Sometimes the thrill of finding these elusive fungi is even more satisfying than eating them, so here's what you need to know to improve your chances during morel-hunting season. Look for mushrooms with a cone-shape cap with lots of crevices like a sponge.
When you slice them open, all true morels are hollow inside. Watch out for false morel mushrooms , which can sometimes be toxic. Most false morels will have wrinkly, almost shriveled-looking caps instead of pits. Sometimes, color gives them away too; real morel mushrooms are light brown, and some false morels are reddish in color.
Keep in mind that the mushrooms will get larger as the season goes on. You might not have much luck searching in late March or early April because most morels are tiny at that point, usually the size of your thumb or smaller. The morel mushroom season is from late March through May. Morels start popping up when the ground heats up to 45 or 50 degrees and when the soil is wet but not soaked through. Morels can be elusive, but they will often start showing themselves after a string of degree days and a little rain.
It is legal to harvest morel mushrooms while visiting state property, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Mushroom hunting, as well as berry picking, also does not require a license in Indiana. Such activities are allowed at state parks and reservoirs, but are not allowed at DNR nature preserves, unless that preserve is located within a state-owned park, reservoir, forest or fish and wildlife area.
Mushroom hunting on private property is a different story. You should always obtain permission first from the property owner, or you will be considered a trespasser. The DNR has a free permission form that you and the property owner can fill out. You can find them served in dishes at high-end restaurants and can buy them in farmers markets and specialty grocery stores. Beware that morels are highly perishable ; fresh ones only last about a week or two when properly stored in a cool, dry place.
Morels are often dried out first if they're going to be kept for awhile or shipped long distances. Because they're highly sought after and not easy to find, they can be pricey. The mycelium develops its fruiting body when it is stressed or when the spring sap movement brings energy and carbohydrates to the tree.
The stress reaction of the mycelial net is usually brought on by soil disturbance whether it be from fire, excavation, beetle kill, wind throw, cattle, orchards, etc. The sap movement is a good condition for the mycelium to give birth to its babies. Morels are one of the few spring species of mushrooms. In Canada, you want to start looking in April on the west Coast or May in the prairie.
If living elsewhere, often a good indicator is when the tree buds show signs of blooming. If conditions stay favourable we can pick into mid and occasionally late summer.
This usually means travelling north or up in elevation. A flush on the prairies or flatlands will be brief and intense and may come only once. A season in the coniferous mountains may extend through the summer as the sun, rain, and winds combine to provide flush after flush of mushrooms. In the industry, we refer to morels as either naturals or fire morels. The naturals grow in pastures, meadows, and orchards. There may be just a couple or there may be bucket-fulls. They may come one year, or for many consecutive years, and then disappear without any obvious reason.
Other conditions such as heat, rainfall, sun exposure, elevation all influence the crop as well. Fire morels like pine, and spruce, but if you are in a burn, look on the outer edge, or for patches where the trees are not charred, we call this the soft burn. They like where the needle bed is reddish and are often in between tree roots or the shade of fallen timber. The more mosquitos biting the more likely you are to find morels.
Example of a cluster of fire morels. They camouflage with pine cones but you can train your eyes to spot them from quite far away. Morels are not to be eaten raw or consumed in large quantities because they contain a mildly toxic substance, which is destroyed in cooking.
It is possible for some people to have an allergic reaction to morels. As with all new food, if you are consuming it for the first time a moderate amount is recommended. A skilled mushroom picker could confidently distinguish them as clearly as a cucumbers vs zucchini.
Slicing the specimens in half reveals a lot of helpful information. Verpas are more commonly considered safe, although must be properly prepared.
There have been toxic reactions and fatalities reported on gyrometrae, which have great regional variation, but they are considered a delicacy in some countries where they are consumed widely with no ill effect. Again, proper preparation is essential.
It is like picking apples off of an apple tree. The tree will continue to thrive, many apples will fall to the ground and rot, and perhaps one of the thousands of apple seeds will eventually yield a new tree. When you harvest morels, just as when you harvest apples, there is no damage to the mycelium just as there is no damage to the tree.
Fresh morels are fragile. They may crumble when handling, cleaning, and cooking. They cook more quickly and have a slightly more delicate texture. Their flavour is a little more musty or exotic.
Fresh morels will keep about a week if conditions are ideal. Dry morels are easy to handle. They are also cleaner. When you dry a morel they contract a little, causing sand, dirt, pine needles, poplar fuzz, moss, or other bits of nature to fall off. When you rehydrate them, any remaining bits of nature fall to the bottom of your soaking liquid.
When using your soaking liquid in your dish, leave the last few tablespoons in the bowl. When you dry a morel you concentrate the flavour, think of raw fresh nuts versus roasted nuts. By Christina Piper. Related Articles. Symptoms of Fungi in Redwood Trees. Morel Growth Morels normally grow in a five-year cycle of gathering and storing nutrients after the spores fall, cross-pollinate and germinate.
Morel Sites Morels are known for colonizing disturbed ground, especially burn sites where burned trees release nutrients into the soil. Morels and Trees Morels may have a mycorrhizal, or mutually beneficial, relationship with the roots of certain tree species.
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