Morels

Wild Morel

My husband was puttering in the back yard and picked this fungus that was growing along the border of the garden. I have never found a morel, and here was one growing in our yard! I am seeing posts on Instagram about spring morel hunts and was very curious to see what would make people invest so much energy to find them. 

"Morels are one of the most desired wild mushrooms in the world. They are not farmed like most grocery store mushrooms, but gathered in the wild. Even people who say they don’t like mushrooms often fall in love with morels. These people generally find the texture of mushrooms slippery, slimy, or otherwise off putting. Morels are unique with their meaty texture and an earthy and nutty flavour." (source)

I would be hesitant to harvest wild mushrooms without a guide, but morels are so unique that it is difficult to confuse them with a toxic mushroom. Toxic false morels do exist but they are easy to distinguish from a true morel. They are hollow inside so slicing them open and finding a hollow centre in the cap and stem confirms their identity. (This site shows pictures of false morels)

I was very confident that my identification was correct. Morels need to be cooked but it only takes a few minutes to pan fry them in butter. 

I was roasting some vegetables in the oven and added my single sautéed morel and the cooking juices to the vegetables. Delicious!! I may have caught the wild morel bug.