Wood ear mushrooms are best suited for cooked applications such as boiling, stir-frying, and sautГ©ing. Wood Ear mushrooms contain iron, protein, fiber, and vitamins B1 and B2 Wood Ear mushrooms are utilized for their chewy texture rather than their mild taste and are a popular textural element in many Asian soup dishes. Wood Ear mushrooms are also cultivated around the world on bags of sawdust and are dried and exported for commercial use. The mushrooms grow in groupings, predominately on elder trees, but they have also been found on dead and living trees such as ash, spindle, and beech. Also known as the Cloud Ear, Tree Ear, Black fungus, and Jelly Ear, Wood Ear mushrooms are found in humid, temperate forests. Wood Ear mushrooms, botanically classified as Auricularia auricula-judae, are an edible ear jelly fungus that is a member of the Auriculariaceae family. Wild Wood Ear mushrooms are available from early summer through early winter, while the cultivated versions are available year-round. When cooked, Wood Ear mushrooms are firm, crunchy, and toothsome with a mild, musty flavor. With age, the gill-less and stemless fungus darkens, and the spores range in color from yellow, cream, to white. The fruiting bodies are brown to dark brown with a slippery or gelatinous texture and can be made up of smooth, wavy edges or many folds and wrinkles with some veining. Wood Ear mushrooms are small to medium in size, averaging 3-8 centimeters in diameter, and are curved and wavy with an ear-like or cup-like shape. в–¶Play Your browser does not support the audio element.

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