First, let's find out everything about the real mushroom. So, the common fox. It belongs to a family with a consonant name. It grows mainly in the vicinity of trees such as pine, oak, spruce and beech. Grows in mixed and coniferous forests. Loves temperate climate, wet grass and moss. The growing season of the mushroom is from August to October. A distinctive feature of chanterelles is their solid body from cap to stem without noticeable transitions. The color range is from pale yellow to bright orange. If you squeeze the mushroom a little, it may turn slightly red.

Chanterelles have caps of irregular geometric shape with a diameter of 2 to 12 centimeters. This makes them significantly different from all other mushrooms, which have a cap with smooth edges. The surface of the mushroom is matte. The taste is slightly sour with a fruity smell.

As for the inedible chanterelle, it, oddly enough, grows in the same places as the real one, but with one difference: the false mushroom loves rotting wood and can often be found there. Besides, false chanterelles there are only bright color, and the center of the cap is always darker than the edges. And the pulp has an unpleasant odor.

Key differences between false chanterelle and edible

To quickly determine when picking mushrooms which mushroom in front of you is a false one or a real one, take note of the list of the main differences between them, and you will never have any doubts:

  • Real mushrooms most often have a calm, dim color, while false mushrooms have an exceptionally bright color.
  • The cap of a real mushroom has an uneven edge, while the cap of a false one has a perfectly even geometric shape.
  • The thickness of the stem of the edible mushroom is greater than that of the false one.
  • The common chanterelle is a “family” mushroom, the false chanterelle is a “loner.”
  • The flesh of a real mushroom turns red when squeezed; this is not observed in a false one.
  • The real face is never eaten by worms, but the false one is the same.
  • The spores of a real mushroom are yellowish, while those of an inedible mushroom are white.
  • Real chanterelles can be found most often on mossy stumps, while false chanterelles can be found on fallen trees.


Are false chanterelles dangerous?

False chanterelle can be called a conditionally edible mushroom, since it does not cause as much harm as the most well-known poisonous mushrooms. Accordingly, they are sometimes eaten. They need to be prepared very carefully, soaking them in water for several days, which must be drained 2 times a day. Then cook for fifteen minutes.

Can be consumed fried and pickled. But we remind you once again: false chanterelles are not edible mushrooms, and they are collected only if there is a complete absence of mushroom “catch”.

Like any poisonous mushroom, false chanterelle can lead to unpleasant consequences for your body. These include: nausea, frustration gastrointestinal tract, vomit, headache and other ailments.

Have you familiarized yourself with the basic distinctive features false and real foxes. Now you know what they look like and you can easily collect edible, delicious chanterelles. Happy mushroom hunting!


Even if you have just begun to master the basics of mushroom activity, you have probably already heard about the presence of so-called “false” mushrooms, which are often mistaken for real ones. Moreover, dangerous poisonous “analogues” can be found in almost any, even the most noble species.

Chanterelles are especially popular among mushroom pickers. They are equally good for any cooking method. Accordingly, you will probably be concerned about the question of how to distinguish false chanterelles from real ones. Below are some tips from experienced mushroom pickers that will allow you to find only real species, the consumption of which will be completely safe. At the same time, this “science” is completely accessible even to beginners, because the most important thing you need here is attention.

To answer the question of how to distinguish false chanterelles from real ones, you should pay attention to the color, since the colors of the caps of a real mushroom and a double one will differ significantly. The shade of the false version is always too bright, which will look completely unrealistic, since the original is significantly paler. If you are looking at a species with a bright orange color, then be sure that you have come across a double, because the original chanterelle has a pale yellow or light orange cap.

In addition, the real ones differ significantly from each other in size and shape. Real mushroom This species is distinguished by the uneven shape of its cap. In a young specimen, the top may even be slightly convex, and only with growth does it acquire a funnel-shaped shape. Fake versions have an almost even cap that is half the size of the real ones.

There is one more nuance thanks to which it will be possible to recognize false chanterelles. How to distinguish original mushrooms you can recognize from fakes thanks to the shade of the spores, which in a real specimen will be yellow, while the double is distinguished by a white shade of the stem.

As you know, not only people but also worms like to feast on mushrooms. At the same time, the fox is almost the only kind, in which they do not exist. If you want to know how to distinguish false chanterelles from real ones, then be sure to look at the cut spores. If you notice even traces of worms, be sure that this is a false option.

It is also worth paying attention to the plates located under the cap. This will also tell you how to distinguish false chanterelles from real ones. In a real mushroom, the plates are thick and quite densely spaced, while they seem to smoothly turn into a stalk, which cannot be said about a “fake”. And the flesh itself of a natural chanterelle is distinguished by its fleshiness; when pressing on the cap, a red tint remains, while in the double, no changes are observed under mechanical influence.

Last but not least important point, which will allow you to distinguish the original from the fake, lies in the leg itself, or rather in its composition. In the twin mushroom it is hollow, which cannot be said about the real specimen, suitable for food.

Chanterelles and false mushrooms - how to distinguish them from each other? The false chanterelle does not pose a danger to life, since it is not poisonous, but it can cause digestive upset in sensitive people, and the taste is very different from its edible relative.

Chanterelle mushrooms grow in moss, among grass and under fallen leaves.

When picking mushrooms, it is best to put safe and delicious mushrooms, not them dangerous doubles, capable of causing harm to the body, even minor.

The main differences between false chanterelles and real ones

Difference false mushrooms from real ones:

  1. Coloring. False ones (popularly “talkers”) have a bright orange color, sometimes turning into copper-red. Edible yellow chanterelles.
  2. Hat. A real fox cannot have a round, even hat. Usually it is oval with a wave around the edges. A hat in the shape of a circle should alert you.
  3. Leg. The edible mushroom has a thick, fleshy stem that smoothly turns into a cap. The spores on the plates are yellowish in color. The false stalk is thin, hollow, the color of the spores is white.
  4. Smell. The mushroom aroma of a real chanterelle will leave no doubt that this is an edible mushroom. The talker has an unpleasant odor. You just don't want to put it in the basket.
  5. Grow in certain places. A real one will never grow on a fallen tree - this is the place of a talker. Places where real ones grow - more often deciduous forests, moss, fallen leaves, grass.
  6. Real chanterelles grow in families, often occupying entire clearings. It is simply impossible to pass by them - they immediately catch your eye. An encounter with a single mushroom should alert you.
  7. Pulp. Fake ones have a flesh color that is uniformly orange or bright yellow. The edible flesh has a yellowish tint, and the center of the mushroom is white.

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Additional differences between false chanterelles

What are the differences between false chanterelles and real ones?

The color of talkers is brighter than that of chanterelles.

Talkers are dangerous and can easily mislead with their bright colors. Like edible chanterelles, they have the original coloring. But experienced mushroom pickers They know that regular chanterelles are slightly yellowish with an orange tint along the edges of the cap. It is necessary to distinguish what signs mushrooms have.

The talkers have a very bright orange color. Many representatives have a fox, copper-red color. The spores are white.

Representatives of these species can also be distinguished by smell. The aroma of talkers is unpleasant, it irritates the sense of smell. You simply don’t want to take this mushroom with you. False mushrooms usually eaten away by insects. The entire body of the mushroom is in wormholes. Real chanterelles contain chitinmannose, which destroys capsules with the larvae of all arthropods and helminths.

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Where can you find false chanterelles?

Fake chanterelle grows only in deciduous and mixed forests. Moreover this type prefers the surface of old fallen trees, moss formations and litter of rotting leaves. There are also representatives that can grow near old anthills. Edible mushrooms very rarely grow alone, but there are such specimens. Due to the large structure of the mycelium itself, they develop in large groups. If you come across a separately located red mushroom, you can be sure that it is a talker. If we compare the habitat of false and edible mushrooms, then the latter will in no case choose old trees and rotting stumps for growth. They prefer moss litter and foliage. They grow in groups.

There was an opinion that false chanterelles were used in folk medicine. They were believed to be able to fight diseases affecting the liver, and in some cases they were used in the fight against hepatitis. But this information has not been scientifically confirmed. These mushrooms should not be used as medicine on their own.

False chanterelle is a non-poisonous mushroom. At proper preparation, which includes prolonged soaking and boiling, it can be eaten. There will be no poisoning. But you won’t feel the taste that accompanies real mushrooms. The talkers are soaked in a large container for three days, and the water is changed 2 times a day. After this, they are boiled for at least 30 minutes. After cooling, you can start preparing the dish or preserving it.

These mushrooms also help liver cells regenerate and restore its protective functions for the body. Due to the content of microelements such as copper and zinc in chanterelles, when consuming preparations from mushrooms, vision can be restored, diseases such as night blindness can be cured, and prevented. inflammatory processes eye.

Due to the presence of polysaccharides, chanterelles have an antitumor and immunostimulating effect, and increase the body's resistance to infections.

False chanterelle(Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca) is no longer a poisonous mushroom. Another name for the mushroom: cocosh. Despite the similarities with a real vixen, with which this mushroom is often confused, these mushrooms are not related. There is only external resemblance.
Previously, all experts classified this mushroom as poisonous, without even mentioning the false chanterelle when they wrote about edible mushrooms permitted by GOST for procurement.
In many modern reference books, especially foreign ones, false fox It is classified as edible, but of lower quality than the common chanterelle.
False chanterelles are considered conditionally edible. However, this mushroom is not particularly tasty. If they are prepared correctly, poisoning can be avoided. But if there is a weak digestive system, a person may feel unwell. For this reason, collecting them is not recommended. Due to the presence of poisonous toxins, this mushroom is still poisonous.

Description
False chanterelles can be easily distinguished from real ones. False ones have caps that are brighter in color. Typically the color of the cap ranges from orange to orange-brown with a copper tint. In addition, in adult mushrooms the hat resembles a funnel in shape, while in a young mushroom it is slightly convex. The edges of the cap are smooth and even, the size of the cap is no more than 3-6 cm in diameter.
The color of the cap is lighter at the edges than in the center. The surface is slightly velvety. The plates of the false one are more private and thinner than those of the real one. They are orange, branching, descending onto the stem, but not turning into it.
You should also pay attention to the stem of the mushroom, since the false ones have a much thinner stem. It does not taper downward and is cylindrical in shape. Its color is orange-reddish; if you cut an adult mushroom, it is hollow. The color is darker at the bottom.
The pulp of the false chanterelle does not have a pleasant aroma. The back of the cap tastes bitter. The false chanterelle has yellow or orange flesh. If you press with your finger, the color will not change.
The spores of false chanterelles are white. In addition, false chanterelles can be worm-bearing, which is not observed in real ones.

Poisonous or not?
These mushrooms can be eaten, but they should be soaked for three days, replacing the water in the morning and evening. Then they are boiled for 15 minutes in boiling water. They can then be marinated or fried.
But usually experienced mushroom pickers don’t even pay attention to them, since you can always find healthier and tastier mushrooms in the forest.
It should also be remembered that in some people who are highly sensitive, eating false chanterelle can cause digestive problems.
If handled incorrectly, if it gets into the stomach, the following symptoms appear: weakness, nausea, dizziness, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, cramps.
It is necessary to immediately call an ambulance, in this case the patient will quickly recover. It should be remembered that if you feel even the slightest discomfort, you must immediately call ambulance, since the preservation of health and life depends on it!

Habitat
This mushroom can often be found next to the real chanterelle. Prefers deciduous, mixed and coniferous forests. From July to October the mushroom bears fruit. Almost never found alone.
Mushrooms grow on rotting old trees, in moss, and on the forest floor. They are most numerous in late summer and autumn.
It should be remembered that false chanterelles are most often found on fallen trees. So, if you are picking mushrooms and see a fallen tree orange color mushrooms, you should not immediately collect them, since real chanterelles prefer mossy stumps.

Contrary to popular belief, mushrooms are divided not into edible and poisonous, but into three groups:

  • edible;
  • inedible;
  • poisonous.

Inedible mushrooms are just as safe for humans and animals as edible ones, but they are not consumed due to various circumstances: unpleasant odor or taste, hardness, specific places of growth (on pine cones, manure, etc.), small size, rarities.

Most types of edible and inedible mushrooms do not contain their own toxins and therefore can even be consumed raw. Others contain toxic substances, easily decompose under the influence of temperature, therefore such mushrooms are classified as conditionally edible, i.e. requiring mandatory heat treatment.

Chanterelles have absolutely no toxins of their own and, therefore, can be eaten raw, provided that they are collected in an environmentally favorable region.

Here, a factor such as the degree of accumulation of radiocesium and other radionuclides by mushrooms begins to play a role.

According to this indicator, mushrooms are divided into:

  • radiocesium batteries;
  • highly accumulating;
  • medium-accumulating;
  • low-accumulating.

Chanterelles are medium-accumulating mushrooms and, thus, may pose some danger if they are collected near nuclear power plants or in areas radiation accidents. In this case, they can be “neutralized” by simple recipe: Boil for 30–60 minutes in salted water, adding citric acid or vinegar. During this time, the decoction should be changed twice or thrice.

However, as mentioned above, the main anthelmintic substance of chanterelles - quinomannose, also called D-mannose - is destroyed at temperatures above 60 degrees.

The second danger factor is simple human error. It is well known that almost every type of mushroom has at least one twin species, among which there are often poisonous species. Chanterelles have three such doubles:

  • white hedgehog - edible, but without a hint of anthelmintic properties;
  • false chanterelle - not edible, but not poisonous;
  • Olive omphalot is poisonous.

The latter mushroom is extremely rare, however, to ensure your safety, you should remember that it grows on rotten trunks and stumps, while favorite places chanterelles - under leaves, in moss and in thick grass.

Treatment with raw chanterelles

It should be understood that the powder from dried chanterelles, which appears in recipes for tinctures against worms, is also actually raw mushroom. To avoid the destruction of quinomannose, mushrooms are dried either in the oven at a very gentle temperature - up to 45 ° C, or simply in the sun. Under such conditions in poisonous mushroom the toxins would not be affected at all, and although chanterelles do not have their own poison, if they are collected in a contaminated place, radionuclides will also not be released from them - only water during boiling can extract them.

Thus, mushrooms collected in a truly unfavorable place will poison a person, no matter what recipe they are prepared according to, since heavy metals will be extracted into the water or alcohol of the tincture. Pure mushrooms can be eaten fresh without fear.

Although there is no dosage information available in the literature fresh chanterelles, reviews indicate that to remove helminths, it is enough to eat 3-4 mushrooms twice a day for 10 days.

Those who do not like the taste of raw pulp can take chanterelle tincture according to the following recipe to treat helminthiases:


Harvesting chanterelles for the future

To do this, use a brush to remove dirt from them. You should not wash mushrooms - they will absorb a large number of water and will dry much longer. After cleaning, you can proceed in two ways:

  • Hang the mushrooms on strong threads or place them on wire racks. In summer, such drying will take about a week.
  • Place in the oven, open the door slightly and dry the mushrooms at a temperature not exceeding 45 °C.

When the mushrooms begin to break when squeezed, you can stop drying.

Recipes for fighting worms involve the use of powder from dried mushrooms, so first you will have to grind them in a coffee grinder.

The tincture according to the recipe below will be no less effective against worms:

  1. Pour 3 tsp into a bottle. powder 150 ml vodka.
  2. Leave for 2 weeks, shaking the bottle every other day.
  3. Take 1 tsp. before bed for a month.