How to Find and Possibly Make Money off Morel Mushrooms

What are morels?
For those who do not know, or those new to the world of hunting for edible mushrooms, morels are an uncommon to rare edible sac fungus. There are many things that make morels highly coveted. For one, their golden brown color and wrinkly caps makes them blend in with the surrounding leaf litter. Second, not much is known about their ecology; even if you ask a mycologist, "where do morels typically grow?" he might say, "wherever they want to." As a result of the lack of understanding of their ecology, morels cannot be commercially cultivated. That and the fact this this mushroom is highly prized by gourmet cooks increases the demand, which must be met by amateur and skilled mushroom hunters alike. I heard that a pound of fresh morels could sell for more than $350 (these mushrooms can also get pretty large and they have some weight to them!).

You might say, well what makes this mushroom so great to cook with? I've had the pleasure of tasting some and let me tell you: it has a flavor like nothing else. It's not really recommended to eat any kind of mushrooms raw; cooking them breaks down any potentially harmful chemicals in them. I sautéed the first few I found in butter. Although this might be a fairly simple preparation, I think the mushroom retains much of its natural flavor this way. It was very delectable, having an earthy and nutty flavor while also being savory. I also tried breading and frying them but I like them sautéed better. 

Down to business. When is morel season? Morels usually pop up, in my experience and in my area (Illinois) from mid to late April and by about the second week of May, they disappear almost as fast as they popped up. Ideally the season only lasts a few weeks. I start looking fr them when the May apple plants' leaves open up like an umbrella and flatten out (You can see what May apple plants look like in the top right corner of the second picture! They grow only about 12 to 18 inches tall). There are many May apples where I search. Where can you find morels? That's the hard part. Nobody knows. You basically have to just go out in the forest and look for them. This requires a lot of time walking around hunched over staring at the ground, maybe taking about 30 seconds looking in each square foot. It is useful to carry a walking stick to help move tall vegetation away so you can get a look at the ground. Although it cannot, or perhaps has not yet been proven that morels have symbiotic relationships with trees, it is rumored that they can be found near trees like elm, cotton wood, and apple trees to name a few. The great thing is that once you find a morel you have to freeze because there are likely more right around your feet. Morels can grow in small clusters, scattered, and I've even found a few solitary ones. The even greater part about morel hunting is that after you've finally found a patch you can return year after year, as the mycelium underground will keep producing fruit. To ensure that you don't hurt the organism when you pick its delicious fruiting bodies, you should carry a small pocket knife to slice it at ground level rather than just yanking it out of the ground. Also it is common ethical practice to carry your picked morels in a breathable mesh bag so that as you walk around, your mushrooms drop their spores, helping this rare fungus proliferate. I use bags that from the super market that oranges, onions, and even garlic come in. The mesh works really well and I think it is better to repurpose these than to throw them away.

The morel has only one dangerous look-alike and that's the false morel. I don't have any pictures because I've never seen one. These pictures are originals that I took last season and I didn't see any false morels. The false morel is more wrinkly and brain-like while the true morel is more porous, like a sponge. But even aside from that, one sure-fire way of knowing that you've found a true morel is if it is hollow. False morels are never hollow.
Here are some more pictures of morels that I've found. In my opinion they are one of the most beautiful living things I have ever seen.

Tell me your thoughts about morels/morel hunting! Have you had any success? I found 13 my first season, which is not too shabby for a newbie I think. Maybe I'll try to sell some morels this year.
Feel free to ask any questions too and resteem/upvote if you found this post interesting! Thanks for reading!