Catching a Rainbow

The morel is an edible cup fungi to the experts and one of the most prized edible wild mushrooms to those of us who cook.

They are rarely available fresh in the shops; they are fragile and do not keep or travel well. The vast majority of fresh morels are picked by amateur mushroom collectors for their own enjoyment and do not make it past the mushroom collectors basket.

Morels grow in either deciduous or coniferous woodlands often hidden beneath the leaf litter, thus making them difficult to find.
There are thoughts that a symbiotic relationship exists between the morel mushroom and the common Ash tree (Fraxinus excelsior) thus making the fungi prevalent around the base of such trees.

They appear in the late spring and have a cone-shaped cap that is pitted and ridged. They vary in colour and size depending on the species and are particularly partial to woodland hollows or around tree stumps where the soil is kept perpetually moist.

Morels particularly like growing in areas that have been exposed to fire usually three years after the fire has passed. In certain areas of Europe and North America pickers will concentrate on areas previously affected by fire in a hope to obtain these highly prized mushrooms.

The morel is very choosy where it will grow, and the conditions for cultivation are so finely balanced that they prevent the mushroom being farmed commercially.

Morels should never be eaten raw as some people do have an allergic reaction to these mushrooms, which is dispelled by cooking.

For most of us the only experience we will have of this wonderful mushroom is the dried variety. Do not despair, they are wonderful and although not the same as the fresh, they do add a depth of character to almost any dish to which they are added.

There flavour is strong and only a few need to be added to enhance a dish, which is good as they are expensive. They are particularly good when added to stews and casseroles and if so they do not require any pre-soaking.

On occasion the larger morels do contain a small amount of grit, which can be removed by soaking the morels in a small bowl just covered with boiling water and left for one hour. Once soft, cut the morels in half and rinse in the same bowl. Then pass the brown mushroom liquid through a coffee filter paper to remove the grit, but be sure to retain the liquid.

The dried morel has a rich woody flavour and a pleasant smoked earth flavour, which is ideal when added to a mushroom sauce to be served with pasta.



















Acknowledgemets and references.

http://www.agr.gov.sk.ca/docs/crops/northern_agriculture/HarvestWMrms.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morel
http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/default~gid~~page~2~startPage~1~chr~m.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscoda
http://thegreatmorel.com/index.shtml
http://www.agr.gov.sk.ca/docs/crops/northern_agriculture/HarvestWMrms.asp
Kuo, M. (2002, December). Types of (true) morels. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/morels/true.html