Today at Stockmann I found some cartons of fresh korvasieniä. The name means "ear mushrooms"; in English and French these are known as the "false morels." The mushrooms look a bit like oversize morels but are irregularly-shaped, aren't pointed, and don't have hollow stems. I love morels, but these smell even more delicious!
I decided to get some, sauté them in butter, and put them on pasta.Next to the mushrooms were brochures describing the mushrooms. I picked one up even though I need a dictionary and lots of time to read Finnish, and I don't understand Swedish at all. (Like most things in Helsinki, the brochures are printed in both languages, as 6% of Finns speak Swedish as their first language.) However, the brochures looked informative enough to convince me to look online for information in English. It's a good thing I did! It turns out that korvasieniä are poisonous unless they are boiled! They contain a compound called gyromitrin which can cause liver failure and death... Fortunately gyromitrin is water-soluble, so by blanching the cut-up mushroom in water twice, 99% of the gyromitrin can be removed.
My new plan is to blanch the mushrooms - three times, just to be safe - and then sauté them! I've got the windows of my apartment as wide open as they can go, and I'm drinking lots of water.
2 comments:
1. They were delicious.
2. I've survived for over 12 hours with no ill effects, so I guess I prepared them properly!
Eric, those mushrooms do look tasty! What is that huge knife doing along side the plate? Where is this photo taken? Are you in your apartment, or is this a restaurant? I hope you come back and prepare a Finnish dinner for all of us. What type of beverage would be served, do they have wine? or is there something more traditional?
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