Auricula judae (jews ear)
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Stew said:
I've eaten them... Fried up in a bit of butter....They were "unremarkable" and the texture is horrid. But !! If that's all there is, it's still food :shock:
Tony said:It can be confused with some other fungi so do take care with the ID. Jew's ear tends to be stretchy like rubber and the others are more brittle, but this is an experience thing so it is worth a bit of practise
They do need to be cooked well to get them as edible as possible.
Make sure that you invest in a good guide, maybe even a couple.
Good eating
:biggthump
I tend to only collect jews ear from elder trees (bushes) and soak them in warm water before use...i have never had any problems use this way
:?: tell me if i am wrong
Hi folks,
Great board you've got here.
I ate lots of Jew's Ear which I found on elder trees in Wiltshire. I sliced them and sauteed them in olive oil. Even sliced they spat a lot of oil out as they popped. Texture was leathery and well, unwelcoming, but not inedible. They had no taste that I could discern.
Probably would have been better to have cooked them in a stew to add bulk or variety.
Great board you've got here.
I ate lots of Jew's Ear which I found on elder trees in Wiltshire. I sliced them and sauteed them in olive oil. Even sliced they spat a lot of oil out as they popped. Texture was leathery and well, unwelcoming, but not inedible. They had no taste that I could discern.
Probably would have been better to have cooked them in a stew to add bulk or variety.
Hi lee, welcome to BCUK
Ed
Yep. Thats what we did last time I ate them (stuart, justin_time and myself) we added them to a rabbit stew. They do have their own distinct taste but after being in the stew everthing tasted of the rabbit. They kept there leathery texture, though they did soften quite a bit.
Ed
must have missed this thread.
Locally I'm still finding some which are nice and moist and other which are dry and brittle, like Pedro I've found that you can soak them and they really do expand a lot. It's takes a wee bit of practice to notice them though, once you get your eye in though they seem to be everywhere, but I guess that's also about being able to recognise elder branches that have fallen etc
One other trick I've found with them is that they will burn ferociously when dried. Not had any success in getting them to take a spark, so probably not much good for tinder, but good to add early on in the fire making process.
Locally I'm still finding some which are nice and moist and other which are dry and brittle, like Pedro I've found that you can soak them and they really do expand a lot. It's takes a wee bit of practice to notice them though, once you get your eye in though they seem to be everywhere, but I guess that's also about being able to recognise elder branches that have fallen etc
One other trick I've found with them is that they will burn ferociously when dried. Not had any success in getting them to take a spark, so probably not much good for tinder, but good to add early on in the fire making process.
N
nowhere
Guest
Yes I've eaten them - think i just bunged them in a soup and they were fine - nothing special.
According to one of my books 'the easy edible mushroom guide' by David Pegler (i'd recommend it!) the only things you have a small chance of confusing it with are not considered edible, but are not poisonous.
Steve.
According to one of my books 'the easy edible mushroom guide' by David Pegler (i'd recommend it!) the only things you have a small chance of confusing it with are not considered edible, but are not poisonous.
Steve.
I collect Jews Ear for oriental recipes. The Chinese have a similar fungus simply called Black fungus,they also use jelly fungus called Cloud ears,Wood ears and Tree ears and like Jews ear they have no distinct taste,but they take on other food flavours readily. They are usually added more for there texture. As to id, i to only collect them from Elder trees as they seem to prefer to grow on Elder. As for the name, it was said that Judas hung himself from an Elder tree after betraying Jesus thus the name for the fungus because its preference for Elder. Also it seems to be on the tree all year round because it can withstand very dry spells by shriveling up, then when it gets damp again it swells up to twice its size.
So i collect it in any state, dried up or when swollen up in damp weather.
When it comes to cookery, if its dried i treat it like the Chinese do by soaking it for about 20mins in warm water[if you want to speed up the process use boiling water from the kettle. CHEFS TIP] so as it can reconstitute its self to its former size.I just cut it into fine strips then stir fry it with Garlic, Spring onions,Ginger then add a couple of beaten Eggs,fry for 1min then add drained cold boiled rice to heat through.
So there you have it Fried rice with Jews ear
CHEERS STUART F.
So i collect it in any state, dried up or when swollen up in damp weather.
When it comes to cookery, if its dried i treat it like the Chinese do by soaking it for about 20mins in warm water[if you want to speed up the process use boiling water from the kettle. CHEFS TIP] so as it can reconstitute its self to its former size.I just cut it into fine strips then stir fry it with Garlic, Spring onions,Ginger then add a couple of beaten Eggs,fry for 1min then add drained cold boiled rice to heat through.
So there you have it Fried rice with Jews ear
CHEERS STUART F.
