Wild Morel Olive Oil

[lightningstrucktree]

Hello everyone,
I recently harvested a whole lot of morel mushrooms. I brought them home rinsed then and let them sit in salt water for a few hours before cutting them up and adding them to a mason jar full of olive oil. I have been letting it infuse for about two weeks now, but when i recently opened it, a build up of bubbles began to rise from the morels. Any idea what is fermenting in there, what food it is consuming, and what could survive in such conditions in an anaerobic atmosphere? The olive oil smells strangely cheesy, like Parmesan or cheese made from letting raw milk sit. I'm at a loss now, so any speculations would be welcome.
~lightning

[Emma Klondyke]

Good on you, finding those morels. Mushrooms have some very complex carbs, probably they are now being consumed in your oil. Since you salted the mushrooms, might/should be lactic acid bacteria, but this is my speculation only and I really have no experience in fermenting mushrooms. Salting, yes, fermenting, no. We're planning to ferment some of this year's coming lactarius mushrooms, though.

I hope someone with more experience or knowledge can answer your question.