Yeah they breathe in O2 and breathe out CO2, just like you and me.

So do plants at night.

This fact became viscerally true to me when I tried chanterelle for the first time a few days ago. Texture and flavor was so close to chicken that my partner and I (both vegans) had the weird uncomfortable sensation of accidentally eating meat!

When was the last time you had chicken? Personally I’d never confuse the two, although I do love chanterelles.

That said, I had some porcini inside of a ravioli where I thought I was eating part of a meatball that went with it (eg meat-like, compared to a meatball, versus actual unadulterated meat).

Admittedly it's been a few years but I have eaten quite a lot of chicken in my lifetime so I don't think it's a matter of me forgetting the experience of the real thing

Reminds me of the Matrix Tasty Wheat scene: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2oEnJfZ9joY (63s long)

Try chicken of the woods. It's even more so in my opinion.

So much so. I wish it was easier to cultivate at home, it tastes just like chicken.

Wow, I don't think chanterelles taste anything like chicken. I've only had them a couple of times, but to be they have a really strong and complex flavor that is hard to describe. The texture is firm but not chewy, like many other kinds of mushrooms.

I guess it might depend on how you prepare it. To me, chanterelles are one of the mushrooms that should always be prepared without anything that might cover the taste exactly because it's so distinct it's be a massive waste. But if you cook it like some people cook chicken I can well imagine it'd wnd up tasting like chicken...

For the record we only cooked it in salted (vegan) butter because of the exact idea that we didn't want to obscure its taste with other spices etc.

Then I really don't understand how you'd find it similar to chicken. But given I eat chicken regularly I guess we pick up on different things.

Black pepper is the only other thing I'd usually use with chanterelles. Possibly cream. To not waste so much of it, sometimes I'll boil them a bit first, and let enough water boil off to pour the rest into a light cream sauce to add chantarelle taste to the sauce as well.

I tried some "beyond beef" the other day and thought it was nothing at all like beef. But maybe if you're vegan it's the closest alternate.

And their protein is more usable by our digestive systems than plant proteins.

I thought they are mostly chitin?

Yes, that's correct.