Mushroom Pictures

[Paolo]

Probably the last morels of the year:

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af2 ... morels.jpg

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af2 ... relbig.jpg

[Eunuchorn (imported)]

And these are the Morels of the story!

[transward (imported)]

Probably the last morels of the year:

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af2 ... morels.jpg

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af2 ... relbig.jpg

For some reason I have a sudden craving for a rib eye w/ sauteed mushrooms.

Transward

[butterflyjack (imported)]

They look like giant deformed poison toad stools...Erk..Jackie

[Paolo]

I would add, NEVER eat a wild mushroom unless you are 100% sure what it is. Some species may look and taste great, but they'll kill you up to several months later.

One of my earliest childhood memories is toddling around the woods looking for these.

Thing is, most of the really common ones that you'll find in your yard, and that are very pretty or grow in rings, are toxic. The Destroying Angel, an amanita that is the textbook pretty mushroom, is all white and just screams "eat me! eat me!" Do that, and you'll be dead in 48 hours, max.

The morel is unique, and comes in gray, black, and yellow. It may be white when very fresh, but this is very rare to find. There are no "evil clones".

If you weren't raised in a culture that hunts mushrooms, my recommendation is you go mushroom hunting in a grocery store.

[fhunter]

Probably the last morels of the year:

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af2 ... morels.jpg

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af2 ... relbig.jpg

I thought those were not edible, though not poisonous?

Or should they just be prepared right?

But, after going mushroom hunting with friends of family, and seeing them pick violet-colored mushrooms (yes, they were edible. Or, as they joked: "conditionally edible"), I am not really surprised at anything. (Our family traditionally gathers rather few kinds of mushrooms...).

[foxytaur (imported)]

I rarely eat mushrooms bc my sister is super allergic to them. She once got hives and swollen glands in her throat and had to go to the emergency room.

Theyre so darn tasty on a thin crusted homemade quinoa pizza

But Paolo speaks the truth. There are some in tropical countries that are soo pretty but will kill you in hrs or minutes.

I definetly want to try a black truffle someday once ive got my life settled through though. their expensive as fuck per pound.

[Paolo]

fhunter, those are yellow morels - the most sought-after mushroom in the Midwest USA, I think.

I have known hunters and landowners get into fights and even call the cops over disputes of bags of these!

I cut them in half, soak them in lightly salted overnight to kill off the little gray bugs inside, then saute them in butter or whatever meat grease I have on hand. Most people batter and flour them, then fry them. I don't do that, because I don't want to eat egg and fried flour; I want the mushroom.

There are two species out there, the false morel, which looks like a red lump or brain on a similar stalk, and the elfin saddle, which is usually black on the same type of stem. Give the sponge appearance of morels, however, it's really not possible to confuse them.

[JesusA (imported)]

While I believe that all morel mushrooms found in North America are edible, I would certainly want to check before trying a "look alike" found in Europe. It's probably safe, but....

One of my favorite student papers from all of my years of teaching was a young woman who studied mushroom hunting in the area where I now live. She managed to convince several mushroom hunters to take her along to their favorite places. She was taken hunting by people of both German and Italian descent in our area. All blindfolded her and drove around in circles before going to their favorite places to make certain that she didn't know where she was (except that she was a native who had hikes the area thoroughly). She was taken to the identical locations by both Germans and Italians.

The Germans picked certain mushrooms as delicacies and pointed out the "poisonous" varieties. Later, at the same location, the Italians picked, as delicious, the varieties that the Germans thought poisonous and pointed out the German varieties as "poisonous." There actually were some poisonous varieties at the location that neither group picked. It pays to know EXACTLY what you are doing.

[Paolo]

From what I've researched, morels DO grow in Europe, same thing.

Here is a link to a jpg of the false morel, sometimes called "beefsteak" or "elephant ear".

There is great controversy on the edibility of this one. Some claim it is fine, many claim it is toxic.

When in doubt, don't pick it.

http://www.nerdygaga.com/wp-content/upl ... ulenta.jpg