Visually spectacular, firm, versatile and slightly sweet in taste, grey and yellow chanterelles are always popular in restaurants and people love the look of them. The grey and yellow chanterelles are two different species of the same family with separate Latin names but are generally known as yellow foot and grey foot or winter chanterelles. Tasting pretty much the same, they are only very slightly different in looks – both have small umbrella-like yellow-grey caps and long, thin, hollow stems (referred to as legs or foots), so the real difference is the colour of their stems, which are either grey or yellow. The Grey chanterelle can be a little sturdier, whereas the yellow is usually a bit smaller, more delicate and more prone to moisture. Chanterelles have the slight sweet taste of autumnal forests and are often sauteed and added to a dish more as a garnish than an ingredient to bulk out a meal, like the pied de mouton or field mushrooms. Soft and delicate they don’t need a lot of cooking and are popular in sauces, soups and stews. They go particularly well with creamy sauces and game birds, like partridge and pheasant.
