As a lot of you may have seen, its mushroom season here in Missouri! People are running in the woods and running out with 5-gallon buckets full of morels and other tasty natural foods. But why the craze? And why should you start eating more of them?
I SEE ALL OF THE PICTURES THIS TIME OF YEAR. WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT THE SPRING?
Morel season in Missouri is in full swing. These particular mushrooms only grow for a couple of weeks out of the entire year, which makes them a very seasonal treat. The first few rainfalls of the spring prime the environment for them to grow and bring back some humidity after the dry winter air has left. This coupled with more mild temperatures creates the perfect couple of weeks for foraging. When the temperature stays more consistently between 50-70 degrees, you are most likely to find some. I’ve heard from some mushroom hunters that you always find the best ones after a light rain, so pack your boots and maybe a rain coat. Just in case. This represents a good opportunity to go out with the family and kids too. Make it an event and have some fun with it. In the end, you’ll at least end up with some tasty and healthy things to add to dinner that night.
ARE MUSHROOMS REALLY THAT HEALTHY FOR YOU?
Yes. Absolutely. Not all mushrooms, obviously, some are poisonous and full of bad things. But we have been talking about morel mushrooms, so here are some morel nutrition facts:
• GOOD SOURCE OF VITAMIN D:
– Morels are a great source of vitamin D that can be found naturally. Most grocery store mushrooms are grown in dark environments and go through their factory process. This eliminates the growth of the vitamin D in the mushroom. Some of these factories might get them exposed to sunlight, which helps with the vitamin D levels, but its still not great. Morels are grown out in the wild and have ample opportunity to soak up some sun.
• HIGH IN ANTIOXIDANTS:
– Antioxidants are super important in your diet. There aren’t a lot of people out there that think about adding in more with what they eat. They should though. Antioxidants are protecting your body from free radicals which are known to cause many diseases. Those would be cancers, heart disease, Parkinson’s, dementia, etc.
• COULD FIGHT CARBON TETRACHLORIDE EXPOSURE
– This compound, carbon tetrachloride, is also known as CCl4. This is an inorganic compound, meaning that it has no place in nature and is a synthetic byproduct in things we make. Thankfully, the EPA has stepped up and eliminated it from consumer products, but it is still used industrially. This compound is known to cause liver and kidney damage, as well as depress your brain and lung function. Extract from the morel mushroom was more recently found to protect your liver from this compound causing it damage.
HOW CAN YOU GET THEM?
Some people will trade or sell them if you’re lucky, but they typically come with a hefty price tag. This is due to how in demand they are and the short growing season. Then also paying for the time and effort it took to go out in the woods to find and gather them. The best way, is to try to find them yourself. If not, you could look to pay upwards of $20 per pound of mushrooms. Good luck to all your morel hunters!
