A Share of the Harvest
Winter Chanterelles
Winter Chanterelles are so well hidden under the leaf litter that unless you know - and even then - it is easy to walk past them until you step on them or even sit on them, if you are prone to sitting amongst the trees in the woods, then a flash of their bright yellow stem reveals itself … and there they are! No wonder they are also known as Yellow Legs.
Maybe it’s the wet summer, here in the NW Highlands, but I’ve never seen such an abundance and in my more secluded foraging patches it’s hard to walk anywhere without stepping on them.
Like the more familiar golden Chanterelle, the Winter Chanterelle has evolved as a slow growing and sporing mushroom rarely eaten by insects as it relies more on mycelium to spread - so this is unusual …
It’s got me thinking not only about Food security, but responsibility in the broadest sense and how the two inform each other. In foraging we often talk about stewarding our Wild Food resources … but this assumes there are limited resources accessed by many foraging - and doesn’t address times and places of abundance where there may only be one foraging.
So when coming across such Wild Food abundance should I just collect what I need for my winter stores and let the rest rot and return to the earth?
How do I balance Wild Food security with foraging and land responsibility?
So I decided to gather them and share the harvest. Those not used fresh have been dried.
Would you like a share in the harvest? They have been sustainably and ethically harvested - I not only take where there is abundance, but then only those that have already matured and spored.
Wild mushrooms provide a mineral rich, immune system boosting food source - what some would call a ‘functional food’ - preparing us for the darker winters days ahead - and they are tasty too!
If you would like a share in this harvest just email me:
1 pack 30g dried Winter Chanterelles aka Yellow Legs is £16 inc. UK P&P
2 packs 30g are £28 inc. UK P&P
Email me if you need international shipping.
With much Love,
from the Heart of my Land to yours,
Tania Aurora White Crow