Mmmm, morels ...
Morel mushrooms hunted by a million Pennsylvanians this spring May 3, 2009 - post-gazette.com
In Pennsylvania, the first week of May has one thing in common with early December. During each diverse span, more people roam the state's woodlands than at any other time of year -- every one of them seeking a prize.
In December the common quarry is a 150-pound white-tailed buck. May's prize weighs mere ounces but lures nonetheless. It's the morel mushroom and enthusiasts hope legions of the sponge-like fungi will thrust through the leaf litter in coming days.
"We estimate that a million people in this state hunt morels," said John Plischke of Greensburg, a member of the Western Pennsylvania Mushroom Club (WPMC). "It's about the same number as hunt deer, so it's a significant outdoor event, though not so obvious."
" 'Shroomers," as morel fans are sometimes called, are not so obvious because most of the million keep their hotspots secret. Morels are among the most choice of all edible wild fungi, sought by gourmet chefs and backwoods foragers alike.
"Morel hunters are secretive. Some go the extent of wearing camouflage, and they carry a camo bag for their morels. If they see someone else, they'll drop the bag and no one will know what they're up to," said Dick Dougall, a WPMC past-president from Glenshaw.
The organization, though, takes a more gracious approach. WPMC shares its favorite spot with hundreds of 'shroomers every year and encourages beginners to enjoy the spring ritual. This weekend WPMC, in cooperation with Washington County Parks and Recreation, holds its annual Morel Madness celebration at 2,600-acre Mingo Creek County Park north of Rt. 136 between Washington and Monongahela.
"We've been holding Morel Madness at Mingo Creek for years. We get hundreds of people and it's growing," Dougall said. "Most years we find morels, but they're mysterious and entirely dependent on moisture and temperature. Sometimes we're early or late, but we have to pick a date in advance. This year, with the recent rain and the warm weekend, I think we're in pretty good shape."
Morel Madness kicked off May 2 with a slide show on morels, hunting excursions, a "show and tell" gathering to celebrate fungal finds, and other activities. May 3 offers an 8 a.m. Continental breakfast for campers and more morel hunting. There is a modest registration fee.
"Morel Madness is very popular. We have people come from North Carolina every year," said Jeff Donahue, superintendent of recreation for Washington County Parks. "WPMC has really nice slide programs by nationally recognized experts, and we're fortunate to work with them. We're proud that Washington County Parks won an Environmental Education Award from the Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society for Morel Madness weekend."
Neither Plischke nor Dougall, though, claim their club is the only avenue to the morel experience. They see Morel Madness as an introduction to an aspect of nature best enjoyed with loved ones or close friends.
"Morels are an attraction to go the woods now in a time when we are losing other connections to nature," Plischke said. "A lot of people got interested in morels through family experience, and it's still a wonderful family ritual. When I was a boy my father and uncles took me into the woods on their shoulders, then they put me down and would say, 'You're closer to [the morels] so you can see them better.' We would have a glorious time and it kept the family closer together."
Both men advise learning about edible fungi from knowledgeable mentors. A morel mentor doesn't necessarily need to be a professional mycologist, because morels are unmistakable once their basic traits are learned, but there are cautions. "There are some fungi, like the false morels, that are dangerous and look superficially like morels," Dougall explained. "One thing to be aware of is that people are so eager to find morels that they sometimes let their own minds fool them."
He said no wild mushroom should be eaten raw. "But simple cooking methods, like frying in butter, are best," he said.
Dougall believes the best morel hunters first develop a habit of reading other signs in the woods that indicate where, and when, to search.
"It's all about looking for signs; it's a broader way of seeing nature," Dougall said. "One of the things we teach beginners is to look for certain trees, then search around them. Tulip poplar, old apple trees and elms, especially dying elms, are the best guides in the woods. If you find a dead elm at the stage where the bark is sloughing off, look closely around its base."
He said dead elms can sometimes harbor 200 morels within a few square yards.
"There's a complex relationship going on between certain fungi and certain trees," Dougall explained. "It's a subterranean community of soil, fungi and microbes that you can't duplicate in a lab or on a farm. That's why it's so hard to grow morels commercially. They're mysterious and wild and that's what attracts people to them."
Seeing the tan and gray-colored morels among the leaf litter of spring is a skill that can be honed with practice.
"The cap has that distinctive pattern," Plischke said. "Your brain learns to look for that pattern. Then, when you find that first one, your brain adapts and you begin to find more."
Plischke, whose son John Plischke III is a nationally renowned mushroom photographer and author, believes morels can be easier to spot on cloudy days.
"Bright sun can wash out the contrast," he said. "Generally they're easier to spot in shade."
Dougall advises pickers to cut morels off cleanly at the base with a pocketknife. "Cutting them prevents disturbance to the underground organism," he said.
He tells a story that illustrates how tricky it can be to spot morels, and also reveals that, in morel hunting, speed is no ally.
"We were at Mingo Creek," he said. "There were about 25 people in a group. They all spread out and took off searching, except one elderly lady who could not walk well. I was keeping an eye on her because she was lagging behind. About the time the others got out of sight, she bent over and cut a morel beneath an elm tree. We looked around that one tree and found three dozen big morels. When we got back together the others didn't have a half-dozen between them, but they'd gone tearing by that very spot."
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I was there, with at least 150 others. The spot we went to may have been picked over; we only found about half a dozen morels. Someone who "can't eat them" gave us a few, and they made a fine addition to dinner (and scrambled eggs the next morning).
Also found some dryads (which cooked up well), witch's butter, tree ear, and a few others.
Hoping to find some more in the area in the next few weeks...
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