretty much lived on what I could shoot, catch or pick. There was a patch of white chanterelles close to the University that would fruit about the middle of July. It was very consistent and surrounded by golden chanterelles. My recollection is that they a little firmer then their yellow cousins. Any way I ate them with relish. Very much enjoy your website extremely well done.
I just picked a small basketful of these in my pasture in SE Carlton county (20 miles south of Duluth)
I am not a mushroomer but have a couple books…
I will send a pic if interested
Sorry I didn’t get to reply as quick as I like to this, if you took a picture, feel free to send it to me via email- [email protected]
I recently tossed a few white what I suspected to be chanterelles out of my bag. I was in Eastern MN. I am new to picking and had a large amount of golden chanterelles already so I left them. Very nice clean mushroom but in the Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest book they were not listed. Played it safe. Thank you for the good read.
Travis, we actually need some dried samples of these white ones for a project I’m working on with some mycologists. If you go back, you should take some pictures and gather a few to dehydrate. If they’re the ones in question I’d pay you for them, trade, etc. My spots haven’t produced in 2 years now. A
I found a bunch in SE Wisconsin in the Northern kettle Moraine forest.
I think I also found white chanterelles in South shore, coastal Nova Scotia. I must be confusing it with something else as I have never heard or read about them being found on the east coast. I’ve read about similar looking mushrooms but they appear to be more like a chanterelle, although spore print seems pinkish. Any thoughts?
Today found white chanterelles for the first time! They were around an oak, and there were no yellow ones, only white, about 12 of them. So interesting to see others have found them also. I found mine in the northeastern part of the lower peninsula of Michigan.
I just found some in Curitiba, Brazil. Had no clue such a thing existed but they shape was like chantrelles in Bastrop. First search took me here. The pics match the specimen.
I find a handful of them under White Oaks in Henry county Georgia every June , but only for about a week and then they din’t come back til the next year
I just found 11 white chanterelles in NE Michigan, apparently these are more wide spread than what the books tell us. I’ve been picking mushrooms for yrs these are the 1st I’ve found. I picked them 8-31-20, by the way I did take pictures and have specimens in refrigerator.
It’s easy to get excited, but, I also got just today, two messages with pics from people claiming they had white chants that were clearly not. If you want, send me a pic for confirmation. [email protected]
Found them in Missouri growing in a patch of typical orange ones. They’re in the exact same spot every year, which makes me think it’s definitely not environmental.
https://flic.kr/p/2jx5fgX