Welcome to the Celtnet guide to wild foods. As this recipe site has grown it has become obvious that to allow people to replicate some of the more ancient recipes on this site (especially from the Ancient, Roman and Medieval periods it is necessary to list modern alternatives but also to produce a guide so that the curious can find the original (often wild) ingredients for themselves. These pages are an attempt at bringing all these potentially useful and often forgotten wild foods together into one place. To use this guide simply click on the first letter of your term above or below. Alternativey why not just browse through the terms. You may well find something that surprises you!

This page covers wild foods beginning with the letter 'Y' and includes both common and scientific names.

This is the description page for Morel (Morchella esculenta) and includes a description as well as an image, if available and a selection of recipes from this site that relates to the wild foodstuff: Morel.

The Morel, Morchella esculenta (also known as Merkel, Sponge Mushroom, and Molly Moocher), is a species of honeycomb-shaped fungi and is a member of the Morchellaceae (morel) family of ascomycete (that typically reproduce sexually using non-motile spores) fungi. They prefer well-drained sandy, chalky and lime-based soils and can be found in a range of habitats, including open woodland, under ash and elm trees, and in old hedges and gardens. They are most frequent during the first three years after a forest fire. They also grow in the same spot every year so once you've spotted a morel growing area you can return again and again. It is a native of Europe and North America. It is one of the earliest of the edible mushrooms, first appearing in April and most prominent in May. Morels are beloved of gourmands, especially in France, but they do contain small amounts of toxins which are removed through cooking and should never be eaten raw. This also removes the risk of poisoning from the Helvelacea which look very similar but are poisonous if not cooked.

Morels are very variable in appearance but always have caps covered in deep honeycomb pits. The texture is brittle and the cap and stem form a single hollow chamber when cut (see image). The caps range from being conical to being egg-shaped and even globular. Typically the pits range from light ochre to brown but can be paler and the pit walls are often lighter than the pits but can be the same colour. The spore print is a creamy yellow and the fungus has a distinctly 'mushroomy' smell. The stipe (stem) is white or pale brown, tends to be grooved or wrinkled and is fused to the cap (indeed, the hollow of the stem runs into the cap). Typically morels grow between 3 and 10cm tall, and are 3 to 6cm broad with stipes about 3cm in diameter.

As an early-fruiting fungus the morel is distinctive and culinarily important. For the most part it can only be confused with other morels which are edible. The one exception to this rule is the False Morel or Turban Fungus (Gyromitra esculenta) which is highly poisonous. It is rare in coniferous forests and bears a large (often fist-sized) cap that's chestnut brown and deeply convoluted rather than being pitted. Its most distinguising feature is that the stem, though hollow is multi-chambered, just as the cap is. True morels have hollow stems. This is why all morels should be halved lengthways to check inside (this also aids with even cooking).

If picking, care should be taken not to confuse it with the uncommon but deadly poisonous Red-Staining Inocybe Inocybe patouilarde which gows in the similar habitat but is distinguished by its fruity smell which becomes foetid in older specimens. It is distinctly bell-shaped with a raised dome even at the button stage, its olive green gills and cut stem are distinctive and they slowly colour red when cut. The fungus bruises brick red, often in raidal lines from the cap. As it ages the uneven radial margins of the cap tend to split.

Its firm texture makes the Morel excellent for pickling and preserving by drying it also makes an excellent mushroom powder if dried and ground.

For other edible mushrooms, see the guide to edible mushrooms

Morels in Aspic
Morel Mushroom Sauce
Morels in a Cornmeal Crumb
Morels in Sweet Red Wine
Stuffed Morels
Morel Rösti
Hunter's Schnitzel
Salmon Fillets with Morels
Morel Tarts
Roast Prawns with Morels and Morel Butter
Morels with Butter Beans, Tomatoes and Herbs
Chicken, Asparagus and Morel Casserole
Medallions of Veal with Morel Sauce
Herb-crusted Lamb with Creamy Morel Potatoes
Asparagus and Morel Bread Pudding
Morels à la Mornay Flan
Mushroom Pickle
Stuffed Mushrooms Lucchese
Morel Mushrooms in Cream Sauce
Morel and Cracker Crumb Fry
Sausage-stuffed Morels