The wicker basket is a nice touch too. For everyone looking to pick mushrooms, go for a container with holes. that way the spores spread as you walk, hopefully sowing more mushrooms next year.
In the video we can see him contemplating about whether or not he should add nutmeg, and then clearly realizing that there's not mushroom for it in his recipe.
They are really, really good. I've only had them once, it was 6 years ago when I was in college and I found them growing by my dorm, and I still remember them today.
Im from India & this mushroom is one the expensive ones if bought at the market, we call them 'Gucchi". They are widely grown around the states close to the upper Himalayan region during the monsoon season. My mom makes an amazing curry dish with these & a wicked chilli fry too. It was a pleasure to hear Jon talk about these mushrooms with so much enthusiasm.
I remember searching for morels with my dad when I was a kid. He was fanatical about them and we would spend hours searching, but it was well worth it. I miss the old man, he taught me a lot.
Pass these precious memories to your sons or grandsons, keep these knowledgement alive for the next generations, and take a new trip to these places with them
Whether you know it or not you’ll have a big impact on the next generation. If you have kids, teach them all you know, spend time with them, and impart on them the kind of wisdom and knowledge that only a parent could know
My 3 year old son decided not to take a nap today and, instead, watched this video with me. He was so enamored by the mushrooms, Jon, and the outdoor cooking that he has insisted on watching it several more times. Now he wants me to find all of the videos of you cooking outside. I must say, I’m a proud mama. Thanks for the awesome (and family friendly) videos!
I’m genuinely sad because I have no child (yet) to share the magic of these videos with! I just proposed about 20 minutes ago (she said yes!!) so it’ll be another 10 or so years till we have kids that are mushroom hunting aged! Still, these videos calm my soul and warm my heart. I hope this channel is still active when we have little ones of our own!
I have so many fond memories of morel mushrooms. My dad always used to take my little brother and I out and hunt for them in Indiana, even in his final days with cancer. We actually put a wooden morel mushroom carving in his coffin they were that important to the family. It's something I still do now at 30 years old, and when my son is old enough I plan on doing the same for him. It's such a fantastic way of learning about the forest and the importance of conservation. If you live in an area where morels, heck even other edible mushroom varieties are common, I definitely suggest going out at least once! Just be careful not to get on anyone's land, some people get a bit flustered about you stealing their gold haha.
One of my most cherished memories growing up was hunting morel mushrooms with my mother. We had a small forest near our house we would hunt at as a family. The taste of morels is like bottling up my childhood. Purely magical.
My great-grandmother absolutely LOVED these things. I was only around 5-6 when she died, but I still remember going around and hunting for these for her with my grandparents and great-grandfather when she was really sick.
I grew up in Indiana; Jon’s enthusiasm for morels is totally par for the course in the Midwest, at least among morel hunters. He’s dead on about the various superstitions/traditions/etc that folks have when picking. Frying in butter is an absolute must though. That’s not a superstition. It’s mandatory.
My family has hunted these for generations. The salt bath removes bugs living in the mushrooms. Do it for minimum 20 to 30 minutes. You'll be surprised!
100% agree, very effective. The myth that you can't wash or soak mushrooms is totally false in my experience, for the vast majority of cooking methods, especially soup!
All the morels in my usual spots were stunted here by the cold weather in lower Michigan. It's too bad, it was going to be a great year for them before a few freezes hit between the 80 degree days.
Same in WI. Over a month of great weather and rainfall prep'd the morel season to be a boom. At least if it keeps up the hen/chantrelle/chicken season should be great.
@Black Pilled Son Returns OK, so what? The fact that you're watching a video on picking wild mushrooms hosted by a guy who's an 18th Century historical re-enactor says that you're a nerd as well.
I discovered these “Townsends” videos about a month ago (from the date of this comment 20th November 2021 - yes I’m a Brit). Each video is so very interesting and well produced. I did notice the mention of not using nutmeg, I was wondering if the mention of nutmeg would occur. In this video and others Jon refers to other countries and areas where the same ingredients, such as the Morel mushrooms, are also found and how recipes have been adopted and possible adaptions. I like Jon’s comment about the use of only the best when frying and using Kerrygold Butter, there is a little bit of Irish blood in me so 👍 on that Jon. I’m very glad that such good channels such as this are on TH-cam and not on TV and here is why: My Television set broke nearly 4 years ago, although I replaced a few parts it still wouldn’t work, although there were a few programmes that I initially missed, I soon discovered a lot of interesting videos on TH-cam. The Tv is still broken so I save the cost of the annual TV licence (now UK £159) to watch or record ANY programme, from ANY source (terrestrial, cable, satellite or internet) on ANY device (phone, tablet or PC) as it being broadcast at that time by ANY television broadcaster in and from ANY country. The UK TV license solely funds the BBC! TH-cam channels, with exceptions were “live” tv is being shown, such as this one are ok . I’m still finding more of Townsend videos so I’m happy, keep up the good work. Best wishes to All from Oxfordshire UK.
You can tell how passionate Jon is about this dish from the way he talks about it. Never seen him put such emphasis nor criticize the older recipes as sacrilegious. Got me hyped up for these mushrooms lol
I think it's a Hoosier thing. Here in Indiana, we don't have a lot going on. But catch us during mushroom hunting season, and we become VERY passionate about morels. 😅
Northern Michigander here... John is absolutely spot on about how rare and delicious these little forest gems are. If you're thinking to yourself, "surely he's exaggerating," I can assure you, no, he is not, and he cooked them as one should - a hot pan and good butter with a bit of flour and salt and pepper. That's all you need.
When I lived in Michigan a friend had land where Morels grew in abundance. Morels with some grated onion (grated, not diced) in broth gravy is a gastronomic delight. I have served Morels in beef broth gravy over wild rice (which is really a grass seed) and I received many compliments. Great video (as always). 👍😋
They’re called “Dry land fish” around here. It’s interesting that you’ll usually find a big bagful of morels when you hunt for them, and all it takes is some flour, salt and butter to make a very good meal for a family. Add in some wild greens in a salad and you definitely won’t go hungry
I love mushrooms, and I love fresh fish, like in I caught it 3 hours earlier. Interesting you mention dry land fish. That's probably a good description of these even though I've never had them. Truly fresh fish has a distinct sweet flavor that is not experienced unless you caught it earlier that day. I imagine that's what these mushrooms umpff factor is.
Since my teens, I have always loved a bowl of mushrooms and onions with a creamery butter, a slice of homemade bread and considered myself 'well-fed.' Knowing we had access to meat and fish of all varieties, it is now my comfort food during the Fall/Winter. Alas, it is tricky to hunt fresh non-poisonous mushrooms, and men/women need protein and other vitamins/minerals, so I now consider it a special treat, and a highly appreciated 'share of knowledge' to younger generations here in America. Thank you for the upload!
@@patriciusvunkempen102 You should; I know other countries around you sell them internationally as well as locally. You guys have SO many mushrooms in Germany
A woodland poem to the love between a man and a mushroom. Beautiful camera work, delicious fungus, and the kind of whether that makes me want to eat in front of a fire. Maybe your most heartfelt work. Great job!
Morels are delicious, I usually pan fry them with a little bit of olive oil until they’re crispy and then add salt and pepper. Also if you’d like a bit of unsolicited advice for picking them you should try to avoid uprooting the base that’s below the dirt; if you leave that in they’re more likely to propagate back up. Also, when you pick them, blow into the base to cause the spores to spread around; that also helps them regrow there. They are porous so they catch wind and spread spores
Took a class on mushrooms forever ago. Most of the mushroom fungus are root like runs that cover large areas eating up decomposing matter. The mushroom part we are familiar with is the "flower" or sexual organ that creates spores for reproduction.
I wouldn't call myself a morel hunter, but I come across one or two once in awhile. Since I don't usually find enough to do a sizable fry, my favorite way to do them is in an omelet. I saute them in a little butter, and fold them in "French" style. A lovely way to start the day for sure.
When my sons were young, we'd visit family in southern Indiana. We'd forage for morels. They were WONDERFUL. Some years were better than others, but we adored them. Thank you for bringing back memories. My family has passed on, and we haven't been back to Indiana for years. I miss those days.
I wouldn't be surprised if there was a secret room in Jon's house. Inside is a golden shrine depicting a morel, three feet tall. The walls are lined with pictures of every morel he has ever eaten with dates, all individually named. Morel-scented incense burns in a morel-shaped holder atop a morel-shaped table. It is never allowed to stop burning as it is always replaced before it goes out. The gentle sounds of the forest in spring play in high definition on repeat through morel-shaped speakers. By the entrance, his special morel-hunting stick leans against the wall by his morel-hunting basket where his morel-hunting clothes reside when not in use.
That calls for some bread toasted with butter in the fond left by the mushrooms, and then just stack it on the toast - also a fine glass of red wine, heaven.
I love how you snip the stipe, leaving all roots in the ground, to help regrowth. Bring a knife if you are picking mushrooms that aren't as easy to snip with your fingers. Well ... I always recommend bringing a knife to the woods.
I adore mushrooms in brown sauce with rice. This is the only exception to your version in my mind. Wouldn't do a morel this way, though. Never had one, but anything more than salt, pepper, and butter would ruin a treasure!
I prefer chives over garlic, but to each their own allium. However: If you don't have enough mushrooms to be the entire meal and need a side - bread based dumplings are popular with mushrooms where I live - a dash of white wine and/or cream to create a sauce can greatly enhance the meal. When there's a sauce the dumplings get infused with the mushroom flavour, which - in my opinion at least - is a much better experience than having mushrooms on one side of the plate and a dumpling on the other.
My dad is from the Dalmatia region in Croatia and his family has been hunting morels for generations.The locals there fry them with scrambled eggs and season with a little salt and pepper.
This is such a great video, I spent all last late summer/early autumn, taking a woodland walk to work, picking birch boletes, puffball and parasol mushroom, such a great activity, highly recommended with 100% caution.
Grew up in Indiana, some of my fondest memories are coming out of the woods with my pops with bags full, we would take them home and my mom would whip em up. Core memories, live in Michigan now and i cannot seem to do as well, i'm also nowhere near the mushroom hunter my pops was.
Interesting thing about the different varieties; all cap and stem mushrooms do this. Imagine it like a fruit tree. Under the ground there is a network of thin filaments, like mushroom roots, called mycelium. The mycelium grows from spores weeks before the actual fruiting begins. Once the season is right and the rains come, the root will sprout its fruit. The fruit will appear differently depending on the conditions. So, early in the season, the roots put out the best fruit they can at that time; the spike variety. Those get picked, eaten, die, and are gone. The roots put out fruit continuously, but halfway through the season the conditions are different, so the fruit will be different. Ditto late season, and that's why you have the different mushrooms coming up at different times from the same spots.
Oh my, never saw you so passionate before! Funny thing is, I walked by my garden this morning and saw several morels which I have never seen before, then came in and saw your video! I'm heading back out to pick them now.
A friend here in Oregon who grows organic cherries was frustrated by a fungal infection in his orchard. He mowed it for years. Long story short, they were true morels. He burnt his prunings in windrows between the trees, yielding hundreds of pounds per acre of organic morels. He made more from mushrooms by far than from cherries.
When the problems in the world are overwhelming and i see myself becoming what i dont like things like this remind me to be humble and appreciate the simple things in life
So incredibly jealous of The morels!! As a kid here in Tennessee- we’d hunt them and get massive amounts each year and my favourite way of cooking was fried. I had NO idea till I became an adult that these were expensive mushrooms 😂 We enjoyed them as seasonal treat much like we did poke salad or creek greens in bacon grease & vinegar we called a salad. (water cress as I now know) Gosh you made me 🥰 when you said there’s no other way to cook them but fried!!! I will say maybe now that I’m an adult- I’d go for a freshly grated horseradish with mayo for about every 5th bite just to go zinnnnng! The texture of a morel is also just *chefs 😘 kiss*
Cooking morel mushrooms in a bit of white wine (and a schalot if available) is also absolutely delicious. They just have such stringent environment requirements though. Usually you just luck into a zone where they grow and that's your go to zone for years
If you can get them, try ramp(like mild wild shallots) and fiddleheads(taste like mild asparagus) with it, They're actually called "The spring trinity" in a lot of places.
As a Hoosier in Elkhart County, I was about to be very disappointed in you if you didn't act absolutely obsessed with morels! The mushroom hunting culture here in northern Indiana is hardcore 😂
I’m a fellow Hoosier and a neighbor gave me a bag full just a couple weeks ago. Cleaned them with salt water and a little apple cider vinegar. Fried them up with olive oil and added some more salt. It was delicious. No flavor quite like it.
Funny story I was fertilizing baugh trees for Christmas wreaths(I'd love to see a traditional wreath video). A black bear ate some fertilizer got diarrhea and then months later everywhere it had diarrhea... Morels grew.
This is the first year I've hunted Morels in Indiana and I hit the jackpot in northern Indiana mid-April. We enjoyed them fried, in frittatas, and in risottos. The taste is unique. Nutty and earthy is the best way to describe it. You have to cook them do not eat them raw or you can get sick.
Working at the Cataroque Cemetary in Kingston Ontario Morel's used to grow in are wood Mulch piles as we use only untreated natural wood chip mulch they where a presious thing saved as a treat for the Grave digger crew we would very gently fry them in garlic an butter
Townsends the Cemetary I mentioned also Dates to the 1600 as the first graves we found their where dated to the 1600 Quaker's they had copper pennies still over their eyes an their eyes where preserve from the copper oxide
Both sets of my grandparents prepared morels by 1st parboiling them, then draining them; then cooking them lightly in cream with a wee bit of chopped dill weed. They were both from Ukraine.
That is how the Finns prepare the false morel, the poisonous ones. Apparently you can eat them if you boil and change the water, but the American ones are a bit stronger so it is better to boil them twice.
@@Warhammered frying them that way most certainly isn't bland. Boiling them would destroy the flavor and adding dill would cover it up lol. These mushrooms have a beautiful subtle flavor that can be easily lost in the mix. As stated above, that is the way Europeans would prepare the false verpa mushrooms.
One of my grandpa's close friends was a great mushroom hunter. Me and my grandpa when into Wal-Mart once and he stayed in the car and 10 minutes later we came out and he had this Wal-Mart sack ful of them. He was just like, well i saw this dogwood and just went over there, and there they were.
So I don't like mushrooms, but you've convinced me to try this recipe 😂 Your energy and enthusiasm for morels is just too dang contagious. Plus I think it's good for me to give mushrooms another chance. Since recently I've discovered that the reason I haven't liked certain ingredients is simply because I haven't had them prepared the right way.
In my experience, people who say they don't like mushrooms have only ever tried one kind of mushroom. It's like saying you don't like vegetables because you tried cabbage once. Every type of mushroom has its own flavor and texture. Morels are nothing like portobellos.
My grandparents are from Indiana. They used to tell me about these when I was a little kid and I’ve always wanted to try them. This definitely makes me wanna make a trip next season!
It brings me joy to see someone enjoy their ancestors cooking as much as me. We have many antique dishes in our family which must be cooked the same way they were centuries ago.
In all my years living in North Carolina I don't recall ever seeing these mushrooms but of course, I never was looking for them or heard of them until recently. I went on line and found a Morel Mushroom Kit, found a good patch of woods and sowed the spores. Keeping my fingers crossed! Thanks Jon!
They need two years at least, and like certain trees. Where I'm from its elms, apples, and sometimes poplars. Also, you need A LOT of spores, and the right temperature and moisture content. Many, many and many have tried, but very few have has success farming them. I personally think those kits are a con, but i hope you prove me wrong. There are people on yt that seemed to have had success. Best of luck to you.
Wow, here in Ukraine we`ve had morel season just 2 or 3 weeks ago, depending on region. For me - its cool to see that not just button mushrooms connect different continents in cooking :)
Born & raised in Washington, and I used to go mushroom hunting every year with my grandma and uncle Dean! My older sisters and I would bounce around in the back of his truck up to the woods to go searching for these mushrooms! After a few hours and hopefully a couple full bags, we would go home and my grandma fried them up just like you did here! They truly do taste like heaven 💕 Even back then when I disliked mushrooms in general (luckily something I've outgrown), I lived for these tasty morsels! She would even stop by the side of the road every time she saw the right trees during their season just to check, lol. I look back so fondly on these memories, so thank you for sharing your love, and your wife's family's traditions! Your channel is always a delight to visit. I learn something new and fascinating every video while getting inspired to explore cooking more 🩷
I’m so glad you’re getting into foraging! I’ve been doing it since I was in England when I was a kid!! Wait until you try chicken or the woods and oyster mushrooms! There are the ‘foolproof four’ : morels, puffballs, chicken of the woods and chanterelle. Super easy to identify and usually NO look alikes.
Books aren't the only way of getting 18th century (and earlier) recipes, word-of-mouth can also pass down knowledge through the generations. I feel privileged to have received this Townsends family morel masterclass!
my family was in Rochester Minnesota around 8 years ago. we were on a lakeside walk when my mother found a morel mushroom about 6" tall and 3" wide. looked like it weighed 1 pound... long story short she identified it as edible she fried it up and it fed all 6 of us. best mushroom ive ever tasted, only seasoning was a dash of salt and pepper. 👍🍄
Can confirm, they are found in Sweden too! These morels you have are considered the true morel, and I’m used to another closely related mushroom we call ‘stone morel’. Actually highly poisonous but if boiled several times, most of the poison is gone. My mom would serve us these whenever she could!
I once heard this little story: You're at home, and grab an orange from the fridge. A plant specialist runs in and says "STOP THAT'S NOT AN ORANGE. IT'S POISON!". But you know it's an orange and eat it anyway. THAT'S how sure you need to be before you go foraging for food.
Kinda true, I have done tons of foraging. And when you are introduced to new plant / species risk of mistakes is highest. I have almost gotten poisoned 3 times because that. 1 or 2 Times makes you careful.
only time i got sick from foraging is eating my fill of beefsteak mushrooms once you get sick off them dont try to eat them again is the best advice you will ever get
Found some of these in my yard today in a mulch pile from a maple that was cut down last year. I've never had them before. I have to say, I'm impressed for sure. Wish I had more for dinner tomorrow.
Being from southern Indiana I share your enthusiasm for the Morel Mushroom. Simple salt and peppered flour fry, they are so fragile. I loved them as a side for "Fiddlers" ( Whole corn breaded 10" to 14" catfish) best combo ever while camping.
I'm surprised it took years for you to make a video about these when you're obviously so passionate about them. Great video. I'd like to go morel hunting someday.
It’s probably because he kept eating them all before they could set the filming equipment up! 😋 Like one of those jerk passengers in your car, that blindly digs into the bag and indiscriminately eats handfuls of tasty fries, from any of the fry boxes-while you have to drive and focus on the road!! _(I’m TOTALLY not salty about the french fry thing though......)_ 😆❤️
Your recipe is the closest to the one my family has used for over 100 years and I have watched 100s of videos on several different types of shrooms and recipes. At last someone else agrees this is the best way to keep the morel flavor intact, not combining it with a stronger flavored herb, seasoning etc. That takes its own flavor away . Thank you.
My dad's family's cabin is in Oregon. There's morels all over the mountain, but everybody and their dog knows that, so they're kind of hard to get. We mostly have the grays. They're so good with just some butter, salt, and pepper!
6:30 The mushrooms are different because of the mycelium that is fruiting the mushrooms. As the mycelium network in the ground starts to run out of nutrients from the area it has colonized, it produces the spore-releasing bodies that we know as mushrooms in order to find more nutrients. The mycelium puts all the nutrients it has stored into these fruits, and can do it multiple times over the course of time. As the mycelium runs lower and lower on nutrients it will produce different mushrooms, often larger and less of them. This is why you find different varieties of the same mushroom as time goes on; unfortunately Morel mushrooms are not unique in this respect!
Yes! What we call mushrooms are actually the reproductive organs of fungus. The organism is out of sight, beneath the earth/plants. It sends up these organs to fertilize and spore.
@@truthreigns3465 In the case of mushrooms it sometimes goes a little differently. You die and the people who saw what you ate learn from the experience
I learned that during Medieval times entire families would be found dead in their home due to them accidentally eating poisonous mushrooms during a meal.
@@riproar11 And the bad thing about mushroom poisoning is that it doesn't just make you drop dead in your sleep. Usually it's paired with agony and multiple organ failure
@@tolga1cool Yes. In 1997 I read a major article how the wine maker billionaire family Sebastiani lost their eldest son Sam. He frequently went mushroom gathering and ate a Death Cap mushroom. He suffered an agonizing death while waiting 7 days for a liver transplant.
I want to recommend soaking any mushrooms in salt water (3 tablespoons of salt per liter of water) for about half an hour. Then rinse them thoroughly. This helps to remove all insects and worms from the mushroom.
@@The_Cat_Authority your ancestors in the 1700s most likely didn’t wash or thoroughly soak most if not all of their produce and they turned out fine. I thoroughly rinse all fruits and vegetables I eat at home but you’re not going to die if you don’t soak or rinse yours at home. Don’t talk down on people as if they’re all stupid when your name is pickle Rick.
@@The_Cat_Authority you know good and well that your name is a pickle Rick reference. The life expectancy was so low for many bigger and more serious reasons.
I know this video has been out for a while, but I HAD to comment on this subject. I grew up in Central Missouri, and our whole neighborhood would go on a yearly big mushroom hunt ( and yes, the word Morel was understood). We would then gather about half a dozen of the electric skillets you mention, and have a group mushroom fry. The Differences - 1) After slicing in half, we would soak the morels in a cold salt bath (sort of a brine). This coaxes out any critters hiding in all the little crevices. If you do this and watch what comes out, you'll never cook them without this step! 2) We mixed the salt and pepper into the flour (more pepper than salt), and mixed this in a plastic bag with the mushrooms - like Shake & Bake. If plastic is too new world for you, you can use a paper sack. 3) We didn't use butter, but a slightly deeper amount of vegetable oil (but not deep fry!). All of this was to make sure the very irregular surface of the morel was completely and evenly coated and cooked. Food of the gods that I remember to today!
He wasn't joking about the right clothes and a mushroom stick. For some ventures in life you need to fully respect the local spirits or you flat out won't get results. But if you do...
Me: "Man, Jon talks about morels the way he talks about nutmeg." Jon: "If there's one dish that doesn't need nutmeg, it's this one!" Me: :surprised pikachu:
Morels can actually be cultivated now, though it is somewhat harder than more common types, and _often_ takes 3-5 _years_ to actually show results. Mix your spawn slurry with the wood of elm, oak, or ash (preferably sawdust, shavings, and/or chips, for faster development; apple can also work, and likely other broad-leaf species as well, but the set of oak, elm, and apple should be fairly easily available; supposedly they can grow on grain, but it sounds a smidge adventurous), possibly with some additives of molasses (supposedly provides energy for faster growth), salt (to reduce bacterial growth), sand (for better drainage- standing water causes problems), wood ash and maybe charcoal (they seem to like post-fire zones, and presumably benefit from the nutrients; charcoal can act as a moisture stabilizer, but I haven't actually heard of it being used), and gypsum (calcium sulfate supposedly helps increase cap size; the mentions I've seen specified peat moss at the same time). The temperature should preferably top out around 60-70 fahrenheit, and despite the need for good drainage the growing medium needs to be kept moist. Do not use tap water, as the chlorine (and possibly other chemicals) can be harmful to the fungus, and even prevent it from growing at all. Shade is preferable. Remember: it can take the mycellium (roots) _3 to 5 years_ to set enough that it starts sending up mushrooms, so be patient.
When I lived in Indiana the north west area my parents in the summer would pick these weeds called gardoons or something and they would pick them up and fry them exactly like this and it was a tasty treat in the summer my mom said that her grandmother used to eat them in the depression and that's why they eat them as a summer snack because my mom did
I was picking morels once on some other guy's "turf." (he had no rights to the actual location) He flashed a gun. Morel hunters are wacky serious sometimes.
@@diogeneslantern18 well some people are just crazy assholes. But they are good, and rare. They take time, dedication, know how, and positivity to catch. Yes, i said catch.
spending most of my childhood living in Vigo and parke county, Indiana. Mushroom hunting was always very enjoyable, and I relate this video so damn much !
Literally have a morel tattoo. These mushrooms were worshipped in my household growing up. Every april we would get up at 5am and find every honeyhole in the tricounty area.
The wicker basket is a nice touch too. For everyone looking to pick mushrooms, go for a container with holes. that way the spores spread as you walk, hopefully sowing more mushrooms next year.
THANK YOU! If we don't use a vessel with some holes in it we cant re-populate the mushroom, the earth's best natural decomposer !
we always used the weaved onion bags that way you know spores are dropping on the ground
That and it just looks cool.
Good idea!
@@sirius1100 you leave 99% in the ground, picking them only stops the spores for that season in that place, doesn't kill anything.
When overcoming the vice of Nutmeg indulgence, A good man sticks to his Morels.
What a great comment! Funny, punny and so appreciated : )
In the video we can see him contemplating about whether or not he should add nutmeg, and then clearly realizing that there's not mushroom for it in his recipe.
Ha!
@@kitcutting fantastic
Love a bad pun or joke. Well done!
I don't think I've ever seen John this enthusiastic about any food
Certainly not with Egg Coffee
Mushrooms are special.
They are really, really good. I've only had them once, it was 6 years ago when I was in college and I found them growing by my dorm, and I still remember them today.
We got them in my country but some are deadly so I don't know if I dare to taste them.
Nutmeg!
Morels are sinfully delicious, the “bottled woods” comment is spot on. They’re so savory and earthy
Im from India & this mushroom is one the expensive ones if bought at the market, we call them 'Gucchi". They are widely grown around the states close to the upper Himalayan region during the monsoon season. My mom makes an amazing curry dish with these & a wicked chilli fry too. It was a pleasure to hear Jon talk about these mushrooms with so much enthusiasm.
No one cares about India lmao
Morel mushrooms can not he cultivated or farmed, that's why they're so expensive. You have to pick them wild.
@@PRLOutdoors this is correct
they are absolutely amazing mushrooms - by far my favorites
@@PRLOutdoorssomeone's not up to date on their morel knowledge. Things change brother.
You know he was serious about those mushrooms when he didn’t add nutmeg to them.
This is what I was asking myself -"Where is the nutmeg"
This is the best comment I've seen yet. I don't need to look further. In fact, I refuse. GG
When I read your comment, I couldn't help but think of Chef John from Food Wishes & his use of cayenne in absolutely everything.
lmao.
@@karlynn7719 I'll have to check him out. I use cayenne in just about everything too. Lol
Thats the kind of enthusiasm, that i picture when Tolkien discribes the hunger for mushrooms, Hobbits have.
I thought John was a Hobbit???
I was thinking exactly the same thing! :-D
You, dont have, to add so much, unnecessary, commas.
@@turningred2019
Actually, he could have added one more.
@@turningred2019 someone get this man back to English class
I remember searching for morels with my dad when I was a kid. He was fanatical about them and we would spend hours searching, but it was well worth it. I miss the old man, he taught me a lot.
Pass these precious memories to your sons or grandsons, keep these knowledgement alive for the next generations, and take a new trip to these places with them
Whether you know it or not you’ll have a big impact on the next generation. If you have kids, teach them all you know, spend time with them, and impart on them the kind of wisdom and knowledge that only a parent could know
My 3 year old son decided not to take a nap today and, instead, watched this video with me. He was so enamored by the mushrooms, Jon, and the outdoor cooking that he has insisted on watching it several more times. Now he wants me to find all of the videos of you cooking outside. I must say, I’m a proud mama. Thanks for the awesome (and family friendly) videos!
That is such a cute story! ☺️ Much love to your son 😘
I watch this channel with my 4 year old!
I’m genuinely sad because I have no child (yet) to share the magic of these videos with! I just proposed about 20 minutes ago (she said yes!!) so it’ll be another 10 or so years till we have kids that are mushroom hunting aged! Still, these videos calm my soul and warm my heart. I hope this channel is still active when we have little ones of our own!
@@NLBusiness391 woah congrats man!! I hope you have an amazing marriages
@@NLBusiness391 congratulations!! Did I miss the wedding?
I have so many fond memories of morel mushrooms. My dad always used to take my little brother and I out and hunt for them in Indiana, even in his final days with cancer. We actually put a wooden morel mushroom carving in his coffin they were that important to the family. It's something I still do now at 30 years old, and when my son is old enough I plan on doing the same for him. It's such a fantastic way of learning about the forest and the importance of conservation. If you live in an area where morels, heck even other edible mushroom varieties are common, I definitely suggest going out at least once! Just be careful not to get on anyone's land, some people get a bit flustered about you stealing their gold haha.
Awesome story,I wanna try these mushrooms,also make sure your son carries on the hunt for those morel mushrooms,again nice story. 👌
One of my most cherished memories growing up was hunting morel mushrooms with my mother. We had a small forest near our house we would hunt at as a family. The taste of morels is like bottling up my childhood. Purely magical.
Gorgeous memories
Same. Mushroom hunting with my extended family as a child was one of the best times.
Gold
Me too. It's really one of the most precious childhood memories of mine. I dedicate a lot of time every year during morel month.
Sounds like you had a good childhood
My great-grandmother absolutely LOVED these things. I was only around 5-6 when she died, but I still remember going around and hunting for these for her with my grandparents and great-grandfather when she was really sick.
That was a really cute story.
I grew up in Indiana; Jon’s enthusiasm for morels is totally par for the course in the Midwest, at least among morel hunters. He’s dead on about the various superstitions/traditions/etc that folks have when picking.
Frying in butter is an absolute must though. That’s not a superstition. It’s mandatory.
Even more than for. Nutmeg.
Oh my.
Or bacon grease.
@@bcaye i am wifh you on that.
He has a northern/central indiana accent but looks like he’s in southern indiana.
@@akrites The brick & mortar shop is in Pierceton, north-west of Fort Wayne, so pretty far in the north of the state.
Some of my earliest memories are hunting for Morels with my father. He would clean and cook them that evening and the kitchen would smell like heaven.
Wow such a cool memory. I wish my father did stuff like this with me when I was younger.
My family has hunted these for generations. The salt bath removes bugs living in the mushrooms. Do it for minimum 20 to 30 minutes. You'll be surprised!
But the bugs adds extra protein!
Thanks for the tip!
100% agree, very effective. The myth that you can't wash or soak mushrooms is totally false in my experience, for the vast majority of cooking methods, especially soup!
I prefer them with the bugs
You don't need salt.. just ice water
All the morels in my usual spots were stunted here by the cold weather in lower Michigan. It's too bad, it was going to be a great year for them before a few freezes hit between the 80 degree days.
I also didn't get the right amount of moisture and heat in my area for a good morel year. That makes me a sad panda.
Same in WI. Over a month of great weather and rainfall prep'd the morel season to be a boom.
At least if it keeps up the hen/chantrelle/chicken season should be great.
@@djdrack4681 None here either. Total bummer. Detroit Metro.
The same happend ther i live. In the midle of Sweden. Ether ther were freez or they got to much rain. 😔
Better luck next year i hope.
/J
@@phantomreaver85
You lucky bast..ed..! 😁😂👍
6:30 Morels are actually an entire genus. The different varieties of morels that Jon's seeing are different species.
That's intense. Are you a scientist or something?
@@goulash8528 that was a long time ago. Gave up on that. I'm more of a "Cliff Clavin" now :p
@@OptimusWombat I just picked 40 black morels this am.👍👌
Oh that's cool. Makes sense!
@Black Pilled Son Returns OK, so what? The fact that you're watching a video on picking wild mushrooms hosted by a guy who's an 18th Century historical re-enactor says that you're a nerd as well.
this is the most wholesome show i've ever watched.
Definitely got me through most of the hard times of last year
Ah yes!
The world - surviving a pandemic
The forests - full of morels
The pan - over an open fire
Oh yeah, *it's mushroom time.*
An oasis of calm in a world gone mad.
Youve obviously never watched any of my home movies, have you?
I discovered these “Townsends” videos about a month ago (from the date of this comment 20th November 2021 - yes I’m a Brit).
Each video is so very interesting and well produced.
I did notice the mention of not using nutmeg, I was wondering if the mention of nutmeg would occur.
In this video and others Jon refers to other countries and areas where the same ingredients, such as the Morel mushrooms, are also found and how recipes have been adopted and possible adaptions. I like Jon’s comment about the use of only the best when frying and using Kerrygold Butter, there is a little bit of Irish blood in me so 👍 on that Jon.
I’m very glad that such good channels such as this are on TH-cam and not on TV and here is why:
My Television set broke nearly 4 years ago, although I replaced a few parts it still wouldn’t work, although there were a few programmes that I initially missed, I soon discovered a lot of interesting videos on TH-cam.
The Tv is still broken so I save the cost of the annual TV licence (now UK £159) to watch or record ANY programme, from ANY source (terrestrial, cable, satellite or internet) on ANY device (phone, tablet or PC) as it being broadcast at that time by ANY television broadcaster in and from ANY country. The UK TV license solely funds the BBC!
TH-cam channels, with exceptions were “live” tv is being shown, such as this one are ok .
I’m still finding more of Townsend videos so I’m happy, keep up the good work.
Best wishes to All from Oxfordshire UK.
You can tell how passionate Jon is about this dish from the way he talks about it. Never seen him put such emphasis nor criticize the older recipes as sacrilegious. Got me hyped up for these mushrooms lol
I love how hes so passionate about the mushrooms
They are so wonderful!!! Indiana has a lot of land where they can be found so we have a very high opinion of them :)
Hell be using them in his mushroom ketchup lol
If you have ever had them you would understand
A bit of hobbit ancestry I bet.
I think it's a Hoosier thing. Here in Indiana, we don't have a lot going on. But catch us during mushroom hunting season, and we become VERY passionate about morels. 😅
Northern Michigander here... John is absolutely spot on about how rare and delicious these little forest gems are. If you're thinking to yourself, "surely he's exaggerating," I can assure you, no, he is not, and he cooked them as one should - a hot pan and good butter with a bit of flour and salt and pepper. That's all you need.
Minus the flour lol
When I lived in Michigan a friend had land where Morels grew in abundance. Morels with some grated onion (grated, not diced) in broth gravy is a gastronomic delight. I have served Morels in beef broth gravy over wild rice (which is really a grass seed) and I received many compliments. Great video (as always). 👍😋
That sounds delicious, congrats.
What does the grating do vs dicing?
@@jangtheconqueror makes it smaller, duh
They’re called “Dry land fish” around here. It’s interesting that you’ll usually find a big bagful of morels when you hunt for them, and all it takes is some flour, salt and butter to make a very good meal for a family. Add in some wild greens in a salad and you definitely won’t go hungry
Ohhh. That makes sense because of the way they look. Like little fish filets
I love mushrooms, and I love fresh fish, like in I caught it 3 hours earlier. Interesting you mention dry land fish. That's probably a good description of these even though I've never had them. Truly fresh fish has a distinct sweet flavor that is not experienced unless you caught it earlier that day. I imagine that's what these mushrooms umpff factor is.
Since my teens, I have always loved a bowl of mushrooms and onions with a creamery butter, a slice of homemade bread and considered myself 'well-fed.' Knowing we had access to meat and fish of all varieties, it is now my comfort food during the Fall/Winter. Alas, it is tricky to hunt fresh non-poisonous mushrooms, and men/women need protein and other vitamins/minerals, so I now consider it a special treat, and a highly appreciated 'share of knowledge' to younger generations here in America. Thank you for the upload!
My god, I just found and cooked these things for the first time 2 days ago! This would have been so helpful!
Thanks for the vid, guys.
Use dwarven engineering to commercially farm them :D
@@ABlueOrb 😂😂
Nice to see you here
Holy, crap! Do all my subscriptions know each other? Am I about to find Karykh in here next?
@@patriciusvunkempen102 You should; I know other countries around you sell them internationally as well as locally. You guys have SO many mushrooms in Germany
A woodland poem to the love between a man and a mushroom. Beautiful camera work, delicious fungus, and the kind of whether that makes me want to eat in front of a fire. Maybe your most heartfelt work. Great job!
Morels are delicious, I usually pan fry them with a little bit of olive oil until they’re crispy and then add salt and pepper.
Also if you’d like a bit of unsolicited advice for picking them you should try to avoid uprooting the base that’s below the dirt; if you leave that in they’re more likely to propagate back up. Also, when you pick them, blow into the base to cause the spores to spread around; that also helps them regrow there. They are porous so they catch wind and spread spores
Took a class on mushrooms forever ago. Most of the mushroom fungus are root like runs that cover large areas eating up decomposing matter. The mushroom part we are familiar with is the "flower" or sexual organ that creates spores for reproduction.
I wouldn't call myself a morel hunter, but I come across one or two once in awhile. Since I don't usually find enough to do a sizable fry, my favorite way to do them is in an omelet. I saute them in a little butter, and fold them in "French" style. A lovely way to start the day for sure.
When my sons were young, we'd visit family in southern Indiana. We'd forage for morels. They were WONDERFUL. Some years were better than others, but we adored them. Thank you for bringing back memories. My family has passed on, and we haven't been back to Indiana for years. I miss those days.
I wouldn't be surprised if there was a secret room in Jon's house. Inside is a golden shrine depicting a morel, three feet tall. The walls are lined with pictures of every morel he has ever eaten with dates, all individually named. Morel-scented incense burns in a morel-shaped holder atop a morel-shaped table. It is never allowed to stop burning as it is always replaced before it goes out. The gentle sounds of the forest in spring play in high definition on repeat through morel-shaped speakers. By the entrance, his special morel-hunting stick leans against the wall by his morel-hunting basket where his morel-hunting clothes reside when not in use.
Shhhhh. Every real Hoosier has a morel shrine in their home.
You don't have a morel shrine? Weird...
Do you not have food shrines in your house? I’ve got two rooms for Doritos at my place
Since Indians worship cows this is far more probable than you'd think.
The only way the morel will reveal itself is if you praise the god of morels with a morel room
When hunting wild mushrooms, remember to doust a little mushroom ketchup on your clothes to kill the scent.
I usually try to play the wind personally. I hate it when they wind me and start blowing
I find the MaryJane line of cologne to be the perfect cover scent.
That calls for some bread toasted with butter in the fond left by the mushrooms, and then just stack it on the toast - also a fine glass of red wine, heaven.
I love how you snip the stipe, leaving all roots in the ground, to help regrowth.
Bring a knife if you are picking mushrooms that aren't as easy to snip with your fingers. Well ... I always recommend bringing a knife to the woods.
Mushrooms are wonderful. Butter, salt, and pepper, that's all you need. Maybe a little bit of fresh garlic.
Salt, pepper, butter and a few small onion pieces.
I adore mushrooms in brown sauce with rice. This is the only exception to your version in my mind.
Wouldn't do a morel this way, though. Never had one, but anything more than salt, pepper, and butter would ruin a treasure!
I prefer chives over garlic, but to each their own allium.
However: If you don't have enough mushrooms to be the entire meal and need a side - bread based dumplings are popular with mushrooms where I live - a dash of white wine and/or cream to create a sauce can greatly enhance the meal. When there's a sauce the dumplings get infused with the mushroom flavour, which - in my opinion at least - is a much better experience than having mushrooms on one side of the plate and a dumpling on the other.
Throw in some green onions and parsley to make your taste buds sing
@@trashcatlinol by brown sauce, do you mean HP sauce or something different? I have some HP sauce and don’t really know what to do with it.
My dad is from the Dalmatia region in Croatia and his family has been hunting morels for generations.The locals there fry them with scrambled eggs and season with a little salt and pepper.
These are seriously some of the most amazing looking morels I've ever seen. Those big golden caps are gorgeous!
This is such a great video, I spent all last late summer/early autumn, taking a woodland walk to work, picking birch boletes, puffball and parasol mushroom, such a great activity, highly recommended with 100% caution.
Its that time again! Greetings from the ozark mountains! Arkansas side!
Jon made cooking and eating Morels a religious experience. I almost fainted when he said nutmeg wasn’t needed. 😂😂
I grew up near the Mississippi River, and morels were a huge family event every year.
John, this video speaks to my soul.
Grew up in Indiana, some of my fondest memories are coming out of the woods with my pops with bags full, we would take them home and my mom would whip em up. Core memories, live in Michigan now and i cannot seem to do as well, i'm also nowhere near the mushroom hunter my pops was.
Interesting thing about the different varieties; all cap and stem mushrooms do this. Imagine it like a fruit tree. Under the ground there is a network of thin filaments, like mushroom roots, called mycelium. The mycelium grows from spores weeks before the actual fruiting begins. Once the season is right and the rains come, the root will sprout its fruit. The fruit will appear differently depending on the conditions. So, early in the season, the roots put out the best fruit they can at that time; the spike variety. Those get picked, eaten, die, and are gone. The roots put out fruit continuously, but halfway through the season the conditions are different, so the fruit will be different. Ditto late season, and that's why you have the different mushrooms coming up at different times from the same spots.
Found a patch of them near the ninth hole of a golf course I frequent! Four years of searching and a stray golf shot reveals them.....
"this doesn't need nutmeg"
Holy moly that must be magical stuff!
Oh my, never saw you so passionate before! Funny thing is, I walked by my garden this morning and saw several morels which I have never seen before, then came in and saw your video! I'm heading back out to pick them now.
A friend here in Oregon who grows organic cherries was frustrated by a fungal infection in his orchard. He mowed it for years.
Long story short, they were true morels.
He burnt his prunings in windrows between the trees, yielding hundreds of pounds per acre of organic morels.
He made more from mushrooms by far than from cherries.
Lol
That’s awesome :) I bet all that mowing spread the spores and led to a much bigger crop :)
I can't believe they mowed over them... smh
When the problems in the world are overwhelming and i see myself becoming what i dont like things like this remind me to be humble and appreciate the simple things in life
He's almost as passionate about mushrooms as a Hobbit would be. Looks good. 🍄🍄🍄
So I am not the only one who Noticed that as well?
@@worldtraveler930 I kept watching for some greedy young Hobbit to sneak in from the woods and grab a 'shroom or two...
Jon Townsend absolutely is a Hobbit
our local farmers market starts this weekend, one of the regulars is the local head of the myconologists in eastern pa. i'll see if he has morels
You'll be seeing hobbits if you eat the wrong ones...
*Townsends taking a walk through the forest during spring*
Morels chuckle : "I'm in danger..."
Mushroom: looks like a brain on a stick
Townsends: LOOK HOW BEAUTIFUL IT IS
Love them too tho :D
They are so creepy ugly I said same thing until I ate them after a day of hunting. I'm no mushroom fan but these were very tasty on their own...
Wait, the mushroom said "looks like a brain on a stick"? I'm confused...
So incredibly jealous of The morels!! As a kid here in Tennessee- we’d hunt them and get massive amounts each year and my favourite way of cooking was fried. I had NO idea till I became an adult that these were expensive mushrooms 😂
We enjoyed them as seasonal treat much like we did poke salad or creek greens in bacon grease & vinegar we called a salad. (water cress as I now know)
Gosh you made me 🥰 when you said there’s no other way to cook them but fried!!!
I will say maybe now that I’m an adult- I’d go for a freshly grated horseradish with mayo for about every 5th bite just to go zinnnnng!
The texture of a morel is also just *chefs 😘 kiss*
Cooking morel mushrooms in a bit of white wine (and a schalot if available) is also absolutely delicious. They just have such stringent environment requirements though. Usually you just luck into a zone where they grow and that's your go to zone for years
If you can get them, try ramp(like mild wild shallots) and fiddleheads(taste like mild asparagus) with it,
They're actually called "The spring trinity" in a lot of places.
As an Indiana native theres nothing better in this state than morels! I dont even flour them lmao. Awesome video!
i use a flour mixture i dont like minature morels lol
Nor do i. Salt, pepper, and cayenne. Flour ruins it imo. I do however, cook them with scrambled eggs sometimes. I can hear the gasps already, lol.
As a Hoosier in Elkhart County, I was about to be very disappointed in you if you didn't act absolutely obsessed with morels! The mushroom hunting culture here in northern Indiana is hardcore 😂
I’m a fellow Hoosier and a neighbor gave me a bag full just a couple weeks ago. Cleaned them with salt water and a little apple cider vinegar. Fried them up with olive oil and added some more salt. It was delicious. No flavor quite like it.
Funny story I was fertilizing baugh trees for Christmas wreaths(I'd love to see a traditional wreath video). A black bear ate some fertilizer got diarrhea and then months later everywhere it had diarrhea... Morels grew.
This is the first year I've hunted Morels in Indiana and I hit the jackpot in northern Indiana mid-April. We enjoyed them fried, in frittatas, and in risottos. The taste is unique. Nutty and earthy is the best way to describe it. You have to cook them do not eat them raw or you can get sick.
Working at the Cataroque Cemetary in Kingston Ontario Morel's used to grow in are wood Mulch piles as we use only untreated natural wood chip mulch they where a presious thing saved as a treat for the Grave digger crew we would very gently fry them in garlic an butter
we used wild Garlic that are Grave diggers found you could also find Fiddle Heads in the Cemetary
Townsends the Cemetary I mentioned also Dates to the 1600 as the first graves we found their where dated to the 1600 Quaker's they had copper pennies still over their eyes an their eyes where preserve from the copper oxide
its also the same place the Sir John A MacDonald is buried
Both sets of my grandparents prepared morels by 1st parboiling them, then draining them; then cooking them lightly in cream with a wee bit of chopped dill weed. They were both from Ukraine.
You can never go wrong with a good old Ukrainian recipe!
Now that sounds better than bland frying.
That is how the Finns prepare the false morel, the poisonous ones. Apparently you can eat them if you boil and change the water, but the American ones are a bit stronger so it is better to boil them twice.
@@Warhammered frying them that way most certainly isn't bland. Boiling them would destroy the flavor and adding dill would cover it up lol. These mushrooms have a beautiful subtle flavor that can be easily lost in the mix. As stated above, that is the way Europeans would prepare the false verpa mushrooms.
@@Warhammered my name is the Portuguese version of yours lol
One of my grandpa's close friends was a great mushroom hunter. Me and my grandpa when into Wal-Mart once and he stayed in the car and 10 minutes later we came out and he had this Wal-Mart sack ful of them. He was just like, well i saw this dogwood and just went over there, and there they were.
So I don't like mushrooms, but you've convinced me to try this recipe 😂 Your energy and enthusiasm for morels is just too dang contagious. Plus I think it's good for me to give mushrooms another chance. Since recently I've discovered that the reason I haven't liked certain ingredients is simply because I haven't had them prepared the right way.
In my experience, people who say they don't like mushrooms have only ever tried one kind of mushroom. It's like saying you don't like vegetables because you tried cabbage once. Every type of mushroom has its own flavor and texture. Morels are nothing like portobellos.
I hope you enjoyed them.
My grandparents are from Indiana. They used to tell me about these when I was a little kid and I’ve always wanted to try them. This definitely makes me wanna make a trip next season!
It brings me joy to see someone enjoy their ancestors cooking as much as me. We have many antique dishes in our family which must be cooked the same way they were centuries ago.
In all my years living in North Carolina I don't recall ever seeing these mushrooms but of course, I never was looking for them or heard of them until recently.
I went on line and found a Morel Mushroom Kit, found a good patch of woods and sowed the spores.
Keeping my fingers crossed!
Thanks Jon!
They need two years at least, and like certain trees. Where I'm from its elms, apples, and sometimes poplars. Also, you need A LOT of spores, and the right temperature and moisture content. Many, many and many have tried, but very few have has success farming them. I personally think those kits are a con, but i hope you prove me wrong. There are people on yt that seemed to have had success. Best of luck to you.
@@pLaIrVaIdNoGx I figured it will take awhile, so I'll give it a few years and keep looking.
Wow, here in Ukraine we`ve had morel season just 2 or 3 weeks ago, depending on region. For me - its cool to see that not just button mushrooms connect different continents in cooking :)
☺🖐
The way he talks about mushrooms with excitement and zeal is exactly how we treat them in Iowa lol.
Born & raised in Washington, and I used to go mushroom hunting every year with my grandma and uncle Dean! My older sisters and I would bounce around in the back of his truck up to the woods to go searching for these mushrooms! After a few hours and hopefully a couple full bags, we would go home and my grandma fried them up just like you did here! They truly do taste like heaven 💕 Even back then when I disliked mushrooms in general (luckily something I've outgrown), I lived for these tasty morsels! She would even stop by the side of the road every time she saw the right trees during their season just to check, lol.
I look back so fondly on these memories, so thank you for sharing your love, and your wife's family's traditions! Your channel is always a delight to visit. I learn something new and fascinating every video while getting inspired to explore cooking more 🩷
"I'm going to be very judicious with this." John, you always have the best choice of words!
I’m so glad you’re getting into foraging! I’ve been doing it since I was in England when I was a kid!! Wait until you try chicken or the woods and oyster mushrooms! There are the ‘foolproof four’ : morels, puffballs, chicken of the woods and chanterelle. Super easy to identify and usually NO look alikes.
Books aren't the only way of getting 18th century (and earlier) recipes, word-of-mouth can also pass down knowledge through the generations. I feel privileged to have received this Townsends family morel masterclass!
my family was in Rochester Minnesota around 8 years ago. we were on a lakeside walk when my mother found a morel mushroom about 6" tall and 3" wide. looked like it weighed 1 pound... long story short she identified it as edible she fried it up and it fed all 6 of us. best mushroom ive ever tasted, only seasoning was a dash of salt and pepper. 👍🍄
Can confirm, they are found in Sweden too! These morels you have are considered the true morel, and I’m used to another closely related mushroom we call ‘stone morel’. Actually highly poisonous but if boiled several times, most of the poison is gone. My mom would serve us these whenever she could!
The perfect crossover of all my weird interests: Mushrooms, history and cooking. *chefkiss* Once in a lifetime I guess.
The power of the algorithm
There's something so very wholesome and fun about watching Jon get so excited and serious about a really particular topic.
I once heard this little story:
You're at home, and grab an orange from the fridge. A plant specialist runs in and says "STOP THAT'S NOT AN ORANGE. IT'S POISON!". But you know it's an orange and eat it anyway.
THAT'S how sure you need to be before you go foraging for food.
Interesting
Kinda true, I have done tons of foraging. And when you are introduced to new plant / species risk of mistakes is highest. I have almost gotten poisoned 3 times because that. 1 or 2 Times makes you careful.
Sounds about right, especially when it comes to mushrooms.
only time i got sick from foraging is eating my fill of beefsteak mushrooms once you get sick off them dont try to eat them again is the best advice you will ever get
@@davidfailing6631 you got lucky. From what i hear, beefsteak mushrooms kill people. I smash them if i see them, just to prevent that from happening.
Found some of these in my yard today in a mulch pile from a maple that was cut down last year. I've never had them before. I have to say, I'm impressed for sure. Wish I had more for dinner tomorrow.
There is something so wholesome about your channel! Thank you for your theraputic and fascinating productions :)
Being from southern Indiana I share your enthusiasm for the Morel Mushroom. Simple salt and peppered flour fry, they are so fragile. I loved them as a side for "Fiddlers" ( Whole corn breaded 10" to 14" catfish) best combo ever while camping.
I'm surprised it took years for you to make a video about these when you're obviously so passionate about them. Great video. I'd like to go morel hunting someday.
It’s probably because he kept eating them all before they could set the filming equipment up! 😋
Like one of those jerk passengers in your car, that blindly digs into the bag and indiscriminately eats handfuls of tasty fries, from any of the fry boxes-while you have to drive and focus on the road!!
_(I’m TOTALLY not salty about the french fry thing though......)_
😆❤️
Your recipe is the closest to the one my family has used for over 100 years and I have watched 100s of videos on several different types of shrooms and recipes. At last someone else agrees this is the best way to keep the morel flavor intact, not combining it with a stronger flavored herb, seasoning etc. That takes its own flavor away . Thank you.
My dad's family's cabin is in Oregon. There's morels all over the mountain, but everybody and their dog knows that, so they're kind of hard to get. We mostly have the grays. They're so good with just some butter, salt, and pepper!
6:30 The mushrooms are different because of the mycelium that is fruiting the mushrooms. As the mycelium network in the ground starts to run out of nutrients from the area it has colonized, it produces the spore-releasing bodies that we know as mushrooms in order to find more nutrients. The mycelium puts all the nutrients it has stored into these fruits, and can do it multiple times over the course of time. As the mycelium runs lower and lower on nutrients it will produce different mushrooms, often larger and less of them. This is why you find different varieties of the same mushroom as time goes on; unfortunately Morel mushrooms are not unique in this respect!
No, they are magical
@@idkidk6745no, I think you’re thinking of the ones I did back at the Greatful Dead show I went to in ‘87 😵💫
Why is that unfortunate?
Neeeeeerd
Yes! What we call mushrooms are actually the reproductive organs of fungus. The organism is out of sight, beneath the earth/plants. It sends up these organs to fertilize and spore.
"Trick somebody"
So Jon - I'm getting the idea that you like morels...
I was trying to imagine how I would go about tricking someone into serving me fried morel mushrooms.
Morel of the story, yes
“Mmm... hm, this tastes differe-“ And that was the last video he ever made.
You learn what is edible just like you learn anything else
@@truthreigns3465 In the case of mushrooms it sometimes goes a little differently. You die and the people who saw what you ate learn from the experience
I learned that during Medieval times entire families would be found dead in their home due to them accidentally eating poisonous mushrooms during a meal.
@@riproar11 And the bad thing about mushroom poisoning is that it doesn't just make you drop dead in your sleep. Usually it's paired with agony and multiple organ failure
@@tolga1cool Yes. In 1997 I read a major article how the wine maker billionaire family Sebastiani lost their eldest son Sam. He frequently went mushroom gathering and ate a Death Cap mushroom. He suffered an agonizing death while waiting 7 days for a liver transplant.
I want to recommend soaking any mushrooms in salt water (3 tablespoons of salt per liter of water) for about half an hour. Then rinse them thoroughly. This helps to remove all insects and worms from the mushroom.
@@The_Cat_Authority your ancestors in the 1700s most likely didn’t wash or thoroughly soak most if not all of their produce and they turned out fine. I thoroughly rinse all fruits and vegetables I eat at home but you’re not going to die if you don’t soak or rinse yours at home. Don’t talk down on people as if they’re all stupid when your name is pickle Rick.
@@The_Cat_Authority you know good and well that your name is a pickle Rick reference. The life expectancy was so low for many bigger and more serious reasons.
@@The_Cat_Authority you guys....lol
Grew up eating morels was nice to see the respect you gave these wonderful shrooms!
I know this video has been out for a while, but I HAD to comment on this subject. I grew up in Central Missouri, and our whole neighborhood would go on a yearly big mushroom hunt ( and yes, the word Morel was understood). We would then gather about half a dozen of the electric skillets you mention, and have a group mushroom fry. The Differences - 1) After slicing in half, we would soak the morels in a cold salt bath (sort of a brine). This coaxes out any critters hiding in all the little crevices. If you do this and watch what comes out, you'll never cook them without this step! 2) We mixed the salt and pepper into the flour (more pepper than salt), and mixed this in a plastic bag with the mushrooms - like Shake & Bake. If plastic is too new world for you, you can use a paper sack. 3) We didn't use butter, but a slightly deeper amount of vegetable oil (but not deep fry!). All of this was to make sure the very irregular surface of the morel was completely and evenly coated and cooked. Food of the gods that I remember to today!
Morels aren’t just a food. Around where I’m at in Michigan they are a spiritual connection with the forest >>>
Well fungi do have a physical connection with forests. Trees communicate with one another through mycelium networks.
True Dat!
@@rayyanali4471 taking psilocybe showed me this just in a different way
He wasn't joking about the right clothes and a mushroom stick.
For some ventures in life you need to fully respect the local spirits or you flat out won't get results. But if you do...
Me: "Man, Jon talks about morels the way he talks about nutmeg."
Jon: "If there's one dish that doesn't need nutmeg, it's this one!"
Me: :surprised pikachu:
Unlike nutmeg, you're not canon
@@Manudyne It would have cost you nothing to not say that =/
@@ValkyrieTiara True. But I couldn't resist.
@@ValkyrieTiara I dislike you on a very lethal level for absolutely no reason
They really are that good! They only come once a year just after winter. People pay top dollar for them!
Morels can actually be cultivated now, though it is somewhat harder than more common types, and _often_ takes 3-5 _years_ to actually show results.
Mix your spawn slurry with the wood of elm, oak, or ash (preferably sawdust, shavings, and/or chips, for faster development; apple can also work, and likely other broad-leaf species as well, but the set of oak, elm, and apple should be fairly easily available; supposedly they can grow on grain, but it sounds a smidge adventurous), possibly with some additives of molasses (supposedly provides energy for faster growth), salt (to reduce bacterial growth), sand (for better drainage- standing water causes problems), wood ash and maybe charcoal (they seem to like post-fire zones, and presumably benefit from the nutrients; charcoal can act as a moisture stabilizer, but I haven't actually heard of it being used), and gypsum (calcium sulfate supposedly helps increase cap size; the mentions I've seen specified peat moss at the same time).
The temperature should preferably top out around 60-70 fahrenheit, and despite the need for good drainage the growing medium needs to be kept moist. Do not use tap water, as the chlorine (and possibly other chemicals) can be harmful to the fungus, and even prevent it from growing at all. Shade is preferable.
Remember: it can take the mycellium (roots) _3 to 5 years_ to set enough that it starts sending up mushrooms, so be patient.
This comment needs more attention
When I lived in Indiana the north west area my parents in the summer would pick these weeds called gardoons or something and they would pick them up and fry them exactly like this and it was a tasty treat in the summer my mom said that her grandmother used to eat them in the depression and that's why they eat them as a summer snack because my mom did
I just wanted to say: Thank you, for bringing these old traditional foods and methods to a modern platform like TH-cam.
YES! If you start a segment of more of these naturally grown foods, I'm sure it will grow popular!
*”Grow popular”* ....I see what you did there.
😁❤️
We don’t want that. People will destroy the forest. So let’s just say they are poisonous
Well I know what I'm doing next time I find some morels!
Do the helicopter
What did you do last time you saw some?
Call the police and start world war 3?
Let me try some?
i've never seen him this deadly serious about anything. you mess with this man's morels, you gon' get cut
I was picking morels once on some other guy's "turf." (he had no rights to the actual location) He flashed a gun. Morel hunters are wacky serious sometimes.
@@AtheistPilgrim why? Are they super tasty or what?
@@diogeneslantern18 well some people are just crazy assholes. But they are good, and rare. They take time, dedication, know how, and positivity to catch. Yes, i said catch.
I think we found the one thing Jon loves more than nutmeg 😂
spending most of my childhood living in Vigo and parke county, Indiana. Mushroom hunting was always very enjoyable, and I relate this video so damn much !
Literally have a morel tattoo. These mushrooms were worshipped in my household growing up. Every april we would get up at 5am and find every honeyhole in the tricounty area.
Good man
So you're the guy that always gets there first. Lol
We used to find these in Dublin, Ca under very old oak trees.
That's so dumb lol
@@steampunknoodles excellent input, thank you. I am now enlightened by the truth. Such wise words.
The alternate thumbnail is "This recipe doesn't use nutmeg" [laser eyes]