Morels and Truffles: Sourcing, Uses, Pairings, and Pro Tips

Kindi Lantz marzo 28, 2025

Both morel mushrooms and truffles are highly coveted ingredients in gourmet cuisine, commanding steep prices and making their way onto menus at high-end restaurants. The nature of their allure stems from a unique combination of biological quirks: seasonal availability, challenging cultivation and foraging conditions, and rapid deterioration of quality and flavor. Visiting lavish eateries isn't the only way to partake in these fungi delicacies, though—wild mushrooms and various types of truffles can be prepared fresh at home and can also be acquired affordably year-round if they have been properly preserved.

Sourcing Preserved Truffles and Mushrooms

One way to find affordable, ethically sourced morels and truffles is to purchase them preserved. While fresh varieties offer the most intense flavor, properly preserved fungi — captured at peak freshness and using the right methods — can retain much of their original taste and texture. For truffles, the best preservation methods we've found are either slicing them paper-thin and submerging them in high-quality oil as a decadent truffle carpaccio or sealing them whole in an airtight glass jar with a bit of salt and truffle juice. The technique for maintaining the culinary integrity of morel mushrooms is more typical in the world of fungi. They too must be preserved as soon as possible after being foraged, but instead of sealing in airtight containers, they are dehydrated—a process that concentrates their flavor while allowing their texture to be restored when reconstituted.

How to Prepare Preserved Morels and Truffles

There are, of course, nuances to preparing preserved morels and truffles that highlight their unique qualities.

Preparing Dehydrated Morels

For morels, rehydrating them in warm water for about 20-30 minutes revives their texture and using them in the same way you would have utilized their fresh counterpart. The rehydration liquid should not be tossed out. It contains a lot of that unique truffle flavor and is a wonderful addition to soups, stews, braising liquids, and sauces.

Preparing Preserved Truffles

Preserved truffles take far less time to prepare. When it comes to truffle carpaccio, it’s as simple as opening up the jar and adding them atop your dish, whether that be steak, eggs, potatoes, or anything else you dream up. Just make sure you don’t waste that truffle-infused oil! It is perfect for adding into salad dressings, sauces like hollandaise or aioli, or simply drizzling over cheese, veggies, or proteins.

You might be tempted to use whole preserved truffles in the same manner as fresh truffles—grating them directly over a dish just before serving—but we advise otherwise. Start by chopping or thin slicing the whole truffles and then lightly sautè them in oil or butter to awaken their intense flavor. From there, use them as your heart desires. Regardless of which type of preserved truffles you've chosen, it's crucial to use them within a couple of days after breaking the seal. Once exposed to air, their flavor begins to deteriorate, so it's best to enjoy them quickly for the most vibrant taste.

Culinary Uses of Morels and Truffles

Cooking with Morels

Cooking with morel mushrooms is much like cooking with other mushroom varieties. Their earthy flavor and meaty texture make them a versatile ingredient, pairing beautifully with rich, creamy dishes or rustic fare. Whether serving as an elegant topping for a fine cut of meat or stepping in as a hearty meat alternative, morels add depth and richness to a wide range of recipes.

Unlike more common mushrooms, such as button or porcini, morel mushrooms must be cooked before consumption to eliminate toxins. For many people, these toxins can cause gastrointestinal issues and, in some cases, even death. This is as true for freshly foraged morels as it is for those that have been reconstituted from their dehydrated form.

Some of our favorite ways to use morels in cooking are as follows:

• Sautéd in butter for a rich, earthy flavor and eaten as-is or used as a topping for steaks, chicken, or vegetarian dishes like fried polenta rounds, cauliflower steaks, or warm quinoa salad.
• Added to creamy sauces or soups.
• Incorporated into risottos and other rice dishes. Rice and mushrooms are an age-old pairing that we can’t get enough. The nutty flavor and meaty texture of the morels perfectly compliments starchy dishes. Level your next morel and rice dish up by adding an aged cheese, sundried tomatoes, and pine nuts.
• Roasted with garlic and olive oil alongside an array of other vegetables like delicata squash and brussels sprouts or other wild foraged vegetables like fiddleheads, asparagus, sunchokes, or prairie turnips.

For more ideas on what to do specifically with dried morel mushrooms, check out this article. 

Cooking with Truffles

Cooking with truffles, in most cases, is less about the technique and more about timing and simplicity. They are best enjoyed in simple dishes, where their flavor can shine through rather than being overpowered by other ingredients. Fresh truffles should be used as soon as possible because once they are dug up, they will start losing the potency of their distinctive flavor and aroma. To make the most of these prized fungi, they should be cooked only minimally, if at all.

Unlike morels, fresh truffles can safely be enjoyed raw and that is typically how they are preferred. Overheating can diminish their aroma, so they are best added just before serving or incorporated into dishes that allow their essence to infuse gradually at low heat.

As previously mentioned, fresh isn’t your only option when it comes to truffles. Truffle carpaccio is a quick and easy way to experience intense truffle flavor year-round, and the options are endless on incorporating them into your dishes. Whole preserved truffles provide another year-round option for truffle indulgence, but unlike fresh truffles, simply shaving them over dishes is not the best method. The flavor needs to be enlivened, which can be achieved by chopping and lightly heating them to infuse their flavor into dishes.

Here are some of our favorite ways to use truffles:

• Shaved fresh over pasta, risotto, or potatoes. Simplicity is key when it comes to truffles, with starch-laden ingredients providing a great vessel for the intense truffle flavor.
• Infused in oils, butter, or sauces for subtle flavor enhancement. Simple dishes or those with creamy or buttery elements provide a great culinary canvas, allowing the truffle’s rich aroma to shine.
• Used as a finishing touch to uplift flatbreads, eggs, or steak—or employed as an indulgent twist in an aged grilled cheese sandwich. 

Looking for more ideas on using truffles in your cooking? Look no further than this article. 

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Whether you're indulging in the deep, nutty richness of morel mushrooms or savoring the intoxicating aroma of truffles, these fungi offer unparalleled culinary experiences. While fresh varieties are the preferred choice of many chefs and culinary aficionados, their “season” is fleeting. Preserved options provide an excellent way to enjoy their flavors year-round. With the right preparation and pairings, you can elevate everyday meals into gourmet delights. So go ahead—experiment, savor, and let these prized ingredients take your cooking to the next level.

We carry a large assortment of both preserved and fresh (when in season) culinary fungi, always ethically-sourced. Check up our full line-up of mushrooms and truffles here.