Morel Mushrooms
Picking morel mushrooms has been one of the best excuses that I have come up with to allow me to get outside to greet the spring and put winter’s dreariness behind me.
Normally my wife Linda and I choose to pick our morel near Cle Elum, but morels are scattered throughout the state, with good concentrations found near Wenatchee, Roslyn and Leavenworth. Morels are picked in western Washington too, and are typically ready to harvest there two weeks sooner. Eastern Washington has sun, wildflowers, plus a lot less underbrush to contend with though, so Cle Elum, here we come-again.
May is our favorite month to pick morel.
The picking window when they can be found in good condition generally lasts about one month. Picking mushrooms initially starts at the lower elevations, and then moves up the hillsides as the sun warms the soil there. Preparations for our outing were simple: grocery bags and a paring knife is all that is really needed.
For safety, we also carry emergency items, such as first aid kit, bright clothing, matches, water, snacks, a whistle, and either a cell phone or GPS.
Patches of snow were visible as we crossed Snoqualmie Pass and we hoped our trip was not too early. As we approached Easton however, our first indicator gave us reason for optimism; the cottonwood trees had begun to bud. They are my indicator. Morel mushrooms tend to prosper in the compost formed by the cottonwood leaves. Generally, we look for groves of cottonwood, at least to begin our search. Morel also grows in pine forests and even become prolific in burned areas during the year immediately following a forest fire. We soon located good cottonwood stands along the Yakima River near Cle Elum and began to search. Once we find a good patch we try to remember its location. Morels tend to return and grow at the same location every year, assuming the weather and moisture are right.
A grouse surprised us with its frantic wing beats. Soon thereafter, a whitetail deer bounded off through the brush. It was a good feeling to see that the local wildlife had survived another winter here. Some years freezing rain or melting snow put a crust on the snow making it difficult for animals to feed or even move. Animal mortality is high then and it takes a few years for their populations to rebound. Animal populations fluctuate dramatically in the boom or bust conditions of weather and food supply.
Linda soon found a single morel and then another. Finally I began to see them as well. It took our eyes a few minutes to learn how to spot the mushrooms amongst all the leaves and twigs. Verpa, also known as false morel, or early morel were also starting to show, but we elected not to pick them this trip. We prefer true morel when we can find them, but happily pick the Verpa when we cannot. Some people claim that they are allergic to false morel, but we have been fortunate not to have had this reaction.
During two hours or so of picking, we collected over eighty mushrooms between us.
Those that wouldn’t be cooked fresh during our initial meal were dried, micro waved for a minute to kill insects and/or their eggs, and then stored in quart jars for up to three years. Dried morel will quickly come back to life when they are placed in a small amount of warm water. Sometimes I will use a microwave to briefly heat them in a small dish and then work them into my meal.
The warm sunshine we encountered was a welcome change to Seattle’s drizzle and invited us to linger longer than necessary as we enjoyed our first real feeling of spring.
The other reason for our lengthy stay became evident that Friday, when Linda prepared her meal, which included lots of those fresh, tasty, morel mushrooms.
