MOREL CODE

IS IT POSSIBLE TO DEMYSTIFY THE MOREL? THESE ELUSIVE SPRINGTIME FUNGI MAY BE CLOSER THAN YOU THINK.

- HILARY ABRAHAMSON,CARSON DOWNING,RICK LOZIER,KATHRYN GAMBLE

The forest heat is unforgiving, and the damp soil makes the air thick and muggy. The sun is setting slowly over the tree line, and my fellow hunter offers again to call it a day. But I keep stalling. Just a little longer.

It’s so agonizing for me to leave the woods in spring that I’ve sometimes likened my fervor for mushroom hunting to having a gambling problem. Jackpot clusters of morels appear to me like mirages in the desert. Any oddly shaped leaf or fallen walnut is enough to convince me a big win is just around the corner, even after hours of fruitless searching. And no matter how many times I walk away empty-handed, I always come back.

The true morel, or Morchella, exists somewhere between fact and mythology. By scientists’ best estimates, humans have been eating morels for as long as we’ve existed, and their rarity has been recorded as far back as antiquity. Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder described them as a rare ingredient reserved for nobility, and they’ve been historically referred to by the French as the “mushroom of kings.” In China, they’ve been used for food and traditional medicine for centuries. Though they’re not exactly reserved for royalty today, they’re still notoriously hard to cultivate and often cost more per pound than prime cuts of meat—skilled hunters can sell surplus bounties for upward of $45 a pound.

RIGHT Morels are identified by their honeycomb-pattern caps and hollow interiors. When in doubt, show your shrooms to a pro for proper identification.