In some areas, a veritable race for the best morel mushroom spots breaks out in the spring. Almost as coveted by gourmets as the legendary Perigord truffle, the morel is not only an absolute highlight in gourmet cuisine. But be careful! The morels have inedible, sometimes even very poisonous doubles: the morels.
The morel (pictured here) looks very similar to the poisonous morels
Here you have to search
Stream and river meadows surrounded by forest are the ideal locations for the tasty morels. To the left and right of the water, mainly under alder and ash trees, the morel grows well hidden in the green undergrowth. The coveted mushroom can often be found as early as April. However, the closely related pointed morel is far more common and much easier to find. It often grows in the bark mulch of front gardens and in coniferous forests, on forest meadows and at the edges of forests. Morel mushrooms are often found near bracken.
Which morel species are edible
The differences between the edible morel and the May morel (also known as the yellow edible morel) are not very great. The edible morel is smaller and not - like the May morel - evenly yellowish in colour, but dark brown when young, later grey-brown and often with rust-colored spots on the ribs. Also edible is the gray to black-brown colored pointed morel, which differs from the other species in its pointed cone shape and the vertically arranged longitudinal ribs.
Caution, poisonous! How to tell the difference between morels and morels
If you want to collect morels, you absolutely have to know the distinguishing features of the sometimes very poisonous morels. To do this, you simply have to cut through the fruit body lengthways: If it is completely hollow on the inside and looks like a honeycomb on the outside, it is a morel. If, on the other hand, it is chambered inside and has a rather shriveled appearance on the outside, it is a poisonous Lorchel species. The autumn lorel is also almost completely white, while the deadly poisonous spring lorel is reddish brown.
tips
Morels should definitely be dried or dehydrated, as this will develop an unmistakably delicious aroma. Dried morels in a creamy sauce made from cream, whole milk and sour cream or crème fraîche, which is only seasoned with salt, pepper, a little nutmeg and a dash of Worcestershire sauce, taste suspiciously gourmet. If you want to make the cream sauce even heartier, add diced onions and bacon until translucent.