Why Are Morel Mushrooms So Expensive? (& Average Price)
Mushrooms are my top three vegetables and the best if the day is right. You can make tons of different delicious meals out of them. However, we can’t just talk about mushrooms in general when talking about a dish as there are many varieties. Morel mushrooms are one of the most prolific ones, thanks to their unusual look and high price. In this article, I will explain why Morels are so expensive?
Morel mushrooms are expensive because of their very short season, from late March through May. There isn’t any significant commercial cultivation either, and they are difficult to forage in the wild. Also, their unique look and delicious earthy, woodsy, and nutty taste contribute to the high cost.
That said, the high price of morel mushrooms is a sum of many things raising its price. Now, let’s take a closer look at each factor individually, so you can really understand why morel mushrooms are priced so high.
Contents
Five Reasons Why Morel Mushrooms are Expensive
Generally, five major things are raising the price of morel mushrooms.
Wild Morels Have a Short Season
One of the most significant reasons for the high cost of morel mushrooms is the short growing period.
Morel mushrooms are typically in season from late March through May, so that’s only two months. The spring season is quite unusual when compared to the usual mushroom season in autumn, which lasts from mid-September to late November.
Although some mushrooms can be found throughout the year, others are in season significantly longer than 2 to 3 months.
Wild Morel’s are Difficult to Find
Morel mushrooms have a unique look. They look like empty honeycombs and have a color of light cream, gray, yellowish-brown, or even black. These are the colors of the forest, making it very difficult to notice them on the ground, even when specifically looking for them.
Morel mushrooms aren’t the biggest, either. They are typically found with a size of 2-6″, making it even more difficult to forage.
If that wasn’t hard enough, morel mushroom patches are often deep in the woods, and if you know someone who has found a golden place, they’re not going to tell you. It’s like revealing the secret place for a treasure.
On the plus side, when you do find a morel sport, it’s common that they grow there for several years, which is good. A tip for finding them is to find information about places with previous fires. Morel’s love pre-fire locations to call their home.
Lack of Commercial Cultivation
Another big reason why morels are so expensive is the lack of commercial cultivation, although not from the lack of trying.
The thing with morel mushrooms is that they are very picky about their growing conditions. They require a specific temperature, moisture condition, and growing material, and even then, the harvest is very unreliable.
The main reason for this phenomenon is that morels are both mycorrhizal and saprotrophic. Generally, most mushrooms are either or but morels exchange nutrients with trees and gather them from dead organic materials. This makes growing mushrooms very difficult.
Morels Have a Unique Look
The basic champion mushroom look is known to all, which is one reason why they don’t compete in the same price league as morels.
Morel mushrooms have an extraordinary look. They are often described as oblong-shaped mushrooms with a web of thin veins and pits resembling honeycombs. That’s quite accurate if you ask me.
Commonly, the more unusual and unique something looks, the higher it’s valued and priced.
Morel Mushrooms Taste Delicious
All the previous factors why morsels are so expensive wouldn’t mean anything if they weren’t tasty. And that’s what morel mushrooms are, extremely tasty!
You might wonder what morel mushrooms taste like, especially with their weird look. When compared to the majority of mushrooms, the taste of morels is more subtle, as is the texture. They have an earthy and woodsy taste with some nutty flavor too. The texture is pleasant, and when they all are combined, they taste like the forest’s treasures!
Due to the delicious taste, limited supply, and high demand, the price is high.
How Much Do Morel Mushrooms Cost?
The price of morel mushrooms is often one of the biggest topics when talking about the variety. Now that you know why morel mushrooms are so expensive, the actual price is still unknown. So, how much do morel mushrooms cost?
Generally, fresh morel mushrooms cost around $20 per pound when in season. However, they can cost over $50 when not in season and even more, including shipping costs, if you were to order. Dried morels cost around $160 per pound, and frozen morels $40 per pound.
The cost of morel mushrooms can vary drastically depending on whether it’s in season, type, and other factors. The first thing that really catches the eye is the high price of dried morels which is $160. However, that’s because it takes 8 pounds of fresh morels ($240 worth) to produce 1 pound of dried morels.
That said, fresh morels are dried only when it’s absolutely necessary because one-third of the value will diminish when they are dried because the deep for fresh morels are so high. However, morels last 1 to 2 weeks in the fridge, so it may be mandatory to dry them rather than let them spoil.
Below you’ll find a table of the cost of morel mushrooms per pound depending on the form they are sold.
Morel Form | Price per Pound |
Fresh Morels (In Season) | $20-$30 |
Fresh Morels (Off Season) | $50-$60 |
Frozen Morels | $40 |
Dried Morels | $160 |
Here You’ll Find My Favorite Kitchen Equipment.
Thanks for reading this article! I hope that it brought you real value that you can benefit from in your personal life! Here is my top kitchen equipment that I seriously couldn’t live without, and I think they could ease your life as well as they do mine.
- Knife set: As a chef, I can’t stand dull, poor-quality knives without any design. My absolute favorite kitchen knife set is the Gangshan 3-Piece Knife Set. It comes with a handcrafted 8″ chef’s knife and a 3.5″ paring knife. What I love even more than these flawless knives is the walnut knife block which is incredible and unique.
- Skillet: In addition to knives and my unwillingness to bargain with its quality is the cookware. My favorite skillet is Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron Skillet. This particular skillet is 9″ in size, it is heavy, it gets very hot, which is what is required to get a good sear, and it is just beautiful, as are all Le Creuset products. Le Creuset doesn’t need an introduction as a brand, as it is one of the world’s rated brands.
- Food processor: I remember when I hadn’t a food processor at home. It wasn’t easy! But now, when I use my Ninja BN601 Food Processor, I can make anything super fast, which saves me many hours per week. This food processor has 1000 watts of power and four options, including chopping, slicing, dough, and purees. I also like the middle-sized 9cup (2.1l) bowl as it is big enough yet not too big to look unfitting in my kitchen.
- Tweezers: Dalstrong Professional Cooking Tweezers are like tongs but much more elegant, thin, and easy to use. They are great for virtually anything, but flipping, turning, and grabbing with them is easy and makes cooking much more fun! These Dalstrgon tongs are titanium coated and very durable. Also, I like the black color instead of the everyday steel.