EFFINGHAM, Ill. (AP) — When the weather gets warm at the start of spring, people flock to wooded areas across the region in search of mushrooms.
They go every year, checking hillsides and around dead trees for different kinds of morel mushrooms. The fungi, considered delicacies, can run $50 per pound if store bought.
"A lot of the price comes from increased demand," said Sean Morris, owner of Sean's Produce in Effingham. "More people like cooking with mushrooms."
Steve Ballinger, 51, of Neoga has been mushroom hunting every spring since he was a young child.
"We started mushroom hunting as soon as we were old enough to walk in the woods with grandma and grandpa," he said.
Because of a cold spell, Ballinger said on April 6 that he had yet to prowl the woods for morels. He said that he would wait for a few more warm days before doing so. The hunting usually begins at the beginning of April, but it depends on the weather.
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During the spring, Ballinger said his family cooks and eats the mushrooms they gather. If they have too much for themselves, they'll give some mushrooms away.
With a strong flashlight, Ballinger said he used to mushroom hunt in the night, but doesn't anymore.
"We can't because of the coyotes," he said.
Though morels are a highly sought-after and "exquisite" food, there are mushrooms that hunters need to avoid because they're toxic.
That means anyone clamoring to head out for their first hunt should do so with a veteran, Ballinger said.
"You pick and eat the wrong ones, and you're done," he said.
But the trick is finding a veteran willing to give away their hunting spots.
"Around here, we guard our mushrooms like our wallets," Ballinger said.
Before a hunter enjoys their spoils, Morris suggests cutting the mushrooms in half. If the stem and cap is hollow, then it's a morel. If it's not hollow, it's a false morel that shouldn't be eaten.
The morels should be disinfected before cooking them. Deb McKay of Neoga said her family lets the mushrooms soak in saltwater overnight. Putting them in saltwater kills bugs and preserves the mushrooms, Morris said.
Despite strong winds and cold temperatures that have been constant in the area from the end of March through the first week of April, the middle of March saw above average temperatures. And one area hunter capitalized on that.
Rebecca Ashley found a handful of mushrooms while looking in woods at the edge of Effingham County on March 23.
"I just knew it in my heart," she said that day. "But I had to walk a long ways just to find a few little mushrooms."
Even though Morris said that some days his supplier doesn't have enough mushrooms to ship to him because of high demand, he said he likely wouldn't buy from a local hunter unless they had certification and insurance.
But Morris said he did buy some from a local enthusiast once.
"The mushrooms went from the picker's hands, to my hands, to the customer's hands," Morris said.
In general though, he said either locals aren't looking to sell or they aren't finding much.
Morris' supplier of morels is a family operation based in Keno, Oregon. The lack of mushroom harvesting in the Midwest has kept the prices up, he said.
For those in the area that want to be successful morel hunters year after year, and possibly avoid buying the costly mushrooms, Morris has a tip: pinch the morel off from above the dirt line. Pulling from below the surface could keep the mushroom from growing back the next spring.
Ballinger also has a tip: make sure to have a strategy.
"They're not easy to see," he said. "There's a method to the madness. You've got to know where you're going to find them. You have to be able to read the terrain and know what you're looking for."
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Source: Effingham Daily News, http://bit.ly/1qVKzKB
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Information from: Effingham Daily News, http://www.effinghamdailynews.com
This is an AP-Illinois Exchange story offered by the Effingham Daily News.
