Mushroom Mystique
Phil Taunton
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Hang in there, Outdoor People.
I’ve seen mocking birds and heard the brown thrasher singing a delightful chorus. Robins are building nests in the crab apple tree and rabbits are pairing up in the yard. Asparagus has sprouted in the garden and dandelions are blooming.
The weather has got to clear up soon.
Note to fishermen: Area lakes have reached that magical temperature and some walleye are being caught along the face of reservoir dams late into the night.
Puffball, Shaggy Mane, Bearded Tooth, Inky Cap and Oyster!
No, these are not the names of the guys I spent many a rainy day with down at the old Mitway pool hall on Commercial. They are not even nicknames of any railroaders I use to work with, though some would fit the bill and bear a close resemblance.
The aforementioned are all names of edible mushrooms.
Each spring when the weather gets warm and humid, I begin roaming the woods, hunting mushrooms, my mouth watering for a mess of tasty morels.
The gentle sport of mushroom hunting, also known as “rooning,” is a fine excuse to get outdoors and get your fill of fresh, spring air. If you believe in folklore, when leaves on red bud trees are about the size of squirrel’s ears, its prime time for morels to be poking through the forest floor. Heaven knows we have enough moisture this year.
I must warn you, because a few wild mushrooms are deadly and many more are mildly poisonous, harvesting wild mushrooms is not for the careless or uninformed.
On the other hand, this time-honored tradition isn’t the death-defying feat many people imagine. A number of good, edible mushrooms are easy to recognize and hard to confuse with anything poisonous.
Edible mushrooms are distinctive in many ways. Once you learn their distinguishing features, they will be hard to confuse with dangerous, poisonous types.
Remember, where and when a mushroom grows can be very important in identifying it.
The most popular wild mushroom in Kansas — one that is easy to recognize and delicious to eat — is the morel. The surface of a morel is covered with definite pits and ridges, and the bottom edge of the cap — this is very important to remember — is attached directly to the stem.
Size might vary from 2 to 12 inches tall and most will be pear or pyramid shape, although I once found one round and as big as a softball! It tasted like one too. Thumb size is more to my liking.
There are three common species of morels: the common, the black or smoky and the half-free. So as not to confuse a beginning “rooner” and to be on the safe side, I only deal with the common.
When young, this morel has white ridges and dark brown pits and is known as the “white morel.” As it ages, both the ridges and the pits turn yellow-brown, and it becomes a “yellow morel.” If conditions are right, the “yellow morel” can grow into a “giant morel,” which might be up to a foot tall provided a deer or some other critter doesn’t eat it first.
Morels can be found from spring to early summer. I found the softball-sized morel on May 8, but I forgot where.
I’m old and can forget! Rooners are secretive about where they roam!
Morels are found on the ground, not on logs or growing on trees. They are found in a variety of habitats, including moist woodlands and in river bottoms.
I found a great number of them in a pasture around some dead cottonwood trees after the grass had been burnt off. Wifeus once dragged me off on a mushroom hunting expedition that soon turned into a death march.
This trek took us across most of Morris County and wasn’t very fruitful until we returned to the cabin on Council Grove City Lake. There, we stumbled into a big mess not 100 yards from my favorite sofa. They are where they are!
Some experienced rooners claim they can smell them. Pigs are used to find and root up truffles in France. Perhaps I can train the pointers to become mushroom dogs!
Morels are quite distinctive, but there is a small chance they could be confused with false morels. Some people can eat the false morel, but for others it causes serious illness and even death. If in doubt, leave it out!
To prepare morels for the table, you should half or quarter them and check for insects. Wash them carefully.
They can be stewed, baked, creamed or stuffed with dressing. I like to dip them in egg and milk, then dredge the pieces in seasoned flour and fry until crispy.
Contrary to what a lot of people think, mushrooms can be frozen and used at a later date. Clean them just like you would for the table, flash freeze individually on a cookie sheet, and then store the pieces in a zip-lock freezer bag. Dip, batter and fry while they are still frozen. Your lips will think they fell in love.
What is a mushroom? Mushrooms are actually the fruits of a fungus. The fungus itself is simply a net of threadlike fibers, called a mycelium, growing in soil, wood or decaying matter. I liken them to potatoes on a vine.
The function of a mushroom is to produce spores, which are the “seeds” of the fungus. Some kinds of mushrooms produce their spores on gills, some in pores, some inside a leathery pouch (the puffball), some on the inside of shallow cups (the morel) and some simply on the surface of the mushroom.
The spores form on these various structures, and then fall off to blow away on the wind or be carried by animals, water or insects. If a spore lands in a suitable spot, it germinates and grows into a new mycelium.
It is wise to use a mesh bag when harvesting morels. Spores will be released and ensure you a crop for the future.