The message
from Martin Brown contains these words:

Sacha wrote:

A recent trip to Paris prompts me to ask if anyone knows whether the
mushrooms used in cooking by the French, such as morilles, are the dried
ones usually or fresh ones? I ask because I've seen packets of various
kinds of dried fungi over here but never fresh ones. I love all kinds of
mushrooms, including the little girolles and I would be very happy to find
fresh ones in this country.

I presume you mean morels? The ones that look like a black mesh and go
exceptionally well with chicken. Also they cause strange vivid dreams.

Not all morels are black: most are a buff colour. I've never heard
rumours of morels causing any brain activity - however, the false morel
(Gyromytra esculenta) can, and can be fatal if continually eaten - it is
deadly when uncooked. (That's similar in form to a morel, but the folds
are rounded, and the colour is darker - toffee-coloured.

You can find them dried (or sometimes in oil) at specialist
delicatessens. In season you can find the fresh ones too, but they tend
to be a lot more expensive. I once had a solitary one come up in the
garden - not really enough to do anything useful with and it has never
happened again. ISTR they must be cooked before eating.

Nope. That's the false morel. All the morels I know can be eaten raw.

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Rusty
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