World’s most expensive mushroom is found in Jammu & Kashmir (2024)

Gucchi mushrooms, also known as morels arepart ofNon-Timber Forest Product (NTFP) andthe rare variety of mushrooms are foundin the wilderness usually growin clusters on logs of decaying wood, soil, around pine and deodar trees.”

The prized mushroom is largely found in J&K’s Poonch, Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Anantnag, Bandipora, Kupwara, and Pulwama districts with small quantities of mushrooms also coming from other districts as well.

Packed with vital minerals like iron, copper, manganese, zinc, vitamin D and folate the highly valued mushrooms have huge demand in the domestic and international market. Besides this the edible fungus is said to have medicinal and anti-inflammatory properties.

Scientifically named Morchella esculenta, currently 1 kilogram of sponge mushrooms cost as much as Rs 30,000, making it the costliest among fungi in the world.

The morel mushrooms locally known as Kangech, grow wild and are collected manually by men, women and children living close to the forests.

For generations now, the people with a sharp sight and close attention have looked for the morels in the north-west Himalayan range. The search for the morels is a painstaking and tedious process and on many occasions the people involved with the trade return empty handed.

Riyaz Ahmad Bhat, 47, of Khangund hamlet in south Kashmir’s Tral sub district, 50 km from Srinagar has been searching for Gucchis since he was only 16 years old. “The mushrooms are one of the most important sources of income for rural and tribal people. Earlier, 40-50 people in my village would go in the forest where they would spend a month to look for morels but now onlytwo-three villagers are left in the race. The hunt for Gucchis is fading and the morels are on the verge of extinction as the new generation is not interested in collecting the prized morels which fetch good money in the market.”

Besides the lack of interest in the young generation to find and pick Gucchi mushrooms, the people also blamed climate change, deforestation, and urbanisation for the threat to mushroom trade. For example, the2018-19Digest of Forest StatisticsfromJ&K forest department revealed that morel mushroom production in the region fell from 2,000 quintals (200 tonnes) in 1991 to 88 quintals (8.8 tonnes) in 2018.

Ghulam Mohammed Khan, 48, who works in a hotel in Kashmir’s famous hill stationPahalgam, "Valley of Shepherds",tells Moneycontrol that during his childhood he used to go to the nearby forests in the Valley to find morels. “After collection, the mushrooms were washed, sun-dried, keeping them hanging on top of balconies and once dried mushrooms became small and light in size they were packed before being brought to the market. Every year on an average I would collect half a kilogram of mushrooms,” Khan says.

According to morel pickers, the morel collection takes place between April and June. They added that collection of the precious variety of mushrooms is done early in the morning.

The mushrooms, Bhat says, grows for a short season, beginning from April 13 to 25 June. “People in Kashmir believe that the mushroom sprouts after lightning strikes the ground which actually is a myth. The mushrooms grow after a period of snowfall when the temperature starts to rise in the Valley."

Mudasir Mehmood Malik, divisional forest officer Bandipora also admitted that though people believe that mushroom sprouts after lightning strikes the ground, "it is nothing but a myth". “Morels being fungi are highly dependent on weather. For example, this year the increase in temperature impacted the production of morels in the Valley.”

Every year the wild mushroom, which looks like agreyish sponge with lighter ridges, are collected in Kashmir’s forests and are ultimately sold in both fresh and dried form to the local shopkeepers or middlemen.

These mushrooms can grow up to 2 to 7 cm with their caps standing erect and range in colour from pale cream, white, yellow to brown.

Middlemen usually buy morels directly from the villagers at very low prices (Rs 10,000-14,000 per kg) and further sell them to the whole sellers and customers at an exorbitant price (Rs 25,000-30,000 per kg).

Bhat says, over the years tribals living close to forests are actively looking for the Gucchis. “Most of the morels we get to see in Kashmir come from tribal and Gujar communities. Between April and June the tribals take ration along with them and live in the middle of the forest where they passionately look for Gucchi mushrooms and later sell them in the market.”

The naturally grown mushroom is considered a superfood and has spongy texture, savoury flavour and a honeycomb-like structure.

According to Srinagar based Chef Yaseen, Gucchi mushrooms taste like normal mushrooms are a part of gourmet items besides being used for making various Kashmiri delicacies including Gucchi Pulav (morels and rice), Gucchi Yakhni (morels and curd) and Gucchi chutney, adding tomatoes and fresh milk with morels. “Pandit community in Kashmir also make a wide range of dishes around Gucchi morels and the costliest vegetable is also the part of Kashmir’s high-profile wedding cuisine.”

Yaseen who is also the faculty member at Institute of Hotel Management, Srinagarsays, Gucchis grow wild and can not be grown commercially which is why a limited quantity of mushrooms is available for the chefs and food lovers who want to prepare dishes around it.

Malik alsosays, morels having tremendous nutritional value are used in various delicacies mostly in European countries.

Director Agriculture Kashmir, Chowdhary Mohammad Iqbalsays, Gucchi is all set to get the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, an indication which identify a product as originating in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or characteristic of the product is essentially attributable to its geographic origin to the product in an effort to promote the unique species of fungus. “Gucchi mushrooms will get the GI tag in coming days but steps are also being taken to refrain people living close to forests which includes tribals from indulging in black market. We want to promote our own morels but we also want to stop its black marketing,” Iqbal noted.