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A Minnesota State Symbol You Can Sautee with Butter

Home > MN90: Minnesota History in 90 Seconds > A Minnesota State Symbol You Can Sautee with Butter

In 1984, Minnesota became the first state to name an official mushroom, the morel.

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Editor: Britt Aamodt

Producer: Katharine DeCelle

Editorial support: Emily Krumberger

Mixing & mastering: Chris Harwood

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Transcript

Welcome to MN90: Minnesota History in 90 Seconds.

SFX: Spring forest sounds

Katharine DeCelle: Every spring, thousands of Minnesotan treasure hunters head into the woods searching for buried treasure.

SFX: Footsteps crunching through leaves

Katharine DeCelle: Only instead of gold… they’re hoping to strike it rich with mushrooms. Specifically, the tasty Morel mushroom. They’re rare, delicious, and can sell for twenty to sixty bucks a pound — a true forest jackpot. These cone-shaped mushrooms pop up each spring, hiding in the leaf litter like tiny treasures.

SFX: Discovery sparkle

Katharine DeCelle: They appear from late April through May, often near elm, ash, and aspen trees across Minnesota.

SFX: Spring birds

Katharine DeCelle: After warm rains, lucky foragers can find hundreds in one spot.

SFX: Rain sounds

Katharine DeCelle: In the kitchen, they’re delicious sautéed in butter, tossed in pasta or served in a rich sauce over steak.

SFX: Pan sizzling in butter

Katharine DeCelle: In fact, morels are so beloved that in 1984 Minnesota made them the official state mushroom.

SFX: Gavel bang

Katharine DeCelle: Minnesota was the first state in the country to have an official state mushroom. today eight states have official mushrooms… but Minnesota started the trend.

SFX: Pan sizzling

Katharine DeCelle: The morel mushroom, a state symbol you can sauté with butter.

MN90 is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, made possible by funding from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Online at MN90.org.