"Frank" wrote in message
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On 4/30/2012 4:54 PM, Steve Peek wrote:
wrote in message
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In articlea4WdnVLkQ6loPQPSnZ2dnUVZ_rmdnZ2d@earthlink .com,
"Steve wrote:

wrote in message
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In ,
"David wrote:

Pat Kiewicz wrote:
David Farber said:


I found these mysterious things growing in my garden. The internet
says they're Morel mushrooms and they may be safe to eat. I would
definitely like a second opinion about that. I found this webpage
with some information about that.

And the photo of the ones in my garden is he
http://webpages.charter.net/mrfixite.../Mushrooms.jpg


Morels are the easiest mushroom to properly identify, and yes, they
can sometimes be found growing in a back yard. Your mushrooms do,
indeed,
look like edible morels, but a full ID would require looking at the
stem and cutting one in half.

True morels have hollow stems that connect directly to the cap.

False morels either do not have hollow stems or the cap hangs down
over
the stem.

Check out these links:

http://thegreatmorel.com/falsemorel.html
http://thegreatmorel.com/falsemorel2.html

A couple of years back we had a prolonged cool, wet spring and a
couple of dead or dying fruit trees in the back yard, which resulted
in a spectacular crop of extremely delicious morels.

Here is the mushroom sliced open.

http://webpages.charter.net/mrfixite...orel-slice.jpg

It looks like the good, hollow kind, right?

Thanks for your reply.

Don't be a fool. Take it to Cal Poly.



Don't be a fool, it's a clump of morels!!!!! I've been picking them for
over
40 years, I KNOW WHAT THEY ARE!!!!!

You'd bet his life on it? He is 18 min. from Cuesta College, and 25 min.
from UC Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. Seems a small price for an expert's
opinion, who would be in the presence of the mushroom, rather than
someone who is simply looking at a picture of it.

This isn't about your pride. Mushroom pickers die every year from
mistaken identity. Why shouldn't David avail himself of the very best
best advice?

Of course one should avail themselves of the best advise available,
always.
There is ABSOLUTELY no other fungus that looks like that. Some are close,
but not like that. I've been picking them for over 40 years! Would you
like
to wager that I'm wrong? I can't bet my life on it (I'm on the other
coast)
but I'll cover anything up to a million or so (US, in cash of course).


From stuff I read and all the utubes online, I would not be afraid to try
them without going to the trouble of seeking out local experts first.

I finally found an expert. He came by the house and inspected them. After
giving me a thorough disclaimer about following his expert advice, he
consulted two reference books (both written by David Arora) and said they
were edible mushrooms. We went around and picked quite a few and he
explained the differences between the dry ones (they need to be soaked
first) and the fresher, moist ones. He said to cook and eat a small amount
to begin with and make sure that there were no food allergy reactions. If
everything was ok after that, then they could be seasoned to our liking. He
also said never eat them without cooking them first.

Thanks to everyone for your input.
--

David Farber
Los Osos, CA