Edible, with conditions
Morel
Morchella americana, M. esculenta and relatives
The character that does the work
Pitted like a honeycomb, and completely hollow when cut lengthwise.
The specimen sheet, in examination order
01Cap
3 to 12 cm, conical to egg-shaped, PITTED AND RIDGED like a honeycomb, cream, tan, grey or nearly black depending on species and age.
02Underside
No gills. The fertile surface lines the pits.
03Stem, and the base
White to cream, hollow, often slightly granular, widening at the base.
04Flesh, cut
Cut lengthwise, ONE CONTINUOUS HOLLOW CHAMBER from the top of the cap to the base of the stem.
05Spore print
White to cream
An ascomycete, so a print is not the working test here. The lengthwise cut is.
How to take one06Where it grows
Varies by species and maddeningly so: old orchards, ash and elm, river bottoms, disturbed ground, and above all the year after a forest fire in western North America.
When to look
Typically Mar to Jun in the northern hemisphere. Fruiting swings by weeks with rainfall and by a month or more with latitude, so this is when to look rather than when it will be there.
Northern hemisphere, with dozens of species now separated by DNA that nobody can tell apart in the field.
What is worth knowing about it
Among the most sought-after wild mushrooms there is, and among the few whose season is short enough to have built an entire commercial harvest around it. The conditions attached are real: morels must be thoroughly cooked, and even properly cooked they upset a minority of people, particularly alongside alcohol. Never eat one raw.
Confused with
- False morel
- Early morel (Verpa)
In the kitchen
Halve lengthwise, both to check the hollow and to evict whatever is living inside. Rinse briefly rather than soaking. Cook hard in butter for at least eight to ten minutes. They dry superbly and the soaking liquid is worth more than the mushrooms.
The techniques, and why they workThis page tells you what to check. It does not tell you the mushroom in your hand is that species, and it cannot. If you are not certain, do not eat it. If you have already eaten something and feel unwell, contact a poison centre and keep an uncooked specimen.
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