Gjelina Group Goes to the Market: Morel Mushrooms

"The unique texture and taste is known to make even the most devout mushroom skeptic open to trying a taste."

I am guessing that I am not the only one who had severe “mushroom fear” when I was younger. Can any other readers relate? I think it was because mushrooms held this air of mystery around them. What are they even? Not a vegetable, not an animal. Instead, they are this elusive 3rd thing that is genetically closer to humans than plants, has over 14,000 species and oh yeah, may or may not have their own complex language that they use to communicate through electrical signals underneath our own feet. This living enigma was daunting to me for years until I found the subtle joy of mushroom foraging or, as I like to think of it, “nature’s scavenger hunt.” Peeking under decaying logs on misty Northern California mornings, looking for blossoming treasure transformed fungus into something I wanted to know everything about. And as every novice mycologist soon realizes, some of these treasures are harder to find than others but are well worth the work. That is why when I saw the elusive morel mushroom pop up on our menu at Gjelina, I got so excited to talk about the “El Dorado” of fungi.