Karma Metzgar, C.F.C.S., Nutrition Specialist, Regional Director, Northwest Region, University of Missouri Extension
With spring rains, increasingly warm temperatures and trees beginning to leaf out, all signs point to mushroom hunting season! The morel is not only a tasty delight to humans, it’s also relished by squirrels, chipmunks, turtles and other wildlife. It’s all a matter of who gets there first when they pop out.
The most important rule of mushroom hunting is to know precisely and positively what you’re after. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) website has pictures of edible mushrooms, including the morel. For your safety, visit the MDC site before you go on a hunt – Basic Mushrooming.
Here are some tips on identifying the morel…
Often, hunters are lucky and have more than they can eat now and want to freeze them for later. It’s best to freeze the extras the same day as picked or harvested, not several days later when you haven’t had time to use them…
For information on hunting, preparing, cooking and freezing morels, see the full version of this article at http://missourifamilies.org/
