From the new west blog: Cook thoroughly while sober
Morel Mushroom Poisonings Up in Montana, Idaho
By Jill Kuraitis, 6-28-08
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Morels are ugly suckers, but yummy |
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Morel mushroom poisonings have recently increased in Idaho and Montana, according to the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center.
The Center wants us all to know that it’s dangerous to eat raw, dried, or partially cooked morels, and it’s also unsafe to drink wine or other alcohol with any morels, cooked or not.
Morel poisoning causes impressive, repeated vomiting, usually right after you eat those bad boys.
From the Center’s press release, it’s easy to tell that this is more than a dodgy situation – it’s serious.
Do not drink and eat morels, cook them to death, and reject the dried kind.
“Impressive vomiting” is enough for me.
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Comments
I just wonder, is it possible they're getting them confused with false morels?
And yeah a small toxicity exists in morels if uncooked. Though it effects individuals differently, or not at all.
http://www.jstor.org/pss/3759144
http://www.jstor.org/pss/3756634
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr;=&id=WPWsZNvOqVAC&oi=fnd&pg=PA149&dq;=+Poisoning+by+Morels+When+Taken+with+Alcohol.+Mycologia&ots=8JvJFt01BH&sig=bFFsLbYL7aV9WExJHVbBckKSA-s#PPA151,M1
And until I see published literature refuting it...
The citation was for an aminita mushroom and the so called anti-buse reaction.
Gyromitra esculenta (MushroomExpert.Com) Gyromitra esculenta is a beautiful springtime mushroom frequently found by morel hunters in northern and western areas of the continent. ...
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/gyromitra_esculenta.html
My late mother who was a noted Alaskan Mycologist very often schooled me on the differences between the Morel and the False Morel (Gyromitra).
Now I see the connection. First, burn the forest. Then pick the mushrooms feeding on dead trees. And then get confused and poisoned. I never knew anybody who got log poisoned. Maybe a hemlock sliver might puss up good. Or your lungs got taken out in a white cedar mill by the natural insecticides in the wood shavings and sawdust. At least you went out after making a living wage.
By the way milk thistle extract can save people from amanita poisoning.
they sure are yummy, though. i'm going to pick some tomorrow!
This line quoted from the article is pure fiction. Literally hundreds of thousands of pounds of dried morels are consumed yearly the world over. Whoever wrote this has no idea what they are talking about. The Idaho Statesman has evel less of a clue as to the facts surrounding edible mushrooms. I have personally cooked dried morels while drinking many, many times. Pure Fiction, check your facts a bit better in the future please.
Dried or not, if you cook them well, you should be good.
ANY mushroom of ANY variety contains mycoprotien that can't be digested by humans when eaten raw. Not to mention the real possibility of food poisioning from eating uncooked wild food.
Anybody who writes an article claiming a common food to be poisionous should be able to name the poisionous compound. The author of this article didn't and can't do that because there is no poisionous compound in morels. However raw morels like any mushroom can upset the stomach when eaten raw due to the fact that they are undigestable.
I respectfully ask the author to check thier facts beyond what the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center spokeswoman says. Her follow up letter to the editor printed in the Idaho Statesman just after this article ran was full of additional laughable mushroom "facts".
As for poisoning by morels, I made a living on them in the year 2000 (Montana's fires of 2000) I picked hundreds of pounds and ate them daily for several years afterwards. NEVER once did I or anyone get sick. They were cooked in everything from spagetti to hambers, meatloaf and many more in between. A good bit of advice however is to ALWAYS cook ALL wild edibles very well whether meat or plant!