First store your harvest for later. Then cook simple Finnish-style dishes.
Simple recipes below, with a link to a Finnish original when possible
so you can learn kitchen words too.
Storage
Säilöntä(conserving mushrooms)
Fresh wild mushrooms do not keep long in the fridge (about 1–3 days).
Clean them soon, then freeze or dry what you will not cook today.
Dried mushroom slices ready for winter cooking. Photo: André Karwath.
Drying rule (all species)
If you dry mushrooms, keep the temperature at or below 50 °C.
Hotter air can spoil the aroma and make the mushrooms tough.
Use a dehydrator, a fan oven on its lowest setting with the door slightly open,
or a warm, dry, airy room for thin slices.
Mushrooms are ready when they snap cleanly (not bend). Store in a dry jar away from light.
Kanttarelli: light sauté & freeze
Best method: dry-fry, then freeze.
Clean mushrooms. Cut large ones.
Heat a pan without fat. Add mushrooms and cook until most water has evaporated.
Add a little butter or oil, fry briefly, salt lightly.
Cool, pack in portions, freeze.
Drying is not optimal for chanterelles as they do not rehydrate well, but freezing keeps a softer texture for cream sauces.
Chanterelles can also be pickled using the simple "1-2-3" liquid (1 part vinegar, 2 parts sugar, 3 parts water).
Blanch cleaned mushrooms in lightly salted boiling water for a couple of minutes, then drain and place in clean jars.
Prepare the pickling liquid by boiling 1 part vinegar, 2 parts sugar, and 3 parts water.
Add a few black peppercorns, mustard seeds, and a bay leaf if you like.
Pour the hot liquid over the mushrooms in clean jars and seal.
Cool and store in the fridge. Pickled chanterelles are served as a tangy side or on sandwiches.
A Finnish autumn classic. Piirakka means pie.
Use fresh, frozen, or rehydrated dried funnel chanterelles.
Shortcrust or ready pie base from the store. Look for Piirakkataikina in the frozen section, but make sure that you get the savoury version (suolainen), not the sweet one (makea).
Let the pie dough thaw until you can press it flat on a pie plate with its sides raised up to hold the filling. Pre-bake the base briefly (if the recipe asks for it, usually not needed).
Spread mushroom–onion mix on the base.
Pour egg–cream mix, add cheese, bake until set (~200 °C).
Black trumpets give a deep flavour in pie. Mix with suppilovahvero if you have both.
Same idea as recipe 3: sauté mushrooms and onion, pour egg–cream custard, bake.
Sauté onion, add chopped fresh or soaked dried porcini and cook for a few minutes. Stir in flour, then pour in water or stock and simmer for 10–15 minutes. Finish with cream and season with salt and white pepper.
Dried black trumpets work beautifully in this peppery pasta. Soak the mushrooms (if using dried), then chop finely.
Sauté minced garlic in butter or oil, add the drained mushrooms, and cook for a few minutes.
Add black pepper and a little cream, simmer briefly, then toss with cooked pasta. Finish with parsley and lemon juice.
Sauté onion and mushrooms in butter, add water and stock, and cook briefly. Blend until smooth and finish with cream for extra richness. Season with salt and black pepper.
