Mushrooms in the forest

[bower]

I dry a lot of these: winter chanterelles. They are the easiest to dry because they are hollow so kind of thin. We don't get a huge crop every year, but every few years there will be a fantastic amount of them and we pick enough to last years. They are incredibly good keepers when dried - I've eaten some that were ten years in storage and you couldn't tell the difference. Loaded with vitamin D and pretty darn delicious. Easy to use dry, just crumble them into soup or stew or the rice pot ...

I also pick enough to make some pickles every year. The original recipe is from Sweden iirc, which I found on the internet and adapted to our measures and ingredients. It is terrific as a sweet condiment with curries or with game.

Clean a couple of pounds of fresh winter chanterelles.

Set brine to boil:
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 cups of sugar
10 whole cloves, 10 peppercorns, 1-2 cinnamon sticks

Stir the mushrooms into the brine and bring back to boil.
Simmer on medium heat for half an hour.
Scoop the hot mushrooms into jars and cover with brine; seal and store.

The leftover brine is also delicious. Used for marinades etc. never wasted.