Afield: The morel to the story? The fungus is among us

BRAINERD, MINN. - Turkey hunters aren't the only inhabitants of springtime forests.

Those who seek morel mushrooms are scouring the woods, too. You might have seen us. We meander slowly among the tree trunks with sack in hand, eyes glued to the forest floor hoping to find the flowering fungus. The tasty mushrooms are difficult to spot, even when you know they are there.

Last week, in my area, the first morels of the season sprouted. However, after a thorough search of my favorite spot I had picked barely enough mushrooms for a snack. A good spring soaking of rain and a few warm days and the morels should pop.

I consider myself a greenhorn morel hunter. My first hunt for the tasty mushrooms took place about a decade ago when I accompanied a friend to his land south of Brainerd. We managed to find enough morels so each of us could enjoy a side dish for supper that night. Since then I've searched extensively for my own mushroom mother lode.

For veteran mushroom hunters a perennial morel hotspot is a guarded secret. They seem to get as much satisfaction from bragging about their mushrooming skills as they do from eating the tasty morels. But novices can find morels, and the search can be half the fun.

In central Minnesota look for morels to grow in aspen and ash lowlands, particularly near cleared areas. Sometimes, the shy mushrooms will even grow in shallow water, especially during a dry spring. I've had the best luck finding morels where ferns and jack-in-the-pulpit grow.

Weather plays a big role in determining whether the morels sprout. The mushrooms rely on sufficient spring rain and warm temperatures to grow. A good time to find morels is when the temperature is near 70 degrees a day or two after a rain.

Morels are easy to identify, but precautions should be taken not to pick false morels, a morel mushroom look-a-like that's poisonous. Also, some people experience an allergic reaction to morels so it's best to try a small sampling first. Check out www.mushroomexpert.com for pictures and extensive information about morel mushrooms.

Seasoned mushroom hunters offer these tips for finding morels:

1. Look for morels when the lilacs and trilliums are in bloom, when oak leaves are the size of a squirrel's ear, or when fiddleheads are on the ferns. In central Minnesota that time is now.

2. If you find one morel, search the area thoroughly for more.

3. Morels grow on or near floodplains, and just upland from low-lying areas. Look for them on south-facing slopes that warm first in spring.

4. Especially good spots to find morels are under dead elms, in old apple orchards and in burned and logged areas.

5. Do not pull morels out of the ground, but instead cut or pinch the stem just above ground level.

6. Morels can be easier to spot while kneeling. Look toward the sun since the stems seem to glow and the dark caps stand out against the light brown hues of the forest floor when backlit.

7. Leave some morels behind to allow perpetuation of the species. Deer, mice and insects feed on morels too.

How do you prepare morel mushrooms?

Upon arriving home with my reward, I rinse the morels in cold water and slice them in half the long way. There are hundreds of different recipes, but I prefer to simply sauté them in butter with just a touch of seasoning. I don't want to hide the natural taste of morels. Others prefer to roll the morels in flour before sautéing them.

If you collect more morels than you can eat, they can be dried in a food dehydrator and stored in an airtight container for later use.

Or you can give your extra morels to me.

Bill Marchel, an outdoors photographer and columnist, lives near Brainerd.