Let the hunt begin!
It’s peak season for foraging a local delicacy
It’s spring in Rappahannock, and morel mushrooms are beginning to sprout from the earth. Now is the time to venture into the woods and find this wild foraged delicacy.
It’s spring in Rappahannock, and morel mushrooms are beginning to sprout from the earth. Now is the time to venture into the woods and find this wild foraged delicacy.
Morels are known for their popularity in the culinary scene because of their rarity and deliciousness.
“The season begins usually around the first week of April when the land has warmed and ground temperatures have warmed [to] around 60 degrees,” says Teresa Boardwine, a local herbalist, locavore and founder of Green Comfort School of Herbal Medicine in Castleton. Boardwine teaches classes in local foraging and wild food cooking as well as holistic herbal medicine.
In our area the morel season has a small window of six to eight weeks with peak season lasting only two to three weeks in April. Morels can be spotted any time between the last week of March and mid-May. The season is weather dependent — morels require a substantial amount of rain to stimulate growth.
Boardwine says the best time to forage is one to two days after it rains. “Right after it rains, I’d go to the tulip poplars,” she says. “Under the poplars on decaying roots and
in apple orchards — especially the old apple orchards.” Boardwine also recommends looking on north-facing slopes.
Other trees that foster morel growth include elms, oaks and ash trees — especially those that are dying. Morels also like to grow at burn sites and areas disturbed by machinery, such as properties that
have been recently logged.
Make sure to manage expectations before searching since morels are known for their elusiveness. Some locals refer to them as ‘merkels,’ a play on ‘miracles.’
“Because it was a miracle if you found one!” Boardwine says.
If you find a morel, it is important to practice proper harvesting methods to ensure that next year’s morel crop will be bountiful. Morels should be cut at the base, and the rootlet should be left in the ground. A basket or mesh bag is best for collecting so the spores can fall through and float to the forest floor.
Restaurants in the area will spend a pretty penny on morels found locally. The Inn at Little Washington pays foragers $25 to $35 per pound depending on the quality.
Julian Eckhardt, executive sous chef at The Inn, claims that morels are the most flavorful mushroom that they use in their kitchen. Eckhardt differentiates them from other mushrooms because of their hollow, delicate, thin-walled honeycomb texture and rich, nutty flavor.
The chefs at The Inn use morels in a variety of dishes while they are in season. To enjoy them in their simplest form, Eckhardt recommends sautéing morels in hot butter and adding salt, black pepper, shallots and fresh thyme.
Some mushrooms found locally can be poisonous. A mushroom guide book or app on your phone can help identify the species of mushroom. Take caution when foraging for morels and heed the old adage: “There are old mushroom hunters and bold mushroom hunters, but no old, bold mushroom hunters.”