MCCALL, Idaho — Adam Prazenica has been searching for morel mushrooms for around a quarter of a century, and he was nice enough to take us to one of his secret spots to search for this delicious fungi.
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Adam says being able to correctly identify morel mushrooms is the most important step when it comes to foraging for this wild mushroom.
"It has a definite honeycomb to it, which a false morel doesn’t have," explained Prazenica. "This is how we know it is legit, is when you cut it length wise you can see it is hollow on the inside."
Morel mushrooms are a delicacy and can go for around $20 per pound, but when it comes to eating this wild mushroom, it must be thoroughly cooked. People have gotten sick and have even died by not following these guidelines.
"Don’t eat them raw, don’t pick old ones even if you are going to cook them really well," said Prazenica. "They might have contaminants or other bacteria and fungi."
While foraging, Prazenica uses clues to search for morel mushrooms, and we found several on our little hike. However, he says it has been too dry this spring, and moving forward, people will likely not be able to find many groups in the forest.
Prazenica says the drying out of the forest has been a trend during the past two decades. His tip? Go looking where wildfires burned last year for a shot at better luck.
"That makes better sense, but I do not enjoy burn environments as much as I enjoy these environments," added Prazenica.
Going out on an adventure is part of the draw for Prazenica, and he uses other mushrooms to give him clues on places to look for morel mushrooms. I enjoyed the experience despite the area being thick with mosquitoes.
Prazenica also hopes to serve as an ambassador who advocates for responsible picking to help ensure the future of morel mushrooms. He says that while these mushrooms used to be a secret, that isn't the case anymore, and he left behind some of the mushrooms we found.
"I’m going to choose to leave these today because we haven’t found enough to justify continuing to pick," said Prazenica.
Morel mushrooms remind me of searching for huckleberries because people will keep their finds a secret. At the end of the day, Prazenica picked enough wild mushrooms for a meal.
That special meal and a day walking in nature— make it all worthwhile.
