Little Gold Morel Mushrooms

Little Gold Morel Mushrooms

　　Morel mushrooms (Morchella esculenta (L.) Pers.), also known as morchella, are fungi belonging to the genus Morchella. In the Changbai Mountain forest region, they commonly grow from late April to early June at altitudes below 1,000 meters, in broad-leaved forests, forest edges, or grasslands. Their structure consists of a cap and stem, standing 5–15 cm tall and 4–10 cm in diameter. The cap is egg-shaped or nearly conical, hollow, and colored like eggshell to light yellowish-brown. The stem is cylindrical, hollow, and nearly white. The surface of the cap features irregular polyhedral pits and wrinkles, resembling a sheep’s stomach—hence the name. Morel mushrooms have a crisp, tender texture, a delicious and savory taste, and are highly nutritious, making them a prized wild delicacy. Chemically, their fruiting bodies contain proteins and free amino acids, including large amounts of alanine, glutamic acid, proline, cis-3-amino-L-proline, along with small amounts of tryptophan, tyrosine, cysteine, and half-cystine. The mycelium contains 2.04% neutral glycerides, and the fatty acids after saponification include 52.8% linoleic acid, 23.6% oleic acid, 14.1% palmitic acid, 5.4% stearic acid, and small amounts of heptadecanoic acid. Additionally, they contain trehalose and cellulose.

　　Per 100 grams of dried morel mushrooms, there are 24.5 g of protein, 2.6 g of fat, 39.7 g of carbohydrates, 7.7 g of crude fiber, 13.6 g of water, and 3.92 g of thiamine, along with small amounts of riboflavin and niacin. Morel mushrooms contain 19 types of amino acids, including all eight essential amino acids required by the human body, which are not only fully present but also abundant. Therefore, they are not only one of the traditional edible fungi beloved by people in China, but also a highly favored variety among international consumers. They also possess significant medicinal value, offering benefits such as strengthening the spleen, regulating qi, and resolving phlegm. They can help treat indigestion, excessive phlegm, and shortness of breath. Modern scientific reports indicate that morel mushrooms inhibit three types of tumors, especially sarcoma S-180, and also show inhibitory effects against E. coli and Bacillus subtilis.

　　Source: Xiaojin County Information Office