Foraging for MORELS!

Yesterday, I hung out with my friends and master foragers--AB and Max. This time we searched for wild Morel mushrooms. Morels are members of the Morchella genus of edible wild mushrooms. In Vermont, it includes at least three species: the black morel, the yellow or white morel and the giant or bigfoot morel, which pop up each spring in that order. All three feature an elongated cap that has a distinct, honeycomb-like pattern of pits and ridge, which is supported by a whitish stem that is attached directly to the bottom of the cap and is almost as wide. The caps range in color from burnt-brown to light tan, depending on the species. The easiest way to identify morels is to slice them in half lengthwise. True morels have a hollow, tubular stem and cap, whereas false morels are filled with a pithy, cotton-like material. False morels also have a more rounded and wrinkled cap, without the honeycomb pattern, and the stem extends up inside the cap, which surrounds it like a skirt.

It was a little late in the season but, after a very buggy hike we had some success. We found one small mushroom pretty early on. A few minutes later we spotted five or six very large mushrooms right in front of us. JACKPOT! Once I knew what the mushrooms looked like, I had more success. We scanned the forest floor for about an hour or so before heading back to the car for a beer. Ahh...Vermont. You never cease to amaze me. We finished off the day with a grilled burger made with pickled ramps and brie. Yum.