Dried Morels

Dried Morels: Dried Morels are a convenient way to stock one the world's most popular gourmet mushrooms. Morel mushrooms have not taken to commercial growing, so virtually all of the morels on the market have been picked in the wild. Dried Morels are almost a necessity, fresh primarily grow in forests for 2 or 3 years after a fire has burned through. Morel hunters chase forest fires, and in Europe where slash and burn is still used the burned areas are jealously guarded. Drying the mushrooms gives them almost indefinite shelf life, and they are easily reconstituted with very good results. Because of it's value as a gourmet ingredient and it's unique growing locations, morel hunting has become a bit of a sport, with festivals and contests celebrating it's hunters, and folks who plan their vacations around morel harvesting. It has been estimated that there are over 300,000 morel hunters in the US alone! Dried morels have a unigue egg shaped "waffled" head, with distinct ridges in a honeycomb pattern. The head, or ascocarp, contains millions of spores which are it's seeds. The spores do not travel far from the mushroom, so hunters leave a few mushrooms unpicked to seed their crop for the next season.

Dried Morels are easily reconstituted by soaking in warm water. The soak water may be kept and used as stock. Dried morels have an earthy and smokey flavor that goes well with many dishes: beef, poultry, seafood, wild game... Morels are not as easily dried as some other mushrooms, but drying is definitely the best way to preserve them. They are hollow which does promote drying, and they are usually cut in half lengthwise to open the hollow center. Store dried morels in an airtight container and they can reportedly last for years. It takes 8-10 pounds of fresh to make one pound of dried, so a little bit goes a long way when purchasing dried varieties. Dried morels are wonderful in soups and stews, risottos and quiches.

Dried Morel Facts:
• Dried morels can be kept for years in an airtight container
• Dried morels are amoung the most prized wild mushrooms
• Commercial growing attempts have failed
• Nearly all are harvested in forests
• Morel hunting has become popular in the US
• Drying morels is the best way to preserve them
• An estimated 300,000 people hunt morels in the US
• Popular in gourmet recipes, and French cuisine
• Dried morels have a distinctive honeycomb pattern
• Hunters leave a few mushrooms to seed next year's crop
• Dried morels have a smokey, earthy flavor

Nutritional data per 100g: Alanine - 0.567 g Arginine - 0.648 g Ash - 4.56 g Aspartic acid - 0.760 g Calcium, Ca - 11 mg Carbohydrate, by difference - 75.37 g Copper, Cu - 5.165 mg Cystine - 0.196 g Energy - 1238 kj Energy - 296 kcal Fatty acids, total monounsaturated - 0.317 g Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated - 0.151 g Fatty acids, total saturated - 0.225 g Fiber, total dietary - 11.5 g Folate, DFE - 163 mcg_DFE Folate, food - 163 mcg Folate, total - 163 mcg Glutamic acid - 2.579 g Glycine - 0.414 g Histidine - 0.159 g Iron, Fe - 1.72 mg Isoleucine - 0.405 g Leucine - 0.679 g Lysine - 0.343 g Magnesium, Mg - 132 mg Manganese, Mn - 1.176 mg Methionine - 0.179 g Niacin - 14.100 mg Pantothenic acid - 21.879 mg Phenylalanine - 0.486 g Phosphorus, P - 294 mg Potassium, K - 1534 mg Proline - 0.414 g Protein - 9.58 g Riboflavin - 1.270 mg Selenium, Se - 46.1 mcg Serine - 0.506 g Sodium, Na - 13 mg Sugars, total - 2.21 g Thiamin - 0.300 mg Threonine - 0.497 g Total lipid (fat) - 0.99 g Tryptophan - 0.031 g Tyrosine - 0.323 g Valine - 0.486 g Vitamin B-6 - 0.965 mg Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid - 3.5 mg Water - 9.50 g Zinc, Zn - 7.66 mg

Dried Morel Mushrooms

Where to buy:
Wholesale Dried Morels  -  Retail Dried Morels