Every Sunday for the last month my fiancé and I have headed out to his family's old farm house in search of morels. His family has about 50 acres of land, 25 of which is open pasture and the other 25 is densely wooded. Once we cleared the pasture and got into the woods we would let the dogs off their leashes so they could get their exercise in while we were searching for mushrooms. We have unsuccessfully searched for mushrooms no less than four times. Zeb swears that he used to find them out in the woods every year growing up. I have a hard time believing him considering we have yet to find one. Not even one.
Yesterday we were supposed to go mushroom hunting again, but I decided to skip out this time around. Wouldn't you know it, he came home with morels. He only found 6, but still at least he found some. There may be a couple of reasons why we hadn't had any luck finding morels in the last month. For one, I think we started looking a little premature. Their growing season is supposed to start in mid-April and sometimes can extend through mid-June. Many morel hunters also say that their growing seasons begins just around the time the Mayapples get their blooms. I think another reason that we didn't have much luck finding morels in the last month is because they have not had the right growing conditions. In order for morels to grow a number of things must be JUST right. The best conditions for morel growth include soil temperature of 65 degrees, air temperature of 65-80 degrees and high relative humidity. I think we haven't really begun to see morels yet because there hasn't been much rain and the temperature has been on the lower end of the spectrum. Tomorrow is supposed to get up to 66 degree and on Wednesday it's supposed to be 75 degrees. Hopefully between that and the rain we got this last weekend we will be able to find some more morels. If not this weekend, there's always next weekend.
Mmm, mmm, mmm!
So what kind of mushrooms are they? How do you usually cook them? My wife loves mushrooms, the thought of them makes me want to gag! But I've never heard of mushroom hunting before, that intriques me...
ReplyDeleteMorels. They look like brains. My fiance cooks them, I'm not exactly sure what he does to them but rolls them in a flour and seasoning mix and them pan fries them. They are sooo good!
ReplyDeleteWe didn't have a lot of luck this year either. My husband and I have been to the same place every year for the last 5 years and have always come home with an abundance. But, this year we were lucky if we found 2 dozen. It was kind of depressing. Good luck on future hunts. Let me know if you go back out and do happen to find more. It will mean that they are still coming u and we too can go back out on the hunt for morels.
ReplyDeleteI am learning about fungi in Botany this year, and I find it quite fascinating. Most of the mushroom, called the mycelium, grows underground. They found a mushroom in Michigan, and through DNA testing, were able to determine that the humongous fungus weighed 100 tons, took up 40 acres of land, and was 10,000 years old. The only part that we see, are the fruiting, or reproductive structures, that grow above ground, or on trees.
ReplyDeleteMisty: We went Wednesday night and brought home 22 and we left behind more than we brought home, so they are definitely still out. Good luck hunting :)
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