Poisonous and delicious mushrooms False morels which are highly consumed in Finland

 

False morels (Gyromitra esculenta) belong to the high mushroom league. A lot of people are scared of them and pass them in a big circle, but those who know treat them like a treasure. That´s because false morels are edible only after certain process of preparation, but as raw they are highly poisonous which can discourage many people from picking them. However, their preparation requires only a few simple steps after which the mushrooms can be eaten with no worries. It may even be the best thing you have ever tasted!

How do they look like

False morels don´t look like typical mushrooms.  The cap has weird shape, it´s irregular, wrinkled, like a skin, and getting more wrinkled with age. It resembles brain, this is why false morels are also known as brain mushrooms. The colour of the cap is reddish-brown, sometimes dark- brown.

Stem is often short, white and having inside empty chambers.  Flesh is brittle. The consistency of false morels reminds ear. To this refer the Finnish name Korvasienni, meaning ear mushroom. False morels have very strong, aromatic smell.

When and where do they grow

In Finland, false morels can be found from spring to early summer. They like sandy soils, open places and usually grow under pines.  They often appear in disturbed ground areas like roadsides or areas after clear cutting. 

Specifically in nature area Evo, false morels appear in areas where was done controlled burning. This is an effective management tool to support biodiversity. Fire helps with natural regeneration of pine forests and many other plants and animals profit from such areas. There is not much of a natural fire in Finland as they are being effectively suppressed, so controlled burning imitates those natural fires initiated by storm. False morels often show at these areas second or third year after burning. 

However, false morels don´t stay there long. During the course of succession, area may become too vegetated for the false morels, so their harvest can last only one or two seasons. One must always search for new localities. New season new mushroom story.

Establishing good growing conditions

There is even a method how to make a good growing conditions for false morels if you want to cultivate them on your land. We did it at the countryside this spring, but we must wait for the result till next year or even longer. Trick is to find some open place surrounded by coniferous trees, dig a hole, fill it with newspapers and cover it with soil. Mushrooms will lurk by themselves, no need to put there any of their parts. The spores should be already present in the soil and convenient growing conditions just give them possibility to develop.

Preparation

As it was mentioned, false morels are highly poisonous as raw, so one must have respect for them and carefully follow the preparation process. If you value your life, don´t skip any step. False morels must be boiled twice in a large amount of water. Before boiling, it´s advisable to open everywhere windows, because even the steam coming from the pot can cause dizziness, coughing and some unpleasant feelings. The best you can do is to completely leave the room. We usually escape to the balcony.

Each boiling takes ten minutes and after each of them, false morels must be rinsed with fresh water. Then they can be cooked according to the selected recipe. It can seem that the process is too long and not worthy but believe that when you taste these aromatic crunchy mushrooms, you will never leave them in the forest.