How to Ship Morel Mushrooms

The morel is an edible mushroom that looks similar to a honeycomb. It is used by gourmet cooks, especially to make French cuisine. The morel mushroom is hunted by thousands of people each year for food and for the thrill of the hunt. It takes a trained eye to find this mushroom. Morel experts say shipping the mushroom can be as tricky as finding it. It takes the right mixture of moisture, time and weather to ship the morel without drying it out.

Zip-close bag

Shipping box

Manila envelope

Thoroughly clean and wash your morel mushrooms. This gets rid of any bacteria buildup on the morels and keeps them fresh.

Loosely wrap your morel mushrooms with a moist paper towel. This protects the mushrooms and helps keep them moist.

Place the lightly wrapped mushrooms in a zip-close bag. Remove as much air from the bag as possible. This acts as a buffer to keep the moisture locked in the mushroom.

Line the shipping box with crumpled-up newspaper as one more barrier of protection. You also can use a thick manila envelope to ship the morels. Choose a large envelope with extra plastic or protection on the inside.

Place the mushrooms in the shipping box. Some people have had success by punching holes in the shipping box. Do not punch holes in the box if you are shipping the morel mushroom to a hot and dry destination, like Arizona; the mushrooms can dry out.

Use a fast delivery method, such as Priority or Express mail, because the mushroom will dry out in a couple of days. The sooner the mushroom can arrive at its destination, the better shape it will be in.

Let the post office know you have a time-sensitive product in the package. The mail carrier will be notified to handle with care.

If you are receiving morel mushrooms, thoroughly wash and cook them before consuming.