Are You a Roon?

April 16, 2008

Hunting for the Elusive Morel Mushroom, pt. I

By John Garman

Morel mushrooms are among the most prized edible wild mushrooms in the world. Resembling a sponge on a stick, morels don’t look like ordinary mushrooms— or taste like ordinary mushrooms. Morels have a rich, creamy flavor that is deliciously earthy, nutty, steak-like– and it’s this awesome taste that makes the morel mushroom No.1 with mushroom lovers. It’s been said that

“there is something almost cruelly tantalizing about morels. No other mushroom in the world, save perhaps the white truffle of northern Italy, offers quite the degree of flavor and fragrance of a fresh morel.”

The taste of morels is exquisite and indeed addictive. The unique flavor of the morel mushroom is prized by gourmet chefs around the world for special menu options, and the results can be quite creative. FoodNetwork.com lists over sixty morel recipes ranging from omelettes, sauces, vinaigrettes, morel pate, morel stroganoff, veal and morel pie, to the exotic morel tarts and morels in puff pastry with cream.

Early spring is the season for hunting morels. More than 50 million people in the world hunt for morels every spring. Morel hunting contests, festivals, online morel hunting discussion boards, t-shirts, walking sticks, lamps and other décor items abound. There’s even a nickname for people obsessed with morels: Roon. John Ratzloff, author of the romping book The Morel Mushroom says a Roon is defined as

A person possessed by extreme or insatiable desires for morel mushrooms or A keeper of the secrets and Order of Roon.

Roons are willing to pay upward of $52 per pound for fresh morels or $20 per one ounce for dried.

Morels are most prolific in the U.S., though they can also be found in Russia, Australia, China, Romania, England, Pakistan and France. Morels grow in every state, every Canadian province and most countries throughout the world. They thrive best in climates with pronounced seasonal changes. Morels are particularly popular in Europe, and they are commercially harvested in India, Turkey, Morocco, Peru, Nepal and Afghanistan.

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