Hello Folks, Well, it is Spring in the Ozarks and Ozarkians like to search for the elusive morel. What is a morel you ask? It is a mushroom. The other day I found one sitting in a bar having a beer. I asked him if he was a morel? He said that he was. I then told him that I had heard about him and that he was really a fungi (fun guy)! Seriously though, I spent several mornings searching for them. I looked along the springs. I looked along the creeks. I went up and down the hollows. I looked around the downed logs and even around the old beaver ponds. NO MORELS! Finally, I gave up and thought that it may be just too early to find them. On my way back from one of my exhaustive searches, with empty bucket in hand, my neighbors greeted my on my front porch smiling! They asked if I had a hole in my bucket? I of course knew what they meant and replied no, because I have not found anything to put in my bucket yet. They then handed me a bag full of THOSE ELUSIVE morsels that Missourians have the unique priviledge of enjoying. They had found MORELS! Probably the first ones in the valley to do so. I queried as to where and how they had come across these tastebud sensations. They said that they woke up this morning and found they growing in their FRONT YARD! AaaaaK! I thanked them graciously and proceeded to my kitchen where I bathed them in fresh egg batter and then powdered them in a mixture of flour, salt, pepper, and oregano. Then I jealously fried them on both sides until they were golden brown! Were they good? Good is an understatement. Good can only be used to discribe banal store bought, canned, pasturized, chemical ladened no-name brand mushrooms. Good is not a word to describe those succulent, tongue energizing, tastebud arrousers, fungi of the forest delights. THEY WERE FABOULOUS! Now, for the first time, I understand why the Missourians consider their morels to be such a treat! I hope that I get to experience them over and over again and hope that some of you get to share the same experience too! Sincerely, Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), April 19, 2001

Answers

Response to In Search Of The Elusive Morel

Hey, Ernest----Missouri doesn't have all the rights to "dry land fish" as Morels are called in Kentucky. I was lucky enough to find 8 large white morels just 50 feet from my front door yesterday.

That evening I cut them in half, coated with flour, corn meal, salt and pepper and fried in very hot oil. Boy were they ever good!!!!

I'm taking my bucket out into the woods tomorrow. Hope you fill your bucket up also.

Doug

-- Doug in KY (toadshutes@yahoo.com), April 19, 2001.

Response to In Search Of The Elusive Morel

Hi Ernest,

Actually it's probably getting to the end of morel season for the year. I've been picking them for the last 10 days or so.

A few days ago I was looking for an abandoned well. I never did find it, but I did find my best catch of morels for this year. I had more than I could eat, so I put a couple dozen in the food drier. (The one that looks suspiciously like an old Chevy--the rear deck works great.) Anyhow, this afternoon my neighbor came over to do some plowing for me. He spotted the dried morels in the car and asked where they came from. We went searching again and I paid for the plowing with a half-dozen large ones.

==>paul

-- paul (p@ledgewood-consulting.com), April 19, 2001.

Response to In Search Of The Elusive Morel

Hi Ernest ive also had one skinny little mess about a 1/2 sack full.but i noticed no one soaked theirs over nite in salt water? how do you get the rolly pollys out or dont you have them where you live? best regards Bob se. ks.

-- Bobco (bobco@hit.net), April 19, 2001.

Response to In Search Of The Elusive Morel

Ok, you guys! I am sooooo jealous! Jan from the dry old Colorado plains

-- Jan in Co (Janice12@aol.com), April 19, 2001.

Response to In Search Of The Elusive Morel

hey Bobco, our season has not begun yet but life pretty much stops here when we find the first one. We find that just an hour or so in salty water separates the rolly-pollys and other critters from the mushrooms. We cut them in half before we soak. I am tasting them as I type this-yikes-can we wait???

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), April 20, 2001.

OK, I've read about Morels before...do the darn things grow in Upstate NY? I don't believe I've ever seen one. I would like to try one!

Stacy in Windsor

-- Stacy Rohan (KincoraFarm@aol.com), April 20, 2001.

Alas, I have never encountered a morel in my foraging excursions. I have seen that the puffball mushrooms found everywhere in my youth have all but dissappeared :~{ They were wonderful peeled, sliced and fried in butter. Sadly,I believe that overenthusiastic foragers and kids that smash the mature large puffballs have depleted the wild population. Yes, I am also aware that much of their habitat, fields, have been turned into housing developements. But not all.

I noticed that several posters here boast that they've filled buckets with the fungus gems - do you leave enough to restock the area with their spores? Keep in mind that other foragers take from that same patch. Don't let your enthusiasm overshadow prudence.

-- Judi (ddecaro@snet.net), April 20, 2001.

Just finished drying four-five gallon buckets full of morels!!! Took me a couple of days but well worth the effort!!! Here in western Oklahoma, the morels start up about the first week in April and last through Easter. Happy Hunting!!!

-- cowgirl (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), April 20, 2001.

Stacy, I bet they grow here in NY. I've picked them in PA and NJ. Look around old, decayed apple trees as a start. They really are delicious!

-- Cathy in NY (hrnofplnty@yahoo.com), April 20, 2001.

Thanks, Cathy. I believe I'll take a walk in the woods tomorrow afternoon and see if I can find some of these little wonders.

Stacy in Windsor

-- Stacy Rohan (KincoraFarm@aol.com), April 20, 2001.

The giant puffballs die out of many pastures due to fertilizer and herbicide use, or so I've been told.

For those thinking of hunting mushrooms for the first time, get an experienced mushroomer to show you what's good, or read several books. One of the things that can go wrong is that some of the members of the Deadly Amanita family look like puffballs when they are young. Eat one by mistake and you are dead. (You can clearly tell the difference between a puffball and an Amanita button if you cut it open. The Amanita will have partially formed gills, the puffball is solid.)

By the time you see a morel it is already sending out spores. I usually blow on them when I pick them. That blows off the spores and the bugs. I've known mushroomers who carry them in mesh bags so the spores shake off on the way home. When I dry morels, I put them on a paper towel. After a few hours you will see a tan print on the paper, from fallen spores. I then tear the towel into pieces and plant it in the leaf litter where morels should be able to grow.

==>paul

-- paul (p@ledgewood-consulting.com), April 20, 2001.

I've noticed here in southwest Ohio that people I've talked to are kind of stingy about telling you where to find them. Seems like you just have to know where to look, and I sure haven't found any yet. Do they always grow in the same place, or can I just expect them to pop up anywhere? I really want to try them!!

-- Karen Braun (jbraun@one.net), April 20, 2001.

Here in SE Ohio we are hoping to start finding them this week through the 1st week of May. Some of our best patches are close to dead elm trees. We fry ours with some steak and onions, and usually leave the steak! I always soak in salt water for a few hours, freeze on a cookie sheet then put in ziplock bags. This way I can take out as many as I like. This should be a good year because it has been pretty warm until the last few days. We also like to catch some trout, fry them up, fry a pan of mushrooms and onions, make some cole slaw and baked potatoes and dig in. Pretty close to a perfect meal!!!

-- Melissa (cmnorris@1st.net), April 20, 2001.

Melissa, Your perfect meal sounds GREAT!! I love the fried mushrooms too, another way I LOVE them is in a marinade with red wine vinegar- oil-grey poupon-garlic-salt and pepper to taste. I make a big jar of them and keep them in the fridge to snack on. They are WONDERFUL!!! Happy Hunting!!!

-- cowgirl (cowgirleone47@hotmail.com), April 21, 2001.

If you get too many to eat(yeah,right!)you can forgo the salt water soak, cut them in half the long way and dry them. They make WONDERFUL mushroom barley soup! So nice for those dreary winter days!

-- Chamoisee (chamoisee@yahoo.com), April 21, 2001.

I know they are out here but I can't find any!

-- Lynn(MO) (mscratch1@semo.net), April 23, 2001.

We've got them, too! I have a couple hints from one of my neighbors about them... funny - we were just talking about this yesterday!!

Anyway - to find them, look in an area where the downed logs have mushrooms growing on them. Usually the ugly gray ones that look slimy... Usually, this will be near a creek, and in dense shade most of the day.

She says that if you find even just one, go back every few days. There will be more. She says (I can't vouch, as I haven't found them on our claims yet) that if there is one, keep looking, too. There will be several more - probably hiding in thick grass or low bushes.

I can't wait till I have more time to go looking... those little morels are just about better than chocolate to me!!!!

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), April 23, 2001.

I sure am glad you guys started this thread. I have been thinking mushrooms ever since it started getting warm. I've been told they are finding them on sand in southern Indiana. I want to get out there this weekend. We love the morels and there is a small, shiny yellow to orange mushroom that we eat. I don't know what it's name is, but it is nice as well. Good tip about the spors on the paper towel. I may try that, so I can put a few where I want them! Happy hunting and wish me luck.

Phyllis

-- phyllis a. warmna (phyllis.warman@twcable.com), April 24, 2001.