Wednesday’s Photos
Mushroom Fever Strikes the Arrow Lakes
While everyone in the valley is waiting for the pine mushroom (official name: Matsutake) season to kick off, my wife and I made use of the recent heavy rains to harvest the chanterelles (Pfirrerlinge in German) in one of our most favourite spots. It is located in the narrows between the Upper and Lower Whatshan Lake. A recent video gives you a review of the beautiful landscape here.
Since we only had a short afternoon, we took our Ford Escape to reach the place over a bumpy logging road. The first photo shows the scenery at the lake, the following pictures show the chanterelle mushrooms as they had popped up in great numbers in the forest and had been gathered into the shopping bag.
We prefer the chanterelles over the pine mushrooms. The chanterelles are easier to prepare and have an incredibly tantalizing flavour. The Japanese love the pine mushrooms and pay a premium price for what they consider a delicacy. Local buyers in a good season pay as much as $20 per pound, resulting in a veritable mushroom bonanza. Enjoy.
What a beautiful lake! I see you got right down to ground level to get an interesting photo of the corrugations on the chanterelle, nice!
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Indeed, there is little time to marvel at Nature’s beauty, when her bountiful treasures need to be picked, Robert.
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Wow, so many! I like chanterelles best as well, maybe boletus as a close second. Those you found are grand specimen! And so many of them!
We collected some last year at my friend’s house, the one with the dogs. Unfortunately he and her boyfriend separated, so no more chanterelles there. Too many people collect them here … The Danes blame the tourists … hahaha.
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Oh well, those poor tourist have to take the blame for a lot of our ills. Haha!
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Man sieht dem See an, dass es kühler geworden ist und ich verneige mich vor dieser Fülle an Pfifferlingen – hier gab es nur sehr wenige in diesem Jahr, es war definitiv zu trocken, leider.
herzliche Grüsse
Ulli
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Vielen Dank! Deine Kommentare erfreuen mich immer. Sie zeigen dein Interesse an einem fernen Land wie Kanada.
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Another beautiful post from the Arrow Lakes. Mother Nature has a lot to give. Enjoy the mushrooms, Peter. And beautiful images, as usual.
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Thank you, Nurul! Your comments are always appreciated.
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Bin kein Pilzsammler. War einst mit meinem jüngeren Bruder deswegen mehrmals im Wald.
Wunderbares, klares Seefoto auch, Peter!
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Pilze sammeln und essen habe ich erst durch meine Frau gelernt. Sie ist geradezu fanatisch, wenn die Herbstregen eine gute Ernte versprechen.
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Such rich images!
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Peter, you and Biene hit the bonanza for mushrooms. I’m sure they are delicious. Your photos as always show the beauty of the Arrow Lake area.
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Thank you! The chantrelles are also known for its healthy trace elements they contain.
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Another beautiful shot of the lake. I love mushrooms, but am not confident in my ability to identify the right ones to pick. Enjoy your bounty!
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Once you can identify the major edible mushrooms, especially the chantelles, you will have no problems with picking the right kind. Thanks for your kind comment, Su!
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I don’t think I’ve ever had a chanterelle. I need to try them!
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They are definitely worth a try. In my opinion they are the most delicious and flavourful mushrooms and healthy too.
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Guten Appetit. Die Pfifferlinge sehen sehr lecker aus!
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Vielen Dank, liebe Tanja!
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Peter, Pfifferlinge mit Butter und Ruehrei, schmeckt doch wunderbar, nicht wahr. Es gibt die Chanterelles bei und bei Costco im Moment, hab sie aber noch nicht ausprobiert… gibt es bei Euch auch Costco? Aber selbst sammeln ist doch unvergleichlich schoener. Ugh, heute schreib ich ploetzlich Deutsch, weiss nicht warum. Enjoy, die Schwammerl Season.
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Das ist ganz in Ordnung, liebe Cornelia. Deutsch ist doch unsere Muttersprache!
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Inviting!
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What a bounty of mushrooms you two collected! It must be a little intimidating when you first start out picking them. Enjoy the fruits of your labor this winter!
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The chantrelles have been in the dehydrator and are now in jars for some great neals this winter. Of course, they are best when prepared right after harvesting them.
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Love the photos! My mother-in-law always used to hunt for mushrooms in the woods, although she mostly brought home morel mushrooms. They were delicious!
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Morels are also our favourite mushrooms, but here they come only in the springtime and are not as plentiful. Thank you, Ann, for your compliment on my photos!
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I’ve never hunted mushrooms, except for the morels that were such a treat in Iowa. I’ve heard of the chantrelles, but never have tasted them. Since you enjoy them as you do, I’m glad your harvest was good.
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The chanterelles are similar to the morels in looks, tenderness and taste. Perhaps one of these days you will be able to find them or someone will find them for you. Thank you for your kind comment!
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We don’t find both these in our region given the tropical hot climate. Will try someday… 🙂
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I wondered whether Pfifferling has anything to do with Pfeffer. I found one website that says it does: “mittelhochdeutsch pfifferling, pfefferlinc, dafür althochdeutsch phifera, zu Pfeffer; nach dem leicht pfefferähnlichen Geschmack.”
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Thanks for the research on the etymology of Pfiffrerling, Steve! Very interesting to see the unexpected connection to pepper!
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What a lovely and beautiful lake and its surrounding. It would be nice place for a visit. Thank you.
Have a good day!
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Thank you for your kind words, Sartenada! Have a good day!
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Lieber Peter, wenn das meine russischen Freunde sehen würden, würde ihnen das Wasser im Mund zusammenlaufen. Pilze besitzen Kultstatus in Russland. Schwiegermutter legt sie immer köstlich ein.. ..und dann zaubert sie mit Kartoffeln von ihrer Datscha und Schmand ein herrliches Gericht. – Ich habe mal zur Pilzsaison in einem Restaurant auf die Pilzkarte geschaut und ganz unbedarft gefragt, wieso denn bei keinem Gericht Fleisch dabei wäre. Alle haben mich mit großen Augen angestarrt und mir dann erstmal erklärt, dass Pilze sozusagen das dritte Geschlecht sind: Fisch, Fleisch, Pilze. Seit dem bin ich geläutert. 🙂
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Danke für den lieben langen Kommentar! Für mich persönlich wäre eine reines Pilzgericht kein Fleischersatz. Andere Länder, andere Sitten. Viele herzliche Grüße aus Kanada!
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Such exquisite scenery, Peter, and the mushrooms look delicious!
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