Morel Hunting

My husband and I got up early (because our son missed the bus -- thanks JD) and went to the woods near our house to see if we could find any morels near the place that I had found them last year. I know that the morels are fruiting here since they are going gangbusters in my backyard right now. I really wasn't expecting to find any, but within 20minutes in the woods we found seven medium sized morels!

There are only six pictured because we left one behind. It was in a precarious place, and I wanted to make sure to leave something to propagate more morels. I will be going back with some spores to spread around, too.
You can see which one my husband found. He is giving it the thumbs-up.

Hunting wild mushrooms can be an exciting, but risky endeavor. How do I know that they are morel mushrooms and not some dangerous look-alike?

First, there are not very many mushrooms that look like morels. In fact, there are only two: Gyromitra and Verpa bohemica. The first would only look like a morel if you were drunk. The second only resembles one kind of morel, the half-free morel, but is still easy to distinguish once it has been cut open -- which you should ALWAYS do before eating morels. By cutting the mushroom lengthwise, you can be 100% positive that the mushroom is a morel. If you aren't 100% positive that what you have is a morel - throw it out. The two look-alikes are not something you want to be eating. I used this website for great ID info.

Note the "brainy" look of the morel cap. The stem is smooth, firm and meaty.

Note the hollow stem and firmly attached cap. Although the interior of the stem may have minute bumps, it will have no filling/fibers. The cap and the stem are virtually continuous - no distinct separation. Only the half-morels have separation, and I would never feel 100% confident with those. Besides, I have read that the ones pictured here are the best tasting anyway, so why risk it?

Oh, and morels aren't something you want to be eating raw as they have a chemical in them that can cause intestinal issues. Heat breaks this chemical down, so be sure to cook them. Sauteed in butter is awesomeness.

Want to try growing your own? Well, you could wait and hope nature brings you some morel spore, try your luck with community compost (like I did), create your own morel spawn, or buy morel spawn. As far as what to do to ensure their happiness, I have no idea. I cuss my garden out a lot. You could try that.