Morel mushrooms are gourmet delicacies.
They’re also expensive because, unlike many other mushrooms, they can’t be farmed and are only found in the wild — and only for a short season. The locations are carefully guarded secrets.
Tony Reyneros, an experienced morel forager, spent a recent Saturday morning with his daughter Scarlet … let’s just say “somewhere in Sedgwick County.”
The quest for the elusive morels is not an easy task, but Tony has been doing this for years and knows where to look.
He followed a woodland path — fairly easy walking — before pushing into the brush, navigating bushes and saplings, downed trees and low branches.
“Just keep your eye on the ground. Eyes on the ground,” Reyneros said.
They kept their eyes on the ground, searching among layers of dead leaves.
Finally, Reyneros found the first mushroom.
“See it
It's on the other side of the fence,” he said.
Once they found the first one, others followed. Scarlet found the next one. She’s been foraging with her dad for years and has a good eye.
Most of the morels are partially covered by leaves, but you can see them if you’re standing in just the right place.
“You see how you can just walk right over it,” Reyneros said.
The lacy, light brown caps blend in with their surroundings, and there’s no predicting how they’ll appear.
“I’ve found them in groups and clusters,” Reyneros said. “I’ve found them individually. I’ve found them three feet away from each other. … They're that abundant.”
Morels tend to pop up through dead leaves and close to dead trees. They also grow near saplings, and on embankments. They can show up anywhere the mycelium — the underground network that connects ecosystems — is present. Finding them just takes persistence and stamina.
To find them you either crawl on the ground, Reyneros said, or “you're at a duck walk 90% of the time.”
It’s also important to know true morels from false ones, which are poisonous. Tony is a certified morel identifier through a course from Kansas State University and the FDA. This means he can sell them legally. He hopes to have some this year at his produce stand at the west Wichita farmer’s market.
Cooks like to either saute the sliced mushrooms in butter, or batter and deep-fry them. They’re also popular in risotto.
Reyneros is a talented forager and finds hundreds — maybe thousands — of morels each season. But not every excursion is successful.
“You have to really love being out in the woods,” he said. ‘Even if I don't find anything, it's still a win.”
