Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site unc.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!prls!amdimage!amdcad!decwrl!decvax!mcnc!unc!wfi From: wfi@unc.UUCP (William F. Ingogly) Newsgroups: net.cooks Subject: Re: Morels Message-ID: <204@unc.UUCP> Date: Sat, 11-May-85 14:01:53 EDT Article-I.D.: unc.204 Posted: Sat May 11 14:01:53 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 14-May-85 07:15:34 EDT References: Reply-To: wfi@unc.UUCP (William F. Ingogly) Distribution: net Organization: CS Dept., U. of N. Carolina at Chapel Hill Lines: 34 > ... Morels don't look like other mushrooms. They are fluted on the > *outside*, and the have pits or holes along their length. They have hollow > stems... Morels are one of the easiest wild mushrooms for the novice to identify; the only mushrooms that look vaguely like them are the false morels. Morels have two fruiting seasons, in the fall and in the spring. They love burned-over orchards. As far as I know, no one has successfully grown them commercially. If you haven't collected and eaten wild mushrooms, you should definitely either study them under someone who has (and whose competence you're sure of), or take a course on fungi. Many fungi (including morels) are highly variable in appearance. Going to the trouble to learn enough to identify fungi is DEFINITELY worth it from a gastronomic perspective! > ... I didn't want to mask their flavor, so I simply sauteed them in butter. Yum. The only way to eat morels, as far as I'm concerned. Your comparison of rich cheddar to pasteurized process cheese is a good one. > ... One warning, though. I have read that some people are strongly > allergic to morels. One book I have on fungus suggests eating a small amount > as a test the first time you try them... You should do this with ALL wild mushrooms. One person's delicacy can be another's trip to the emergency room. This applies even to fungi that all the guidebooks claim are safe. And NONE of the folk superstitions about identifying 'toadstools' work, so beware! The only sure way of identifying edible fungi is to become adept at identifying them. A few genera (e.g., the morels) are very difficult to confuse with anything else, but many confound even the experts. -- Cheers, Bill Ingogly