6Morels and Inedible False Morels
Grill a morel, place it on a taco.
Morels are considered the prime rib of mushrooms. It is perhaps the most sought-after edible wild mushroom, and for a few, all other edible mushrooms are either unknown or “poisonous.” They are found throughout the United States, Mexico, Canada, and as far north as the Arctic Circle. In Washington they show as early as March in warmer, wetter valleys and as late as July in recent burnouts at high altitudes, exceeding 6,200 feet. Measure your start by latitude and altitude.
Morels do not have conventional mushroom gills, tubes, or teeth. They are ascomycetes; that is, they are spore shooters rather than spore droppers; and their convoluted, brain-like shape facilitates this type of dispersal. Morels are mycorrhizal partners with trees to include conifers (conifer burnouts), poplars, apple trees, madrone, black cottonwood (river bottoms), honeysuckle, elm, and ash. Look for them along trails and in campgrounds, on gentle slopes, and in shaded areas of downed trees. Keep in mind they can be found in fairly open areas and in deep shade. Fence rows bordering woods often produce. Begin your search when apple trees bloom and lilacs flush.
Rule of thumb: Black morels have dark ridges and lighter pits; yellow morels have lighter ridges and darker pits.
Black Morel
Yellow Morel
Gray Morel
Half Free Cap Morel
False Morels
Gray morel found at 7,000 feet in late June; black morel with dark edges, lighter pits; basket of yellow morels; the free cap morel is considered edible but has toxic look-alikes. Don’t mistake this edible mushroom for a Verpa false morel. Like the free cap, the cap of the Verpa is delicate and easily pulls off. The Verpa is attached at the pinnacle of the stem, and Verpa caps are wrinkled and not pitted. Color may be similar.
Morchellaceae:
Black morel (Morchella brunnea, Kuo 2012)
Yellow morel (gray when young) (Morchella esculentoides)
Gray morel (Morchella tomentosa, Kuo)
Half free cap morel (Morchella populiphila, Kuo, Carter, Moore)
Origin: Morchel is German meaning “fungus.” Tomentosa means “covered with hairs.”
Season: Spring as measured by latitude and altitude, earlier at lower latitudes and later at higher altitudes. Found from Mar to late June in Washington. Spring as measured by blooming apple blossoms.
Identification: Morchella is a large and complex genus. Members of the genus are fairly simple to identify—it gets more difficult to get to species. With help you can. One good resource is www.mushroomexpert.com/morchellaceae.html.
True morels belong to the genus Morchella, whereas false morels are Verpas and Gyromitras, and elfin saddles are Helvella. Of the four morels described here:
Black morels are found under oaks and other hardwoods including madrone and possibly conifers. The species was identified and named by Kuo in 2012. It is similar to the black morel of the eastern United States but smaller. Conical cap with vertically arranged ridges and pits. Ridges are black and pits lighter, brown to tan. Stipe is hollow and as long as the cap is tall. Base of stipe slightly swollen.
Yellow morels, in contrast, start out gray and mature to yellow with a full body of pits, and ridges of different shapes and sizes. Cap and stems are hollow. They can exceed 10" in height, but are typically in the 3"–6" range. Yellow morels are domestic, found in urban settings: parks, along bike trails, and in conjunction with cottonwoods (river bottoms), ash, apple, and pear trees, and along the edges of campgrounds.
Gray morels have a brain-like outer appearance—ridged and pitted—with pits arranged in columns or laddered. Cap and stem are hollow in the middle and take the form of a jester-shaped cap that tapers. Stems darken with age and can be blackish at maturity. Mushroom ranges from 2" to 8" in height. In general, morels love rich soils with a lot of humus (or ash) and rotting fallen trees and stumps. These are mushrooms of the spring, and the mushrooms of conifer forest burnouts. Their appearance occurs in spring, the timing of which varies by latitude and altitude.
Half free cap morel caps are small, 1"–1½" wide, and proportionally the stem is long, up to 6" overall. The bottom half of the cap is free from the stem, hanging as if a skirt. When cut in half, the attachment is evident.
Spores: Cream to yellow colored
Habitat: Morels are found in almost all Washington ecosystems, valleys, mountains, coastal areas, and river bottoms, preferring some exposure to light but not dry areas. Hugh Smith finds morels in pear orchards. Gray morels are professionally harvested and commonly found in markets. They are found especially in conifer burnouts. Half free caps, more commonly found in Oregon, may be found in conjunction (under) black cottonwoods, Populus trichocarpa, growing in river bottoms.
Look-alikes: Verpas and Gyromitras : Gyromitra and false morels look similar to edible morels but have grotesque folds and are saddle shaped and brain shaped without hollow stems. Certain Verpa species can be confused with the edible free cap morel (see photo). Like Gyromitra, Verpas do not present the open hollow body and stem of edible morels.
Edible: A much sought-after and versatile edible mushroom, use morels fresh or dried in savory entrees, egg dishes, with game and fowl, in soups, chowders, pastas, infused in cheese, on toast . . . I am just warming up. Morels are delicious in all dishes where mushrooms improve taste: omelets, frittatas, pizza, pasta, burgers, veggie burgers (sauté with wild stinging nettle, asparagus, and red bell pepper). Sauté the first bunch of the season in a pinch of butter and olive oil and serve on buttered sourdough toast points. Delicious with eggs, beef, venison, cheese, and duck.
Medicinal: In China, morels are considered an immune-modulating food, toning the stomach and intestines and opening channels regulating energy throughout the body—good for reducing phlegm and indigestion. Research suggests eating morels might be antitumor and anti-inflammatory, at least in animal models (Nitha, Meera, and Janardhanan, 2007). At just 3 micrograms per milliliter, morel polysaccharides stimulate immune-system response initiated in the mucosal immune system interface (Duncan et al., 2002; Lull, Wichers, and Savelkoul, 2005). Ethanol extract of morels inhibits chronic and acute inflammation and prevents the growth of solid cancer tumors (Nitha, Meera, and Janardhanan, 2007). The polysaccharide (complex sugars) fraction appears to stimulate the immune system, providing enhanced immune protection.
Storage: Brush morels clean, cook in dishes, and freeze (cook frozen, don’t thaw), or dry and store in canning jars. Try pickling them. Freeze fresh and whole for up to a month.
Caution: Eat morels in moderation. One study reported 146 patients presented gastrointestinal syndrome and 129 presented neurologic syndrome. Gastrointestinal and other neurological symptoms were also present (ocular/vision disorders, paresthesia, drowsiness/ confusion, and muscle disorders). These patients frequently ingested a large quantity of morels. Confusion with Gyromitra esculenta (false morels) was ruled out (Saviuc, 2010, May). To denature the gastrointestinal irritants, always cook morels thoroughly.
Comments: In southern Poland this mushroom is linked with the devil or the devil’s work. German folklore espouses that the devil condemned a wrinkled old woman to the existence of the mushroom. To this day, it is an insult to call a German woman a “morel.” Morels prefer a little sunlight, such as along fence lines and trail sides on the west or north side, in areas without high winds and in open burn areas. In a lowland marsh near me, the water and elevation keep things cooler for longer into the spring; there, the morels come a week or so later. I have seen morels picked in burnouts at 7,000 feet in Washington; the higher you go, the later in the season you will find them. In the United States, starting fires to stimulate morel growth is a crime with severe penalties.
RECIPE
Morels in a Hurry
Morels are great sautéed by themselves in olive oil, butter, and/or with bacon.
Try them whole or sliced in half; sauté halves (see tip below), cool, then stuff the cooked halves with mozzarella cheese (a bit tedious but worth it). Next, on a baking tray, broil for 2 minutes until mozzarella browns (watch closely). A drop or two of Sriracha or Tapatío adds a palate-pleasing zing. Serve as an appetizer.
Also, consider lightly breaded and fried morels added to venison or buffalo burger—sensational.
Sautéed morels on toasted sourdough bread, lathered with a thin layer of mayonnaise, are simple, elegant, and delicious. Top with a thin slice of tomato.
Tip: When cooking morels in a pan with butter, moisture will leave the whole mushrooms, forming a milky bath in the pan. Continue cooking the morels on low heat until this milky (watery) liquid evaporates. When gone, the mushrooms are done and taste like steak.
Verpa species are best avoided.
Gyromitra—chambered and not hollow
Discinaceae (Gyromitra species) and Morchellaceae (Verpa species)
Caution: Not edible. False morels, Gyromitra species, are included here as a potentially toxic look-alike. Avoid this mushroom. Other guides suggest that thorough cooking denatures the toxin, but don’t believe it!
Origin: Gyrus is Latin for “convoluted folds of the brain.”
Season: Spring
Identification: Gyromitra are convoluted throughout and more extremely shaped than morels—as if in a science-fiction movie in which they were nuked and came out scary looking. The Doctrine of Signatures suggests, whether always reliable or not, if it looks dangerous, it very well is dangerous. C aps are weird—wavy, lobed, pitted, ridged, saddle shaped, and convoluted. Cap color varies from reddish and reddish brown to very dark brown and occasionally yellowish brown. The caps are also more densely full than morels, and stems are not hollow. Whereas morels are completely hollow, Gyromitra are not—they have pockets but are not completely hollow.
Spores: Spore colors similar to cap colors: brown to dark brown and variable to reddish brown, yellowish, and orangish brown
Habitat: Found in the same places as edible morels at the same time and even earlier
