Wild Morel Cooking Precautions

Is it the taste of morels or the thrill of hunting the elusive little beings that transforms ordinary individuals into stark raving mad morel lunatics? Probably a little of the latter and a lot of the former.

The taste of morels is exquisite and indeed addictive. As John says, “The difference between morels and button mushrooms. . .is like the difference between cheese and chalk. . .Compared to morels, button mushroom have the flavor of fairly good cardboard.” That’s amazing, given the fact that morels are about 90 percent water by weight and one ounce contains only 100 calories. They also possess little nutritional value, except for some for vitamin D. Maybe that’s what makes them addictive--they’re little spring harbingers of the happy vitamin!

Delicious though they are, morels can be dangerous. Although it’s easy to be consumed in the grasp of morel mania, one must exercise caution. Here are Nancy’s recommendations:

  1. Know what you’re eating
  2. Be persnickety (Throw out morels with even the tiniest bit of decay; bacteria causes food poisoning)
  3. Cook thoroughly before eating
  4. Try only one kind of mushroom at a time
  5. Separate trials of different species by 24 hours. Most toxins are evident within a few minutes to a few hours and are usually not life-threatening. Other toxins don’t become obvious for eight to 12 hours, and those account for majority of serious problems and fatalities.
  6. Try each species in small quantities the first few times. (About ¼ cup cooked)
  7. Be moderate in the quantity of mushrooms consumed. (Unless you desire a “rather uncomfortable laxative effect”)
  8. Abstain or restrain in consuming any kind of alcohol in conjunction with eating mushrooms
  9. Learn how to identify common poisonous species in your area

Some people are allergic to mushrooms that are safe to eat; if this is your first time eating morels, eat only a small amount and wait 24 hours before consuming more. This may prove quite difficult, as morels are quite delicious! Also, don’t consume any alcohol with your very first ingestion of morels, especially black morels; if you are allergic, this can seriously worsen the reaction. A reaction involving ingesting alcohol with morels “. . .begins with flushing of the neck and face, rapid heart beat, tingling in the extremities, and a metallic taste in the mouth and only later involves nausea, and vomiting.”

Remember, morels are not strawberries: You cannot eat them while you pick them! You cannot eat them raw--unless you actually enjoy being face down over the porcelain throne for hours on end. Cooking morels destroys toxins and helps make them more digestible. The key word is “more” digestible. Even cooked morels retain indigestible materials in their cell walls, which can irritate the digestive system in larger quantities. Nancy says, ““The easiest problems to avoid, if you have enough self discipline, are those caused by simple over eating or gluttony.” Easier said than done!