Foraging for Snakehead Mushrooms

Saturday afternoon I went over to my neighbor Jane's to get a few dozen eggs. We were visiting in her kitchen when her husband and son came in with two large mesh bags bulging at the seams. Grinning from ear to ear, they proudly and somewhat ceremoniously placed their bounty on the kitchen table. I noticed the bags were full of a kind of mushroom I'd never seen before. Jane called them "snakehead mushrooms" and shared some with me.

The snakehead mushroom, I've since learned, is a true morel (which belongs to the same fungus species as the truffle) that is common to central Indiana. Jane told me how to clean and prepare them (see the Spring Recipe section for her recipe). They were incredibly delicious.

Now, truth be told, I never did figure out where they got those gorgeous mushrooms as those who find such delicacies are very careful to not disclose their secret foraging places--even to a good neighbor who knows better than to come straight out and ask that question. I can appreciate that. I'd keep a treasured spot like that to myself, too. But after eating those mushrooms, I'll tell you one thing--I'll definitely be taking more walks in the woods around here...soon...make that very soon!

Photo: Snakehead morels