FALSE MOREL MUSHROOMS

Not for nothing is the false morels an ugly mushroom, it has brain like folds, wrinkles or folds in the caps which appear to be like wrinkles. It does not have the ridges and pits of the true morel a morel is pitted inward and the false morel has a tendency to bulge outwards.

There are several hues to the false morel but they all involve red, and they are often brittle to the touch. They are typically red, reddish brownish red, they darken as the false morel ages but it will still appear to be blackish red. They vary tremendously in size and they can be between two and ten inches in height. Not only is the stem not hollow it is in fact meaty and has a texture that may be described as a cottony mycelium.

The bottom edge of the cap of a false morel hangs free around the stem, giving it the appearance of a skirt, on true morels, the bottom edge of the cap is fused to the stem all the way around.

The "early" morel or Verpa bohemica is another look alike mushroom that is also listed as toxic. The "False Morel" has several species the scientific names are Gyromitra esculenta, Verpa, Hellvella, and Disciotis. Gyromitra is a hemolytic toxin which means it destroys the bodies' red blood cells and damages the liver as well as the gastrointestinal tract. It can lie latent for between six or twelve hours after eating or ingesting.

Some of the known side effects are severe cases of diarrhea, severe headaches, vomiting, cramps, nausea, distension, extreme dizziness, and in some cases they can be fatal. If the condition is severe, these symptoms may develop into jaundice, convulsions, coma, and result in death. Some people have reported that parboiling reduces the toxin of the false morels. However there are sufficient cases reported whereby people have been severely ill just by ingesting the chocolaty fumes to state that it is not the wisest course in the world.

Also note that you may in rare cases get away with eating the false morels, but the toxins can and do build up in a system and you should never eat them on consecutive days. Also children and pregnant women are far more vulnerable to the toxin.

A Visual Guide for Harvesting MushroomsNature enthusiasts, campers, hunters, wild edible foragers any one can enjoy this book. This is a great book with beautiful, full color illustrations that can guide any one through the harvesting of wild edible mushrooms.Providing a cleaning technique and simple visual recognition of the most commonly collected and marketed Wild Mushrooms from the Pacific Northwest.Including actual photographs of Mushrooms in their natural habitats and discussion pages with helpful climate, temperatures and geographic locations. A helpful hints book stuffed with local Geographic Time Tables and lots of "what to look for" clues.

There are some 70 to 80 species of mushrooms that are poisonous to humans; many of them contain toxic alkaloids (muscarine, agaricine, phalline).

Among the mushrooms that most commonly cause poisoning are Amanita muscaria, A. phalloides, and the four white Amanita species called destroying angels. The ingestion of A. muscaria (fly agaric), which contains muscarine and other toxic alkaloids, is soon followed by nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive salivation, perspiration, watering of the eyes, slowed and difficult breathing, dilated pupils, confusion, and excitability. Illness usually begins within a few hours after eating the mushrooms, and recovery usually occurs within 12 hours.

A. phalloides, the death cap, or death cup, is far deadlier than the muscarine type; it contains heat-stable peptide toxins, phalloidin and two amanitins, that damage cells throughout the body. Within 6 to 12 hours after eating the mushrooms, violent abdominal pain, vomiting, and bloody diarrhea appear, causing rapid loss of fluid from the tissues and intense thirst. Signs of severe involvement of the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system soon appear; these effects include a decrease in urinary output and a lowering of blood sugar. This condition leads to coma, which, in more than 50 percent of the incidents, results in death.

The species Gyromitra (Helvella) esculenta contains a toxin that is ordinarily removed during cooking, but a few persons are highly susceptible to it. The chemical nature of the toxin has not been determined, but it is a source of monomethylhydrazine, which affects the central nervous system and induces hemolytic jaundice.

Some victims of severe Amanita poisoning have been successfully treated with a combination of thioctic acid, glucose, and penicillin or by passing the blood through a charcoal filter. Prevention rests upon the avoidance of ingestion of any wild mushrooms not positively identified as edible by a competent authority.

The most deadly of the false morels is Gyromitra esculenta. The head of this species has a brain-like appearance and the support stalk is short and stout. Over the years hundreds of people have died after eating this fungus. Some people can eat it with no ill effect because they have a high threshold for the toxin it contains. Symptoms are delayed and nothing untoward may be experienced for 4-8 hours after ingestion. Early symptoms are stomach cramps accompanied by vomiting, watery and/or bloody diarrhea, weakness, lassitude and severe headaches. This is followed by loss of balance, jaundice (as the liver deteriorates), and then in some cases, convulsions, with the victims eventually becoming comatose and dying.

The Wild Vegetarian Cookbook offers some fantastic recipes for foraged food. This beautiful cookbook explains the best ways to prepare dozens of edible wild plants and how to use other natural seasonings.
Healthy, organic foods grow wild everywhere in North America. In his first book, "Wildman" Steve Brill demonstrated how to forage safely for these edible wild plants. Now, in The Wild Vegetarian Cookbook, he breaks new ground by presenting 500 recipes for transforming these natural foods into delicious vegetarian meals. Foraging is a year-round activity, from winter's wild onions and scallions to spring's dandelion greens, fiddleheads, and ramps, from summer's wild blueberries and blackberries to fall's chestnuts and oyster mushrooms. And so, for ease of use, this book is organised chronologically by season. Each plant has a brief introduction before the recipes, which are tremendously varied: Fiddleheads with Sesame Noodles, Wild Spearmint Pineapple Sorbet, Mulberry Muffins, Wild Berry Cobbler, Hazelnut Biscuits, Honey Mushroom Burgers, Black Walnut Pesto, and much more. There is also an extensive resource guide.

Baked Morel Casserole

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups morels or other wild mushrooms
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 1/4 ttablespoons silken tofu, drained
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon vege-sal
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon white pepper, ground
3 1/2 cups mashed potatoes
1 tablespooncorn oil
1/2 tablespoon lecithin granules
2 tablespoons any wild onion leaves, chives or scallions, chopped

Sauté the morels, bell pepper, onions, and garlic in olive oil 5 minutes.Stir in silken tofu, lime juice, vege-sal, parsley, and white pepper, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, covered, 5 minutes.Meanwhile, mix the corn oil and lecithin granules with the potatoes and put half into an oiled baking dish.
Put the mushroom layer on top and cover with the remaining potatoes. Garnish with the wild onion leaves.Bake, covered, in a preheated 350°F oven 20 minutes.

A Morel Hunter's Companion: A Guide to True and False Morels

World of Mushrooms has a complete range of both indoor and outdoor spores.

The usage of mushrooms for food as well as medicine is deep-rooted in most cultures since the beginning of mankind. With little work and maintenance you can grow mushrooms in your garden! Medicinal and edible mushroms or decoratively luminescent muhsrooms - a fungus is always a whitty eye-catcher and they grace any garden. Many mushrooms contains medicinal active substances, fresh harvested fruiting bodies are very tasty. They are a valuable part of blanced nutrition.

The Finnish health authorities have issued the following guidelines regarding false morels

According to Finnish regulations, anyone who sells fresh or dried false morels must display a warning that they are poisonous and must provide instructions for handling them. The Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira recommends that fresh false morels should only be sold to consumers by sales staff, rather than off the shelf, in order to ensure safety.

False morels are an exceptional food whose sale is permitted although they contain a naturally occurring toxin called gyromitrin. A large dose of gyromitrin causes acute poisoning. Gyromitrin and its metabolites are also carcinogenic compounds. Proper handling is required to avoid poisoning, and consumers in Finland are reminded of this each year.

Foreigners living in Finland may not be aware that false morels are poisonous or may not know how they should be handled.

If instructions for handling false morels are not displayed at sales points, control officials can forbid the sale of lots which do not comply with regulations. Products can be put back on sale after the necessary warnings have been added. Consumers can also notify municipal food control officials if labels are inadequate.

Evira has published brochures on the handling of false morels in Finnish, Swedish, English, German, French and Russian. The brochures can be obtained from municipal food control authorities and from Evira for display at sales points or for other information purposes.

Instructions for handling false morels

Boiling: False morels should be boiled twice in plenty of water (1 part mushrooms and 3 parts water) for at least five minutes and should be rinsed thoroughly in plenty of water after each boiling.

Drying: False morels can also be preserved by drying them until they are crisp. Dried false morels must be soaked for at least two hours before use (100 grams of mushrooms in 2 litres of water). After soaking they should be boiled and rinsed twice like fresh false morels.

Remember: Ensure proper ventilation whenever false morels are boiled or dried. Do not reuse the water in which false morels have been soaked or boiled.

Curious Morel: Mushroom Hunters' Recipes, Lore and Advice (Nature & Cooking)

Larry Lonik shares his 45 years of experience and research picking, growing, and cooking morel mushrooms -- the easiest to identify, safest to pick and eat, and most sought-after of all wild mushrooms. Filled with distinctive wit and wisdom, plus delicious recipes from campfire to gourmet kitchen. Part of Lonik's 'Nature and Cooking Series'.

50th annual Mesick Mushroom Festival
Where: The self-described "Mushroom Capital of the United States," Mesick is in northern Michigan, on M-115, about 17 miles northwest of Cadillac.
When: Friday-Sunday
What: A family-friendly festival featuring mushroom-hunting contests, carnival rides, parade, beer tent, flea market, mud bog racers, horseshoes, horse pull and more
Etc.: Mushroom Picker's kits (including a map to "secret "spots) are $6 at Sparks Restaurant, Mesick, or call Louie Hughes, (231) 878-5204
Information: www.mesick-mushroomfest.org; (231) 885-2679
49th annual National Morel Mushroom Festival
Where: Veterans Park tent and downtown Boyne City
When: May 14-17

The seller must be recognized as appropriately trained and competent in the identification of safe botanical and mycological varieties. Alternatively, the seller may employ a recognized expert.

The seller shall submit a written statement to the Michigan Department of Agriculture Food & Dairy Division Office identifying the person who will verify the species and the procedure for safeguarding against the sale of potentially injurious mushrooms. The statement shall include a description of that person's education, experience and expertise.
Each individual wild mushroom shall be inspected and identified by the recognized expert. Only those identified as safe may be sold.
Each storage container of mushrooms shall be labeled with the scientific and common name of the mycological variety. Packaged mushrooms may be identified by the common name only and shall bear additional labeling in full accordance with current state and federal requirements.

Written records that indicate the quantity, variety, expert identifier, and buyer of the mushrooms shall be retained by the packer for a period of not less than two years. These records shall be made available for MDA examination upon request.

Wild mushrooms shall be handled and protected from contamination in accordance with all current state and federal regulations associated with the handling and processing of foods intended for human consumption.

The vendor is not presently required to hold a license from MDA for any given farmers' market, but slicing, other processing or warehousing of wild mushrooms must take place in an approved food establishment licensed by MDA or a local health department.

The Morel mushroom, especially Morchella esculenta is the gem of the mushrom world. The flavor of morels is beyond comparison to any other food, fungal or otherwise, it flavour is sublime and its texture unique, no one who has ever tasted a morel could forget it.

What makes the morel so special is the fact that they are only found in the spring, they are found after the winter frosts, usually around dead trees. When searching for a morel look down, in or around dead elms, or in overgrown orchards. They are also often found near limestone, and they survive and thrive in areas that have been torched by fire.

The Yellow Morel is distinctive the cap looks honeycombed, with pits which are surrounded by ridges, interanlly it has a single chamber extending from top to bottom, and it is always hollow.