canning chanterelles

Morning chores.  Canning in the forest isn’t trivial.  It’s already a bit difficult in the comforts of a fully stocked kitchen.  In the forest, though, it involves sterilizing jars in boiling creek water over a hot fire, and dealing with the elements... like ash flying into the mixture.  But, today, it is necessary.  We have too much food, too many chanterelles to be precise.  What a wonderful predicament.  Andre has experience canning these little orange beauties, and I love his vinegar-based recipe.  That’s how we started our morning.  No, actually, we started by making acorn flour pancakes topped with gooseberries and strawberries warmed over the fire along with a pot of earl grey tea that we rescued from the lobby at Pagosa Springs. 

If you want to try canning mushrooms yourself, here’s what we do.  Place clean mushrooms (any mushroom will work, but they either need to be small ones or you’ll need to cut your mushrooms into bite-sized pieces) in lightly boiling salt water (salty like water used for cooking pasta) for about 3 minutes.  Scoop them up quickly and place them on a towel or rack to dry for about 12 hours.  Then, mix together vinegar with a bit of water (we did about 2/3 vinegar to 1/3 water) and some spices… peppercorns, garlic, bay leave, juniper berries (go foraging), and parsley in a pot and bring to a boil.  Place the mushrooms in sterilized (boil them) glass jars, and pour over the vinegar and spice mixture.  Do this fast, to keep all the critters out.  Place the lid, also sterilized, on top of the jar, being careful not to touch the seal (use tongs) and screw on the ring.  Turn the sealed jars upside-down until they’re cool.  Once you turn them over, they should be sealed (check the seal by pushing lightly on it).  If it’s not sealed, eat it.  Yum.  If it is, you should store these for a month or so before eating… they’ll taste even better.

You can jar mushrooms in oil, too, but it's a bit of a different process.  The mushroom oil left behind in the jar once they're all eaten, though, is absolutely wonderful for topping on pasta and makes a delicious dipping sauce for bread!  Let me know if you try this at home...