"A-Foraging we will go" - The Mushroom Foray

With kitchen renos finally being put behind us (PHEW!!), we were finally able to get around to our pre-planned mushroom foray. A mushroom foray is the term used by shroomers and mycologists to describe the act of going out into nature and foraging for mushrooms - one of our favorite activities.

We donned our long sleeves, and backpacks, applied the mosquito repellant, and with our mushroom field guides, baskets, brown bags, and exacto blades on hand,
hoping we weren't too late (or too early), we went out on our quest to find one of our favorite types of mushrooms - morels...yummmmm!!



We went to our usual site where we have had luck in the past finding morels.




The conditions, as suspected, were very, very dry as was our hunt :( We couldn't find a single mushroon, not even the types that can grow in drier conditions!! I don't think this year will give a good yield at all...we are going to venture out in a couple of weeks time and try our luck again.

Since I have no morels and hence no tasty morel recipes to share with you, I will write a little blurb about morels and foraging for them.



Types of Morels

There are 2 types of Morels:
1) False Morels (NOT edible)
2) True Morels (edible)

False morels are poisonous. The poisonous chemicals contained in false morels are gyromytrium and monomethylhydrazine (MMH), and can be lethal! Common names of false morels are Beefsteak Morel, Red Morel, Elephant Ear, Brown Bonnet, Snow Mushroom, Snow Bank Morel, Walnut and Bull Nose.

True Morels come in 3 varieties (all 3 are hollow with off-white stems):

1) Black
2) Yellow (aka White)
3) Half Free


Black Morels sporut the earliest. Common names include Early morels, Grey morels, Burn-Over morels, Narrow-Capped morels, Witch’s Caps or Johnny Jump-Ups.
Black morels can be gray when they first sprout, and they grow to be from one-half inch to more than one foot tall!
Black morels cause adverse reactions more often than the other two types of true morels. Symptoms can include an upset stomach and loss of muscle coordination, which is exacerbated by consuming alcohol; first-time eaters should take only a few bites and avoid alcohol!!




Yellow Morels sprout last out of the 3 types of true morels.
They are also called Sponge mushrooms, Gray morels, Brain mushrooms, Honeycombs, Sponges, or Domes.
They can range in color from whitish to yellow to gray to honey brown.
They can also grow to be a foot tall. Some can grow to be huge, with a very thick stem; some experts classify them separately and call them Giant morels, Big Foots or Thick Footed morels.
They are the most prized type in terms of flavour and texture.




Half Free Morels sprout after Black Morels do, and growing continues on through Yellow Morel season.
Half Free morels are also called Peckerheads or Cows Heads.
Half Free morels are visually distinct from Black and Yellow morels in that their heads are quite small. Also, caps of Blacks and Yellows are attached to the stem at their bottom, whereas the Half Free cap is attached at about the middle. A longitudinal cross section would reveal the attachment of the cap to the stem leaving about half of the cap hanging, or “half free.”



Morel Anatomy

Morels are roughly cone-shaped, with a cap wrinkled like a brain, intricately indented, and with a light-colored, sinewy-looking stalk.

The morel (the part of the mushoom that we see above ground) is the “fruit” - the reproductive part of the mushroom; the main portion is a fibrous mat that resides underground, called the mycelium. The pitted cap of the morel bears spores, which help ensure reproduction. When spores fall to the ground, they germinate to grow the mycelium and hyphae, which are tendrils that reach to the surface for nutrients and that produce the morel. The hyphae extend from the underground nutrient warehouse, or sclerotia, which is about the size of a potato.


Where do Morels Grow?

There are indicator trees where you would be more likely to spot morels....the main ones being Elms and Maples.

Elm Tree and Elm Leaves




Morels like sandy or clay like conditions. They like spring temperatures (15C in the daytime and no colder than 5-10C in the night), usually in April in ON. The best time to look is right after a rain.

Ravines are a great place to look and in stream and river beds, and in wooded areas especially where there are live or dead decaying elm trees, and don’t forget to look within thick underbrush. Many people won’t go in there and you may be surprised what you will find!!

How do we spot morels?

The trick is to lie low - get down close to the ground and scan the ground ahead of you instead of always looking straight down at it. Take long, low strides - eyes should be focused 10 to 15 feet ahead. Kids are great little morel hunters because they are lower to the ground, have better eyesight and more energy, and notice the shapes.

Morels are masters of camouflage, blending in with leaves, faded grass and twigs. Watching for differences in texture helps to spot morels.

Another useful technique is to walk along the base of a slope and look uphill so the morels appear in silhouette or are back-lit. Or start at the bottom of a ravine and walk up the hill looking about 25 to 30 feet in front of you so the morels will silhouette against the horizon. It is much easier to spot a morel at that distance rather than under your feet.

A method that works well is to look near the base of trees or around fallen logs, doing lots of squatting and gently moving leaves aside with your hands or a stick--gently, so as not to squish any morels lurking within!

Many shroomers say never to pull a morel out of the ground, as that will destroy the underground mycelium system. One should instead cut it off with a blade.

How are Morels Stored?

Morels are precious because they have not taken to commercial growing so virtually all of the morels on the market have been picked in the wild.

Obviously drying morels is an absolute necessity. Dried morels stored in an airtight container, have an almost indefinate shelf life, and they can easily be reconstituted by soaking in warm water with pretty good results. The water can be used as stock after soaking the morels. It takes 8-10 lbs of fresh morels to yield 1 lb of dried morels so when purchasing dried morels, remember a little goes a long way!!


So wish us luck on our next forray!! I hope to be able to share some morel recipes in the near future! ;)

Cheers!!