Morels – Many species, Edible for most people but not all

‘Living in Central Oregon has many advantages to those who settled on the west side of the Cascades. One of them is our easy access to morel hunting spots. We have several types that consistently fruit in our area and they look very similar but fruit in different habitats or times. What most hunters go after are the burn morels since we have so many burned areas in the forests now. Burn morels can be astoundingly prolific at times and may continue to fruit for several years. The trick is to find an area where the soil has warmed enough in the spring and where the burn was not too intense as to kill the mycelium, which may mean looking near the edges of burns.  

Morels have gone through many name changes with DNA information. What is important to know is that cooking morels very throughly and not breathing in the steam from the pan will keep you safest. Still there are people who cannot eat morels, which cause more digestive problems than other edible mushrooms. Do not overeat these.