Sunday, April 12, 2009

Morels


Today my father gave me a bag of morel mushrooms which he had gathered on one of his farms. These are a delicious spring treat, and can be quite plentiful in Tennessee if you know where to look. Morels should not be eaten raw. Locally, they are usually split in half, battered or breaded, and then shallow-fried in oil or melted margarine.


As with all wild mushrooms, if you aren't extremely familiar with what you are seeking, start by accompanying someone who is or locating an experienced mushroom-hunting group. Mushroom identification is hard to learn from books, even very good books, and personal instruction is the safest way.

5 comments:

chris said...

those look awesome! i just recently became interested in mushroom foraging and look forward to going on my first forage this spring.

Anonymous said...

Morels are a big favourite here - those look amazing.

Tami said...

I've never had morels so I'm a little envious right now. They look very interesting!

KitteeBee said...

john-john,
how come you can't eat 'em raw? and what did you do with yours?

xo
kittee

JohnP said...

hey kittee -

there's some sort of quasi-toxic something in morels which is neutralized by cooking. it won't really hurt you, but can give you an upset stomach. i dipped mine in almond milk, breaded in a flour/cornmeal mix, and shallow fried. Very good!