Suddenly...

[Dave W]

I did quite a bit of travelling to the south of where I live in hopes of snagging morels in areas where they show up earlier. Logged many many more miles than morels. But, I still enjoy the adventure, and there's other interesting things to find. But... the adrenaline rush of seeing 60 big 'uns under a single dead elm, finding a couple well-hidden apple trees with dozen under them, or that one surprising tulip poplar among mushroomless hundreds... there's no substitute! In the past 5 days I've collected over 270 mainly large yellows.    

I dehydrate most of my morels. By the time I arrive home from an extended hunt --bushwhacking my way to the elms and apple trees is exhausting-- I'm really not in the mood for cooking. I'd rather save the morels for when I can prepare something special and share with friends. Properly dried morels stored in jars with tightly-fitting lids last for years. Here's my method. Seen below is the inside of a room on the south side of my attic. The window gets lots of sun. The box on the floor is a homemade dehydrator that works off two 75-watt light bulbs (old-school bulbs that emit heat). Air enters the bottom, is heated as it rises, and exits through holes in the lid. This helps the hanging morels dry. The hangers remain on monofilament until the drier is emptied, and then they go into the drier to finish. During the height of morel season the drier goes constantly for a few days.   

The so-called "common Yellow Morel" used to be called Morchella esculenta. The American version is now called Morchella americana.  

There are a couple NA species that resemble M. americana, and which are found in similar habitat. I *think* the one seen here is M. ulmaria.   

The little yellows often found under tulip poplar, sometimes called "Tulip Morels" (they also occur under other types of trees) are Morchella diminutiva. The ones seen here are about as large as this species gets before the mushrooms "blow out" and begin to deteriorate.   

[Tasso]

Great photos and a nice haul, Dave. And in prime condition too.

[CajunShroomer3578]

Beautiful Dave !! ? Also very jealous. One of these days I'll get the opportunity to pick morels. If anyone is interested, I'll exchange a awesome chanterelle hunt for a morel hunt !! 

[Old Oak]

Great work!! That sounds like an awesome time. 

[angela]

Wow.

[The Mushroom Whisperer]

OH MAN, DAVE!

Great job.  How satisfying to exercise your knowledge of your prey, and reap the rewards!

I hope I can have similar results, in the next couple of weeks.

[troutddicted]

Thanks for making all of us look bad.

[1shotwade]

Ditto!

W

[John Smalldridge]

That's an amazing haul Dave! Thanks for sharing the story of a great hunt along with the excellent photos.

[eat-bolete]

Wow those look so great! Unfortunately, no morels for me this year. Guess I'll have to spend some $, usually around $12-$15 an oz dried on ebay, some better deals when buying 8 oz or more.

[Evan]

Great morels, Dave!!! 

[flipjargendy]

Oh man... they look so good!

[robertbobby]

Wow nice haul .

[Dave W]

They kept coming pretty well for about a week. Looks like the yellow morels are mostly over here in eastern PA, except for a few late spots at higher elevation or further north. The ones I got on 5/12 were looking a bit weather-worn.  

It was a good year for the large yellows. I got about 400, and a couple hundred of the small yellows. I spend a lot of time and energy looking for them.

[Old Oak]

Always nice when it pays off. Keeps your motivation going. 

[MattVa]

Awesome Dave!, It seems I caught the very tail end of the Tulip Morels in my area when I found my first ones a few weeks back. Good to know for next year.  Do you use vacuum seal jars? Or basic canning jars and lids hand tight?

[Dave W]

Once the mushrooms are dehydrated --brittle like potato chips-- they will keep well inside any glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Store in a dry --preferably not too hot-- area. The key is to dehydrate them thoroughly. Insufficiently dried morels will become moldy. 

[robertbobby]

Is it OK to dry them and keep them in the freezer?

[MushroomDan]

Amazing hauls Dave!!! We have yet to see huge yellows like that around here. Can Morchella americana be found by tulip trees too?

[KYshroomer]

Dave, how long do your big yellows last as far as how many days from the time they pop up til they get old and crumbly?

I was wondering because I was always led to believe that they lasted longer. The ones I found this year (about 25, same spot, 3 different days) had to be picked within 24 hours or they would start crumbling and deteriorating after that. I know they were that fresh because I was checking this spot (small area) on a daily basis for a week and they were 6 to 9 inches tall, so hard to miss. It was a flat near a stream with a mix of sycamore and elm if that makes any difference.

[Sherwood]

Amazing! Thanks for sharing. 

[Dave W]

Robertbobby, I have a  friend who air-dries morels and then stores them in the freezer. The ones I air-dry are finished in a dehydrator. In this ultra-dehydrated state they may be stored in a pantry inside jars with tight-fitting lids for years. 

Dan, yes I find some M. americana near tulip polar. Actually, this spring I found a patch --maybe 30 feet by 20 feet-- of about 25 large americana (formerly esculenta) scattered around the forest floor in a tulip poplar forest. 

KY, the period of time for which the large morels remain intact in-situ varies with two factors, the weather and the insects. Damp rainy weather or really hot conditions causes them to rot more quickly than in mild dry conditions. Dampness promotes development of the white mold. Hot weather on the heels of rainfall causes them to blow-out. A repeated cycle of rain/hot causes them to partially dehydrate then rehydrate, which promotes deterioration.  As for insects, sometimes these tiny flea-like bugs infest them almost as soon as they pop. Other times the morels may persist for a week or more without being bothered. 

[Amara]

I should of readyour thread earlier. I i haven't seen common morel before but have seen black morels. At work I usually pull mushrooms out of lawns and toss them. I thought I had a bushel basket of false morels I tossed.... Youd face palm to know how many delicious morels went right in the garbage.