More, more, morel - how do you like it

Saucyman – I thought wild mushrooms were a fall thing, yet I keep seeing really expensive morels in the market: Explain this please. The Fungal Connection

Mushrooms are saprophytic, feeding off decaying or dead matter instead of soaking in the sunlight in order to survive. Despite nothing being consistent with how the word is normally used, when caps poke above ground, the mushroom is said to be ‘fruiting’. According to Michael Kuo’s Morels, morels fruit all the time, all over but in the US mostly from February to June. The season extends a wee bit longer in the northern climes and Canada.

They are a true wild mushroom, as opposed to oysters or shiitakes which can be cultivated, morels are harvested in actual or managed nature, doing especially well in ashy soils or the spring after a fire. Apparently, morels are huge in the Midwest, having spent my first 22 years in 4 different Midwestern states, I had no idea. On the contrary, my experience taught me mushrooms were usually sliced, sometimes canned and occasionally part of cream of mushroom soup, never enjoyed and certainly not an expensive indulgence. Michigan, Iowa and Wisconsin are all big morel gathering areas. On the west coast California, Oregon and Washington all contribute their share.

Morels come in a couple different styles: White, black, common and thick-footed. Rumor has it the white is the most flavorful, and if that isn’t true, it is at least the most prized. Hollow on the inside, morels have a distinct honeycomb head sitting on top of the usual mushroom base. While honeycomb implies order and precision, morel's honeycomb shape comes in more of a Gaudi sense of nature abhorring a straight line. Alan Davidson describes the top of the mushroom, perhaps more accurately, as looking like a brain or a ball of twine.

Morels contain helvellic acid (The Swiss Acid?); this is described as either toxic or poisonous, depending on the source. Peterson Field Guide declares the acid as poisonous but only to some and issues a special warning that sometimes, maybe, possibly in certain people morels and alcohol can cause problems so put that moreltini down. In any case helvellic acid is neutralized by heat, caution dictates this mushroom should never be eaten raw.

Recently, Saucykitchens™ received about a cup and a half of small morels, which is nice because at $30 a pound, the bang ain’t worth the buck to me. But for free, they ended up being the focus of a meal. The mushrooms were sautéed in butter with salt and garlic sliced so thin it made the garlic cut in Goodfellas look like Rachel Ray sprinkling garlic powder into a pan. The morels were added over a low heat - their slightly chewy, meaty/earthy taste stands up well to other strong flavors. Here they were combined with asparagus and corn stripped off the cob - which added a note of sweetness and color. Served on a buckwheat and corn bilini, it was a meal that announced springtime.