The morel of the story

You’re not alone if your social media feed is full of fungus this week, a virtual tour of friends’ morel hauls (holding strong after a weekend blitz of aurora borealis photos).

I’ve been fortunate enough to join a generous and knowledgeable friend at one of her secret mushroom-hunting spots the past couple of years, and now spring isn’t complete without a frying pan full of morels.
With morel season in full swing, I checked in with former Inland 360 reporter and neighborhood naturalist Michelle Schmidt, of Lewiston, for some mushroom-hunting tips. I’ve long admired Schmidt’s curiosity about the world around us and her resulting expertise as she delves into the details.

Inland 360: You’ve become something of a mycology expert of late. What have your studies entailed?
Michelle Schmidt: I fell in love with mushrooms in 2016 by the Mocus Point bridge on th e Lochsa River. It was fall, and there were mushrooms everywhere. I had no idea that mushrooms came in so many shapes and colors: They’re so beautiful. Weird and beautiful.

After that, I got a couple of field guides, learned some things here and there. A couple of years ago, I was able to take a mycology class at Washington State University. That covered more than mushrooms, of course, but it gave me a broader context of the science. Fungi are absolutely amazing. And such a significant part of our ecosystems.


360: How did you learn how to find morels?

MS: I arrived late to the morel party and still consider myself a newbie. Years ago, I learned some basics about finding them from the legendary Lori Carris, who taught mycology at WSU at the time and was the local reigning “mushroom queen,” but there’s nothing like going out and doing the thing.

Some years after I talked to Lori, a friend invited me to go with her to her spot. It was so much fun. I’ve only been out a handful of times since — not to her spot, partly because that’s not good morel etiquette but mostly because I can’t remember where it was (I was unfamiliar with the area at that time). Which means my secret spot is so secret, even I don’t know where it is. Yet.

But I’ve found enough morels that I’m familiar with what to look for. Here in our area, you’ll be looking in a mixed conifer forest. If you’re seeing fairy slippers and trilliums, you know you’re in the right environment and time frame. The forest floor should still be pretty bare — mostly needles and branches. Once there’s a lot of  green undergrowth, your optimal season has passed or you’re not in the right kind of area.

The first morel can be tough to find, but once your eyes acclimate you’ll start seeing more. Let your gaze catch on tree cones: Some of them might end up being mushrooms. They re ally can hide in plain sight, which is part of what makes it fun. Morels will start popping up in the lower elevations first and move up to the higher elevations, but of course there are different environmental factors like the direction the slope is facing or if it’s in a cold zone.

Locally, a general rule of thumb seems to be to look for morels at 3,000 feet around Mother’s Day — though of course, there are years when things warm up before or after then. Moisture matters too; if the spring is dry, you’re not going to get as many of them.

360: You don’t need a license to hunt mushrooms (though you might need a permit, see below). But some basic knowledge seems necessary. What should someone who sets out to find some good eating mushrooms around here know?

MS: So, yes, mushrooms can kill you. I mean, as a general rule, you should be careful about what you ingest. But that said, mushrooms kill about the same number of people in the U.S. every year as sharks do, so it isn’t very common, and morels are a fairly safe entry point for beginners.
With morels, Morchella esculenta, or any of the other Morchella species, you want to be looking for pits on the mushroom cap, not folds, a hollow stipe (stem), rather than solid or “cotton-y,” and the cap should be attached to the stipe near the bottom of the cap, not up higher on the stipe.

There are a couple of “false morel” species, Gyromitra esculenta being the most common here and often growing alongside morels. Once you know the difference, they don’t look very similar, but it’s something to pay attention to in the beginning. Verpa bohemica is another look-alike species, but the stipe has a cotton-y interior and the cap is attached higher up the stipe. This difference is easy to  see once you slice the mushroom vertically. The good news is that, when cooked, these false morel species are unlikely to kill you — you’ll just have some digestive regrets for a time.

But never eat raw wild mushrooms. Some mushrooms, including Gryromitra esculenta, can be deadly when consumed raw — cooking breaks down the toxic compounds, which is pretty wild. It’s important not to eat any mushroom unless you are 100% sure what it is, which is why it can be helpful to learn from someone else.

Also worth mentioning is that even though morels are edible, they are not well-tolerated by all people. If you’ve never had morels, and this applies to any kind o f edible mushroom, start with a very small quantity. We tend to think of all mushrooms as being the same thing, but it’s like calling strawberries and apples the same because they’re both fruit.


360: Spring is a busy time in the great outdoors. What are the protocols for sharing the forest?

MS: There’s safety, etiquette and policy. With most of these things, it’s just basic forest common sense and courtesy. We are lucky here, because the people you encounter in the woods tend to be a decent sort. We all know to give a friendly wave and stay out of other people’s space.

Safety-wise, it’s not a bad idea to wear bright colors. I also try to remember to bring bear spray. I’ve not seen bears while foraging for morels, but I’ve seen fresh cougar tracks. Either way, you want to be aware of your surroundings and be prepared. Have a first-aid kit handy, bring water, do tick checks before reentering the vehicle, don’t get lost — or if you’re going to get lost, make sure you tell someone where you’re going so they know where to send the search party.

To gather morels, I bring a knife and a mesh bag. Cutting the morels at ground level keeps the dirt where it belongs, and collecting in a mes h bag allows for spore dispersal as I wander along. Mushrooms are the fruiting body of the fungus — sort of like an apple on an apple tree. Collecting mushrooms doesn’t harm the fungus, and by the time you’re picking the morels, thousands of spores have already been released.

Good foragers don’t collect everything. I take a little more than half of the morels I find, which takes some discipline, at least for me. I can be greedy, but it’s good human and ecological etiquette to leave some where they grow. It’s good for your mind too, cultivating an abundance mindset.

As far as policy, if you’re gathering mushrooms in a national forest, you want to check the permit regulations — some of our nearby forests allow you to gather a small amount without a permit, but others require a free permit.


360: What’s a favorite recipe, once you’re home with your haul?

MS: Of course, the trick with morels isn’t just getting them home, it’s getting them clean. Morels tend to collect bugs, and, with all their pits and crevices, removing those can be difficult.

People have different methods they swear by, if you look online. I chill the morels and soak them in cold saltwater — and most of the bugs float to the surface. Any remaining bugs just add a bit more protein to the mix, as well as chitin, a fiber source found in both mushrooms and insects’ exoskeletons that’s supposed to be good for your gut. Once the morels are clean, you can let them dry on a towel and then put them in the fridge with a dry paper or cloth towel to soak up excess moisture.

Mushrooms are best fresh, so cook them up as soon as possible. Morels often are dehydrated for long-term storage.

My favorite way to eat them is just in a cream sauce with pasta:

• First, I saute halved or quartered morels in butter.
  
  
• After they’re cooked, I set them to the side and melt another couple of tablespoons of butter in the pan and add a couple of cloves of minced garlic.
  
  
• Once the garlic is golden and starting to brown, I add a few tablespoons of wine (or chicken broth) and a few tablespoons of whipping cream.
  
  
• Stir in the sauteed morels and cooked pasta, salt and pepper to taste — and, yum.