Experienced mushroom pickers, going on a “quiet hunt” in April-May, are well aware that morels can make them happy - amazing spring first-born with a characteristic appearance. The morel mushroom has a hat that fits snugly on the leg with a fancy embossed pattern. Being a saprophyte, it plays an important role in nature - it destroys the dead remnants of living organisms and turns them into inorganic and simple organic compounds.
Types of morels
Each of the three types of these wonderful creations of nature is characterized by common features (they have a wrinkled surface of the cap, are hollow inside, are considered conditionally edible, and grow in the temperate zone), as well as characteristic features.
Edible morel (the names “ordinary” and “real” are found) is not only the most common member of the genus. It is larger than some of its relatives, grows in height from 6 to 15-20 cm. With a relatively large size of the legs and caps, the edible morel does not have any noticeable weight, since its fruit body is hollow inside. The egg-shaped or ovoid-round hat, densely adhered to the leg, has a different color: ocher-yellow, gray, brown. On its uneven surface, irregularly shaped cells are located, remotely resembling a honeycomb.
Morel tall grows in deciduous and coniferous forests, often in glades and edges. It can be found in gardens, kitchen gardens and even mountains, but it rarely gets into mushroom baskets. The explanation is simple: this type of morels is not often found in nature. Mushrooms (photo), reaching 25-30 cm in height, have olive-brown cells.
Morel conical outwardly very similar to his fellow with the name "tall". The same elongated-conical shape of the cap adhering to the leg, the same folds or ribs on the upper part, forming cells. Conic morel fungus is distinguished by smaller sizes of the fruiting body and color (yellow-brown, black-brown, grayish-black). It is rare, prefers to grow near ash, alder and aspen, as well as in places where the top layer of soil is disturbed (on roadsides, slopes of ravines).
How to cook morel mushrooms
Only young people who have not had time to accumulate toxic substances are suitable for eating. More often on the table of connoisseurs morels appear, fried in oil, which is not surprising, because they, cooked in this way, look very appetizing, taste good and exude a not too pronounced, delicate aroma.
Morel mushroom requires preliminary preparation for the direct frying process. First of all, the collected mushrooms must be cleaned of garbage and washed thoroughly so that there is no sand left in the cells that can spoil the whole dish. Sliced mushrooms are dipped in hot water, boiled for 5-10 minutes, put into a colander and put on a small fire in a frying pan. To fry 500 g of morels, you will need to melt butter in a pan (about 2 tbsp. Tablespoons). Then add the mushrooms seasoned with salt, pepper and a little lemon juice. The appearance of a golden crust indicates the completion of the cooking process.
