Morels World

If you’re interested in learning how to find more morel mushrooms, then this article may help you find more mushrooms then ever before.

Many of us know that spotting morel mushrooms is a tricky task. However, many of us would still like to find MORE of these scrumptious little guys wouldn’t we?

This article will help you!

Have you ever noticed that Morels always seem to “jump out” at you suddenly, but you never see them out of the corner of your eye?

There is a scientific reason for this, and it’s based on a new cutting-edge discovery in the psycho-cognitive field.

You have something in your brain called the Fovea. (pho-VEE-uh) It is the wide-screen area field of your vision.

The best way to describe the Fovea is by using a picture called a Venn Diagram seen below. The Venn Diagram below illustrates your Foveal field of human vision.

One circle is your left eye’s vision, and the other is your right eye’s vision. They overlap to make what’s called your “Foveal View.”

This is only 2 degrees of your sight where you interpret the highest resolution detail and color. Up to about 5 degrees of the Foveal View you can detect almost full detail and color.

Completely outside of the Foveal View (but still in your line of sight) is called your “periphery.” This sight is low resolution, tuned to motion and contrast only, not color or detail.

Foveal Vision and Locating Morels

Now that we understand how our vision translates information into our brain, we can better understand why finding morel mushrooms is so difficult.

We cannot see the mushrooms out of the corner of our eyes (because of our periphery) and therefore, we can only see them in our Foveal View. (Again, this is our highest reception of color and detail and is only about 2 to 5 degrees of your total vision.)

A very small range…

The only way to find more mushrooms, then, is to SLOW DOWN when we are looking because we need to see them in our Foveal View.

Admittedly, this is very hard to do due to the fact that this only makes of 2-5 degrees of our total sight!

So in this “fast paced” world we live in, how can we learn to slow down and see more mushrooms that can only be seen in our Foveal View?

Practice!

More specifically, practice standing still LONGER to allow for your sight to see more detail in your Foveal View. More mushrooms will “jump out” at you.

The best mushroom hunters (the ones who find the most mushrooms) only find more mushrooms that you because they stand still longer.

An expert rule of thumb for morel hunting is for every one minute you walk, you should stand and look for the mushroom for SIX.

A 6 to 1 ratio.

This is very hard to do, but if you can practice and learn that the slower you go the more mushrooms you’ll spot, you can increase your yearly bounty easily by 100%. And probably a lot more too.

That means if you find 100 mushrooms in a season, you may find as many as twice that amount by simply understanding how your sight works, its limitations, and that you must simply learn to stand still more.

One way to get better at this is to actually time yourself on two points of data.

• How long you walked on your mushroom hunt (total time)

• How long you stood still on your hunt (total time)

Subtract the time you stood from the total time you hunted. Then, divide your answer by the total number you hunted. This will tell you how long you walked. Shoot for 17% or less.

Here’s the formula:

t = total time hunted

s = total time stood still

T = total time walking

(t-s)/t = T (x 100)

Here’s an example:

You hunted for 100 minutes(t). You stood for 80 minutes(s).

Did you stand for enough time (goal 17%) to increase our mushroom bounty?

Let’s see the calculation below:

100 minutes total hunt (t) – 80 minutes standing still (s) =

20 minutes walking total

20 minutes divided by 100 (t) = .20 (T)

Multiply .20 times 100 to get the percent (.20 x 100 = 20%)

We walked 20% of total time hunted. Did you reach your goal?

No, you missed your goal of 17% by just 3%. Not bad though.

Again, your goal is a 1:6 radio. Walk one minute (17%) and stand and look for six minutes (83%).

This translates into standing and looking for about 83% of your total time in the field. And only about 17% walking.

Yes, that seems like a lot of standing because it is! However, if you can get this SINGLE task down, you’ll substantially increase your mushroom bounty. I promise!

Please respond if you found this article helpful. It is the most cutting edge information available, and it is my goal to use science to help you all find more mushrooms.

Thanks for reading.

Garrett Todd

The morel mushroom is found in the United States and Europe during the spring and has a tendency to sprout up after a rainfall. The morel is more closely related to truffles, not mushrooms, as noted by their distinctive nutty or smoky flavor. Ranging in size from very tiny to the size of a soda can, morels can be found in the woods, cow pastures and even along the roadside. These mushrooms stop growing once they sprout from the ground and can range in color from light tan to dark grey. Morels are used in soups, stews and gravies and can be preserved easily for future use.

1. Step 1

   

   Cut the dirt ball from the stem

   Wash the morels really well to remove sand, dirt and any bugs. Cut the end (dirt ball) off the mushroom stem.

2. Step 2

   

   Cut the morels lengthwise

   Cut the mushrooms in half, slicing from top to bottom. Wash again in very cold water.

3. Step 3

   Place 1/2 cup of flour into a sandwich baggie. Add several morels, depending on size, and shake gently, coating them thoroughly. Lay the coated morels on a paper towel. Repeat the process until all morels are coated with flour, adding more flour as necessary.

4. Step 4

   Gently place all flour coated morels into a large freezer baggie with a zipper-style closure. Store in freezer on top of other food items to preserve to prevent flattening.

Things You’ll Need:

• Morel Mushrooms
• String

Morel mushrooms are a culinary delicacy. They grow wild during a very limited season. They contain an earthy, almost meaty flavor that is delicious alone, or as an accompaniment to other dishes. Because of the porous nature of morels, they can become tainted with dirt and insects. Therefore, thorough cleaning measures should be taken to prepare them for cooking.

1. Step 1

   Cut each morel mushroom in half, lengthwise.

2. Step 2

   Place mushrooms in a colander.

3. Step 3

   Set the mushroom-filled colander in a bowl of cold water to which 3 tbs of white vinegar have been added.

4. Step 4

   Gently submerge the mushrooms with your hands to loosen dirt and bugs. Shake the colander to dislodge tough grit.

5. Step 5

   Remove the mushrooms from the colander and lay them on a sheet of paper towels. Carefully pat each mushroom dry with a clean cloth.

These veal scaloppini with morel mushrooms and morel risotto recipes will surely delight your family and guests. You just can’t get enough of these tasty little mushrooms. Yes, I am a morel mushroom junkie. Spending my rent money just to get my weekly fix would not be unusual. OK, not really, but I like them a whole lot.

Spring is almost here and this is the best time for morel mushroom hunting.
Unfortunately it hasn’t started for me here in Chicago. Unlike thousands of people each year who actually go into the woods searching for these mushrooms, I hunt for my mushrooms at Amazon or on Ebay. Which I enjoy very much. Ebay and Amazon are my best friends.

All through the winter there are people waiting in anticipation for spring to hunt down these delectable little morsels. Not often do you find entire web sites devoted to fungi. You can actually visit the Morel Mushroom Hunting Club at http://www.morelmushroomhunting.com or http://www.thegreatmorel.com for more information regarding the adventures of morel hunting. If you live the areas where morel mushroom hunting is common, these sites will be most helpful.

And let’s not forget the National Morel Mushroom Festival in Boyne City, Michigan or the festival in Muscota, Wisconsin, the self acclaimed capital of morel mushrooms. Here you will find great entries being made, songs being sung and recipes being exchanged.

If you’re not lucky enough to be able to go on a hunt like me, just shop online like I do. You can get fresh morels shipped to you overnight when in season or you can purchase them dried and use them throughout the year, if you are willing to pay the price. Don’t be surprised to pay ten dollars an ounce for these delicacies. Once you try them you’ll be hooked.

So here’s my veal scaloppini and morel risotto recipes for you to enjoy.

INGREDIENTS

Veal Scaloppini