Edible Outdoors
Indiana s Caviar HUNTING IN THE WILD FOR MOREL MUSHROOMS By Jennifer L. Rubenstein, Layout by Caryn Scheving
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rowing up, morel mushrooms were always in our skillets in late spring. The hunt would commence in April with my Grandpa Yoder, who was in ever y sense our mushroom man. He would know right where to hunt and how to pinch them off. It was fair to say pounds would be eaten by our family each season. It wasn’t until I was in my 30s that I truly understood the rarity of these delectable fungi, or fully appreciated the gift of having such a meal to savor. My grandfather passed many years ago, leaving that hunting legacy to my mother, father and middle brother. They don’t find the pounds and pounds any longer, nor is the search as much of an adventure these days, but no matter the size of the find we still celebrate my grandfather with those fried morels accompanied with a piece of white bread smothered in butter. Sometimes the memories are as flavorful as the dish.
When
Mid to late April and May Ground temperature 45–55°F Mushrooms stop producing when ground temperature rises above 60°F
Where
Fallen elm trees with bark sliding off Dying elm trees Apple orchards Ash trees Dark sand
The perfect conditions:
Moist soil warm morning following a nighttime shower
Old wives tale: Best time to hunt coincides with dogwood leaves being “the size of a mouse’s ear”
Indiana Varieties Black Morels, Morchella angusticeps )EVP] %TVMP ½VWX XS ETTIEV Around ash and poplar trees, sometimes conifers Yellow Morels, Morchella esculentoides Late April to mid May Dying elm, ash, old apple orchards, near or under fallen trees Golden yellow color with light-colored ridges and pits
gray morels
Gray Morels, Morchella americana Late April to mid May Dying elm, ash, old apple orchards, near or under fallen trees
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edible INDY Spring 2018
