best way to cook jews ear?

[John Dixon]

hi guys i have got a bumper crop of jews ear and was wondering what are the best ( or your favourite ) ways of prep and cooking them ????

 

[xylaria]

DON'T FRY THEM WHOLE they bubble up and go bang.

With a large crop, pick them all together. Dry them then crush them up. They can be added to soups. I cant say I have noticed much in the way of flavour, but drying does give them a bit a taste. The dried mushrooms can keep for a long time. And are a very light and compact form of protein. They are really very common so dont worry about being greedy in what you forage.

 

[Ed]

Thinly sliced and added to a stir-fry


Ed

 

[Bootstrap Bob]

John
GF & I picked some last weekend while winching out of the bottom of gully in the Landrover. Took them home sliced them up and stuck them in a pan with butter.

As Xylaria says they bubble up and pop if you don't cut them up fine, it was quite entertaining watching them jump out of the pan

Didn't think they had much taste really so we put them in a sauce with our roast chicken. They wouldn't be my first choice but if it's all you can find!!!

 

[Alex...]

I've picked a few in the past, and they are pretty bland.

Also tried the frying option to discover their like bigger versions of popcorn!

My biggest gripe though is that most of the ones I pick (like other wild mushrooms I find) seem to be infested with bugs/maggots etc....

I guess their edible, but does anyone know how pick them before they are infested.

Or is it just timing!

 

[xylaria]

My biggest gripe though is that most of the ones I pick (like other wild mushrooms I find) seem to be infested with bugs/maggots etc....

I guess their edible, but does anyone know how pick them before they are infested.

Or is it just timing!

The biggest baine of wild food. The one and only time I have ever hurled on fungi was I had got down to the bottom of a soup of fairy rings. Tasted delicious but the last centimetre was just maggots. :aargh4:

Earlier in the season and dry weather seem to make infestation less likely. With Ear fungus look for it growing off the ground on Elder, this seem to provide some protection( it's the fairies ) There is some species that are always maggoty in certain locations yet can be completly free when growing some where else.

 

[sam_acw]

Drying them kills off most of the wildlife in them. I have dried boletes and at the end you can see some dead little worms which have fallen out of them.