The November mushroom season in Latvia is surprising: chanterelles are still growing in the forests and being sold at the market. Mycologist Inita Daniēle explains that the warm autumn and humidity are the main reasons for such a late harvest, writes Otkrito.lv.
As evidenced by the offerings at the Riga Central Market and residents' posts on social media, the mushroom season in Latvia is in full swing this November.
"The forest, fresh air, chanterelles, a few saffron milk caps, and no mosquitoes or horseflies," writes Regina on Facebook, posting a photo of freshly picked chanterelles. Antra also notes that "the chanterelle boom is not over yet; they are still growing in the forest!" Last week, Davis managed to find a whole bunch of nature's gifts in the forests of Vidzeme.
The portal Jauns.lv also noted that chanterelles are still available at the Riga Central Market, where they are sold for 5 euros per bucket. Mycologist Inita Daniēle explains that there is a simple reason for this — warm weather. "Mushrooms don’t have a calendar — if it’s warm and humid enough, you can still find a lot in the forest." She explains that in childhood, we experienced colder Novembers, so mushrooms were less common at this time. This year, several temperature records have been broken, so the appearance of mushrooms in November "is not a miracle." It has already been reported that the beginning of November in Latvia was four degrees warmer than normal.
However, Daniēle notes that the appearance of chanterelles in the forest may have another explanation. "Chanterelles are remarkable in that they look good even in old age. Even if they have frozen and then thawed, we cannot say when they grew. Perhaps the mushrooms that people are finding in the forest now did not grow recently but are already quite old," shares the mycologist her observations.
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