Now, I had always dried Morels but, instinctively, I knew not to dry these Crown Corals. Finally, in mid-September, fearing I might not find any more after that day, I decided to preserve this possible last batch. Over the next months, I gathered more wondering when the season would end. A few days later, I went to the same spot on the UP Michigan spot and, lo, there was new growth. I was delighted to discover they were responding well to the same preparation as the Morels. Now, back to the topic at hand – the Crown Coral! The Mushrooms first gathered were like unearthing a treasure. After that, I reduced the quantity and, to this day, enjoy the Morel! Three days later, a visiting neighbor remarked, “Oh, you’re back!” Turns out, I had consumed enough of the Hallucinogenic properties present in all mushrooms to varying degrees was to put me in an altered state – nothing serious, mind you. Forthwith, I took my new-found treasure to the kitchen table and consumed the entire skillet-full. An aside: I was presented a large quantity of fresh-picked morels and, after soaking them in a saltwater bath to remove any riders (critters), I fried them in a 12″ iron skillet with a stick of salted butter. July 2015 was the summer of my joyous introduction to the illusive Crown Coral Mushroom! A prior such moment was in the Spring of 1961, when I had the wonderful opportunity to meet the Moral. Cooked in a liquid, these will retain a little more color and texture. Cooking in Soup or BrothĬooking in soup or broth is one of the best ways to prepare these, just like I recommend doing with yellowfoot mushrooms, or Craterellus tubaeformis and their cousins. Its also a lot of fun to serve them with seafood and freshwater fish, to get a sort of, “sea” and fish combination/play on ingredients. With crown tipped corals at the restaurant, I like to pour boiling salted broth over them, leave let them cool in it, and then simply pick out individual clusters to drop into a soup as a garnish at the very last minute. After their light bath, I set them on a cloth or towel to dry in the fridge. To clean large amounts of them I like to break them into small clusters and swish them quickly in cold water. Cookingįirst of all, these are ok to eat, but honestly they’re not going to blow your mind.Ĭrown tipped corals cook really, really fast, and can be a pain to clean since debris and dirt can get lodged in them. I see them in the early and late summer in Minnesota. Crown tipped corals will not grow directly on the ground, like Ramarias. Where I live they grow only on dead and dying wood like oak. Note the firm structure compared to the crown tipped corals. Ramaria botrytis, a different type of coral mushroom in the Ramaria family.
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