Morels. Description
Morels are mushrooms of the Morshell family with a wrinkled hat resembling a walnut kernel and a hollow leg. These are the first spring mushrooms that appear in deciduous forests immediately after the snow melts. They reach a height of 15 cm, the diameter of the hat is 10 cm. The mushroom hat, hollow inside, is brown, yellow-brown or yellow, resembles an egg in shape, and its surface consists of uneven cells. The color of the hollow leg of the fungus is light yellow or milky white.
Chemical composition
Today we will find out what “usefulnesses” are morels (mushrooms), how to prepare dishes from these gifts of the forest and with which they are especially tasty. However, first we note the troubles that may lie in wait when using the product. Morels, the photos of which you see above, are conditionally edible and require heat treatment before eating. Fresh mushrooms contain poisons that are harmful to the human body, such as methylhydrazine and gyrometrin. Given that the larger the mushroom, the more poisons it has accumulated, when collecting them, preference should be given to not very large specimens. It should be noted and the beneficial properties of morels. These mushrooms contain a huge amount of trace elements (calcium, phosphorus, potassium), vitamins (C, D, PP, A and B vitamins), polysaccharides (FD4), which positively affect vision. In folk medicine, a morel decoction is used in the treatment of rheumatism, blood diseases, and age-related changes in vision.
Morels (mushrooms): how to cook
As mentioned above, these mushrooms contain poisons. These poisons disappear when dried after three months, and when boiled pass into the water in which they were cooked. Therefore, we cook the mushrooms, after boiling them for 15-17 minutes, and only then use them for stewing, frying or for adding to soups. If the mushrooms were dried, then after a three-month period they can be used as an aromatic additive to various dishes. And yet, despite the fact that the mushrooms are very tasty, and the dishes are aromatic, children under 12 years of age and pregnant women should take them with great care.
Recipes
Especially tasty are morel stewed in sour cream morels (mushrooms). Our grandmothers also knew how to cook this dish: for a pound of mushrooms you need to take a glass of sour cream, a teaspoon of flour and a little cheese. Pre-prepared chopped mushrooms are fried in a pan, then sprinkled with flour and fried again. Then add sour cream and bring the mixture to a boil. Sprinkle with grated cheese and bake in the oven. Before serving, you can decorate the chopped greens of fragrant parsley before serving.
Another recipe is the French favorite soup puree, which uses morels (mushrooms). How to cook it? Mushrooms lightly fried in butter with finely chopped onions are poured with meat broth and boiled for half an hour. Then, filtering the broth, let it cool slightly, and at this time, grind the mushrooms with butter, yolk and cream. Once again combining both formulations - the broth and the resulting mushroom mixture - served on the table, seasoned with lemon juice and sprinkled with grated nutmeg.
Enjoy your meal!