Why chanterelles are bitter and how to get rid of this problem

Recognizable by their bright appearance, chanterelles are excellent mushrooms due to their taste. These fruiting bodies can be subjected to any treatment: fry, boil, salt, freeze, pickle and dry. Although chanterelles and bitterness are inseparable, after the heat treatment, the flesh of the mushrooms becomes fragrant, tender and deliciously delicious.

Many novice mushroom pickers wonder: why do chanterelles bitter and what to do to remove this bitterness? I must say that these mushrooms are unique, because they are not eaten by worms and insects, which means that they remain intact and not spoiled. The reason for this is precisely the bitterness of the pulp, which adversely affects all parasites.

It is worth saying that cleaning and any heat treatment of chanterelles should be carried out on the very day when the crop is harvested. Any delay for a long time can lead to the accumulation of harmful toxins in the mushrooms, which can harm human health.

In this article, you can get an exhaustive answer to the question why chanterelle mushrooms are bitter, as well as get acquainted with proven methods that help remove this unpleasant feature.

Why do chanterelles bitter after freezing and what to do if mushrooms are bitter when defrosting?

Why do chanterelles bitter after freezing and what to do to fix it? Indeed, in winter, taking frozen mushrooms from the freezer, you can sometimes find a little bitterness. If you do not immediately pay attention to this, the cooked dish may be spoiled.

So, why do chanterelle mushrooms bitter after defrosting, and what rules must be followed to avoid this? In order to avoid an unpleasant bitter taste after defrosting, the following recommendations are observed before harvesting:

• Mushrooms are cleaned of forest debris, land or sand and immediately cut off rotted areas.
• Rinse thoroughly with plenty of water, stirring with hands.
• Pour cold water and leave for 1.5-2 hours.
• Drain the water, spread the mushrooms on a wire rack and leave for 20-30 minutes to drain.
• After that, chanterelles are distributed in plastic bags or food containers and put in the freezer.

Why are frozen chanterelles bitter and how to remove bitterness from thawed mushrooms?

But sometimes, even though the rules are followed, frozen chanterelles are bitter, why? It would be better to boil the mushrooms after soaking, so that the bitterness is gone for sure.

Another factor why frozen chanterelles remain bitter is the time of harvest. In the dry mushroom season, bitterness is always present in the mushrooms, which is difficult to remove by soaking.

How can bitterness be removed from frozen chanterelles if they were prepared raw?

• After thawing, the mushrooms are dipped in boiling water and cook for 10-15 minutes on low heat.
• In the water you can add 1 tbsp. l salt and 2-3 pinches of citric acid. Such actions will help remove the bitter taste from the fruit bodies.

In addition, the heat treatment will add to your confidence that the workpiece will not deteriorate after accidentally defrosting the freezer. It is worth adding that boiled chanterelles become more compact and take up less space in the freezer than raw ones.

How else can you remove the bitterness from the chanterelles after freezing?

How to remove bitterness from chanterelles in another interesting way after freezing? Frozen fresh mushrooms are very tasty if you make soup from them or add to fried potatoes. But there are problem situations when mushrooms are bitter. Therefore, after freezing, fruiting bodies are thawed to begin with. Next, the question arises, how to remove the bitterness from thawed chanterelles so that the dish prepared from them does not lose its mushroom taste and aroma? In this case, the mushrooms are blanched in boiling salted water for 5-7 minutes, after laying them out after thawing in a colander.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that it is best to freeze only young specimens of chanterelles that have not completely straightened their hats. Such fruiting bodies have virtually no bitter taste and contain more nutrients and vitamins in their composition than overripe ones.

Many experienced housewives prefer to freeze chanterelles directly in the mushroom broth in which they cooked. Note that this method is convenient, because in the future mushrooms are used immediately after extraction from the freezer without preliminary defrosting. The prepared first courses from such a blank are incredibly tasty.

However, it happens that even in broth, mushrooms have a slightly bitter taste. Why do chanterelles bitter after cooking and how to fix things?

• The preparation for the first dishes is thawed, the broth is drained, and the mushrooms are washed under a tap with cold water.
• Pour with a small amount of water, adding one onion, cut into 4 parts, and boil for 10 minutes over medium heat.
• Throw back into a colander, drain and proceed to further processing processes.

How to get rid of bitterness in chanterelles after boiling?

After preliminary boiling, the chanterelles remain bitter, what should I do in this case? There may be several reasons for this: for example, an individual feature of the fruiting bodies, the presence of toxins in the pulp, as well as improper processing.

The natural bitter taste of chanterelles can complicate the technology and increase the duration of cooking. But thanks to this bitterness, the appearance of fruiting bodies is practically not spoiled by insect pests that do not like bitter food.

It is worth saying that although the bitterness of mushrooms does not harm human health, many do not like this taste. Therefore, in order to rid the chanterelles of a bitter aftertaste when boiling, salt, citric acid, bay leaf, clove buds and allspice are added to the water. After the first cooking for 5-8 minutes, the water is drained and poured with a new one. Boil again, but without the addition of salt and spices.

In addition, there is a method that simplifies the task and shows how to get rid of bitterness in chanterelles. After boiling in salted water for 15 minutes, the mushrooms can be cooked in a marinated form or add various sauces and fillings to the dish. This method will make the bitter taste of chanterelles less noticeable. As a rule, you can get used to the specific taste of fruiting bodies if you constantly consume them. But those who rarely eat chanterelles immediately notice bitterness.

However, do not forget about an important factor that will help to avoid bitterness: pick small mushrooms with unopened hats!

Why do fried chanterelles bitter and what to do to get rid of the problem?

It often happens that even after frying, the chanterelles are bitter, why does this happen? When the hostess first encounters such problems - this leads her into bewilderment and doubts creep in the edibility of mushrooms.

Why fried chanterelles are bitter is a very practical question. Perhaps the fact is that false chanterelles, which have strong bitterness in the pulp, got into the mushrooms, which spoiled the taste of all the mushrooms. Therefore, if there is even a drop of doubt, what mushrooms you have collected and prepared - it is better not to be seduced and throw them away.

Another option, why chanterelles are bitter when frying, is the lack of preliminary soaking of mushrooms. This should be done immediately after cleaning: fill the mushroom crop with cold water and leave for 1.5-2 hours. Then rinse with plenty of water and then proceed with further processing.

Some culinary specialists noticed why bitter chanterelles remain after frying. The peculiarity of this problem lies in the fact that mushrooms after being brought home could not be processed for a long time, accumulating toxic substances in the pulp.

Before starting to fry, the mushrooms are soaked, boiled in boiling salted water and only then fried. Although such processes require additional time, the bitterness inherent in chanterelles will definitely go away.

Why are chanterelles bitter after frying and can this be fixed?

What to do if fried chanterelles are bitter even after preliminary soaking and boiling? Perhaps the fruit bodies were burnt or fried in bitter sunflower oil. Then with such chanterelles you need to do the following: add sour cream or mayonnaise, spices and simmer for 15 minutes. You can try to correct the situation as follows: roll boiled mushrooms in flour and cook in butter with the addition of fried onions in sugar.

The reasons that bitterness remained after frying may be completely different. When boiling, try to put in a bag a bag of thick fabric with spices: cloves, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, fresh dill and parsley. If you tried all the manipulations to remove the bitterness, but it still remained - throw away the mushrooms, not regretting the time spent and your strength.

Why are dried chanterelles bitter and how to rid mushrooms of this deficiency?

If even after heat treatment the mushrooms have a bitter taste, then it is clear why dried chanterelles are bitter. By their specificity, mushrooms already have bitterness in the pulp. In addition, chanterelles could grow in coniferous forests on a bed of moss, which enhances the aftertaste of bitterness. The simple tips described below will help relieve dried mushrooms from this shortcoming.

First option - soaking chanterelles in cold water with the addition of salt for 5-8 hours. At the same time, water should be changed 2-3 times a day so that fruit bodies do not become acidified.

Second option - pour the mushrooms with warm milk so that they completely cover the product, and leave for 2-3 hours.

In addition, it is better to boil chanterelles after soaking with the addition of citric acid and some spices: bay leaves, cloves, as well as dill umbrellas. Adding these ingredients will completely help remove bitterness from dried chanterelles.