This has always bothered me and I have never found the exact answer to this question. Why do some people cut the mushroom off and waste so much of the tasty stem? I thought the pores that fell out of the top is what settles into the dirt for the next year and not anything to do with the base of the mushroom??? Can anyone clear this up for me as I have always just plucked them and torn off the base and threw it down and save as much of the stem as I can!
Morel Militia Admirer-The Whole Bunch Of Them! Groupie from South Dakota
When you cut the stem rather than picking the whole "root system" out of the ground you actually will be leaving the mushroom there because the mushroom is the fruit of the fungus. Does that make any sense?
JOIN THE FEW, THE PROUD, AND THE BRAVE. WE ARE THE MOREL CORP!!
Yeh that makes sense, but why to you see some people cutting and leaving a hefty portion of the stem? Aren't they being wasteful so to speak? And do you think the base of the mushrooms I have thrown down may have started again?
Morel Militia Admirer-The Whole Bunch Of Them! Groupie from South Dakota
I am not sure about "thrown down bases"....BUT sometimes when you see large stems that have been left it is because when you leave the stem in the ground IT WILL CONTINUE TO GROW!!!!! So they probably left just a little stem and it just got bigger. Try it and you will see!!
JOIN THE FEW, THE PROUD, AND THE BRAVE. WE ARE THE MOREL CORP!!
cutting is also faster and cleaner than pinching. and you are never gunna pull up the roots(mycilum--spelling??)and flatop is correct, the stem will often time grow some more. also when selling morels it is a much nicer product if they are trimmed. out west the buyers won't buy them with stems..you have to cut them right at the base of the cap...for me it comes down to it is just plain eaisr to cut than to pinch.
Interesting! Does anyone know where online I can find documented scientific research on this. I'd like to read more!
The problem with cutting them off and going back later to look at it IS the problem. lol I never usually go back to the same place more than one or two days and then I am gone. I'd love to check that out though!
Morel Militia Admirer-The Whole Bunch Of Them! Groupie from South Dakota
Well I use scissors and I can pick four to one pinched one! I mow thought them like hot butter on popcorn! As far as going back Morels can grow for up to 25 days. So I go to some spots every three days. As I don't pick any smaller that my little finger! I go back and pick it when it grows up a little. But the exception is wind hot days. Then I pick them all cause that's how I roll!
Tell me who's to say after all is done
And you're finally gone, you won't be back again
You can find a way to change today
You don't have to wait 'til then
Its nice to see this get addressed. I know we have lots of new hunters this year, and I know when i first started I had no clue what I was doing. I had no idea there was actually something going on underground. If you pull a tree up by the roots and throw it down, it will not live, same for shrooms. I've always been a pincher. Might try to use scissors this year though....me....sharp object......woods....oboy, that sounds like a trip to the ER!
I've always liked the fruit tree analogy. One mycelial mat can produce a multitude of fruitbodies. The morels you find in a given area are likely produced by one mycelium and pulling up the stem-butt probably isn't going to harm the organism much, if at all. With that said, I still prefer cutting them off, be it with a tool of some sort or my thumbnail. The pitted surface of the morel provides a perfect place for dirt and sand to hide, and taking precautions to avoid introducing extra debris to the mix simply results in nicer mushrooms that require less attention in the kitchen.
Mushroom stem-butts really are pretty cool in their own right and can be used for low-tech cultivation techniques. For a thorough treatment of this I would recommend Paul Stamets' book Mycelium Running. I'm not certain, but it seems as though he may have addressed the original question about cutting vs pulling in this book as well.
cutting is faster, siscoris i have not tried but that makes even more sense, can do it one handed and put in bag with free hand..yea baby speed picking!!!!
Mushroom stem-butts really are pretty cool in their own right and can be used for low-tech cultivation techniques. For a thorough treatment of this I would recommend Paul Stamets book Mycelium Running. I'm not certain, but it seems as though he may have addressed the original question about cutting vs pulling in this book as well.
Jason or have any of you tried this "mushroom burrito" technique, which I'm assuming is similar to what georgeM is suggesting through Paul Stamets book (don't know):
Sorry, I'm a little off topic (morels) as I have a little wait, despite what the maps are saying. I'm not saying they haven't been found in Michigan, but it is my experience there are always a few reports way before they show up on "my doorstep".
HT
"It's amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit."- Harry Truman
I tried something like this a couple years ago to introduce blewits to a pile of compost consisting of kitchen waste and rotted woodchips. They produced a nice flush the first year, the second year not so good -- but I didn't take care to continually feed them.
The guy in the video HT posted has a youtube channel devoted to mushroom stuff, it's worthy of a subscription if you are on the tubes.
Hey Happy Trails, cool technique. I wonder how long you have to wait until you get more blewits; till next fall? I discovered blewits for myself last year. Their floral taste is unique, I think, among shrooms--they're one of my top favorites now. Thanks for sharing this video. I hope you post it in the video section, too. Take it easy--STLetc
There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me;
Sign was painted, it said private property;
But on the back side it didn't say nothing;
This land was made for you and me.
Re:Picking vs. Cutting with a Knife
30 Mar 2010 03:38 #1287
jason
I did toss a million stem butts in mulch last fall...and it did seem to be working......but...
not so now I am afraid...cause i see little mycelium underneath as of yesterday
I have been told that when you cut a morel with metal it turns black where the cut was made. I have yet to test it, ((havent found a morel worth picking yet this year to test the theory.))
I see the video's of people cutting them, i just wonder if by the end of the day if their mushrooms have black stems where the cut was made. if so.. does the metal help in the decaying or drying of the mushroom?
There are bold mushroom hunters.
There are old mushroom hunters.
But there are no bold old mushroom hunters.
I pick solo morels for convenience but in patches use a knife for speed. The only difference is a clean cut vs. a torn stem, no color change. I even went and looked in my fridge to make sure.
It's bad luck to pick the first morel you find. Leave it there for me!
Tell me who's to say after all is done
And you're finally gone, you won't be back again
You can find a way to change today
You don't have to wait 'til then
Well as Morelin says...I "Gripped and Ripped" this one
But the dirt NEVER goes in my bag((or basket)
http://<img src='http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww296/greg22266/Picture1066.jpg' alt='' />
"Then,taking along some of the fruit of the land,they brought it down to us and reported,'The land which the lord,our God,gives us is good.'"Deuteronomy 1:25
TMK I PMed you this AM,so read it when you're done with your BM
"Then,taking along some of the fruit of the land,they brought it down to us and reported,'The land which the lord,our God,gives us is good.'"Deuteronomy 1:25
Cool thanks for the info all. Much appreciated. I will be using my knife this year just as soon as they start popping.. im waiting on going out right now.. just not sure if i will stay dry or not..I know it's not the warmest yet but i just cant help but to think that this rain brought up just one for me so i can brag to my buddies who havent found any yet either.. By the way that video was very cool. i will be trying that this year.
There are bold mushroom hunters.
There are old mushroom hunters.
But there are no bold old mushroom hunters.
