The Wild Harvest: Bugs in My Morel Mushrooms?

Everybody enjoys tasty, nutritious food-but they also want their food to be clean. We are appalled at the thought eating food prepared by unclean hands. But what about bugs in our food? We don't like that, either. However, our food supply is to some degree tainted with at least a small amount of bug parts and bug excreta-"but (to quote Billy Mays) there's more!" Cereal grains contain rodent hairs and excrement. Other foods contain fly wings, cockroaches, and other undesirables. Think this is all just hype? Examine this FDA compliance policy guide, "CPG Sec. 555.600 Filth from Insects, Rodents, and Other Pests in Foods."

Grocery Store Mushrooms

What about store bought mushrooms-do these contain such things? It is the norm to find upon careful inspection tiny fly larvae-maggots-in mushrooms. It is neither the fault of the store nor of the grower. Mushrooms are grown in manure; so it should not be surprising to learn maggots are in some of them. In fact, it would be surprising if there were not. Can you understand the value of preparing and cooking store bought mushrooms without delay? If there are maggots in them, very tiny maggots make better eating than larger maggots, do they not?

Wild Foraging: The Delectable Morel

So are you ready to go searching in woodsy areas for some wild mushrooms such as the delectable morel? Well, it's fun and it's rewarding. But be prepared to expect some unwelcome visitors. What? Ever heard of "springtails" (collembola)? These little larval creatures are not limited calling the morel their home, but the choice mushroom is high on their list of choices. Before preparing your mushrooms for cooking, you will want to clean them thoroughly in order to flush out these "arthropods." Interested in the collembola? Then you nay wish to download-free-"The Biology of the Collembola," by Steve Hopkin.

Clean Your Booty

Some suggest only a brief rinse of morels. Of course, that is not guaranteed to remove any springtails living on the mushrooms. If the thought of ingesting springtails doesn't particularly bother you, you may want to avoid soaking. If you are like most of us, you will probably be happier if you eat bug-free. The Iowa Source magazine suggests soaking them in cold brine for five minutes, rinsing them and draining them.

Recipes

Perhaps you would enjoy examining some suggested recipes before you attempt devising some for yourself? If so, you will likely delight in these suggested by the Mycological Society of San Francisco. Want to try some other recipes? Here is an immense list of sites tempting you to enjoy morel cuisine. Once you taste them, you may that it is worth the effort cleaning the bugs in your morels!

Note: Be careful that you are actually harvesting morels, and not false morels or some other dangerous fungus.

References and Resources:

NY Times - The Maggots in Your Mushrooms

The Mushroom Club - Experiments: Animals in Mushrooms

Morel Mushroom Hunting Club - Tiny Morel Insects Info