View Full Version : Auricula judae (jews ear)
nameless
01-01-2004, 20:16
i have found what i think to be jews ear and i am wondering is their any way to confuse it with other fungi cause i only saw it for a minute or 2 before i got into edible plants and fungi and in the books i have it seems to be auricula judae but could it be confused with any posinous ones of its family :wink:
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 :wink:
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
nameless
01-01-2004, 20:30
Thanks i read a book and it said to boil it for 45mins in milk with stock, just incase you didnt know that :nana:
ditchfield
01-01-2004, 21:17
Jews ear grows usually on dead wood, espessially elder. The underside is pinkish and the upper brown. It is rubbery and soft when your. If you know all this it is not easy to confuse. If you dry it, it keeps well and can be carried around although it will be tough.
It's also a bit tight on flavour - but then again it is called Jew's Ear!
Sorry to state the obvious joke.
Jews Ear may not be called so for much longer! A group of mycologists are currently discussing the renaming of up to 200 UK fungi to make this particular group 'more accessible' to the general public (currently, many fungi do not possess an English / common name).
Jews Ear may be renamed 'Jelly Ear' !! - seriously!
Bob :-D
You're dead right that they have new English names for fungi. The list of 200 names was compiled in the 60's, the new list is made up of 1,000 fungi species. :super:
The whole idea is that people will find it easier to remember common names rather than Latin names. It's a good idea as it will create a common ground for all to use. I would say that it is also good to know the Latin names as well if possible, it opens up the natural world allowing for an understanding of how things are related etc. :biggthump
Have a look here for information
http://www.britmycolsoc.org.uk/news/shownews.asp?NewsID=59
Thanks i read a book and it said to boil it for 45mins in milk with stock, just incase you didnt know that :nana:
Have you tried this? I remember Dad making it years back and it was not nice :-(
nameless
05-01-2004, 20:21
nope if you read up i just copied it out ove a book to show up the mod guy :wink:
nope if you read up i just copied it out ove a book to show up the mod guy :wink:
The Mod guy would be the Admin Guy, which would be the owner guy, which would mean...... :ekt: :rolmao:
nameless
06-01-2004, 11:49
:ekt: for me or him??
nameless
06-01-2004, 15:27
Whatbut i told you but here have this :ekt: you have my respect now :wink:
Roving Rich
06-01-2004, 16:10
I'm not convinced Tone :wink:
Rich
So Tone, have you eaten them?
Anyone else?
It's a fungi i see a lot of but have been put off eating them from my previous bad experience. But if someone has a good recipe to recommend I might give it another go...
ditchfield
06-01-2004, 22:08
A penny for the first person to recognise where Adamscott2's quote came from........... Food for Free! Now who deserves the :ekt: :rolleyes: :-?.
found this whilst browsing for pics of the cramball
although its foreign (ooohhhh i'm in for it) :lol: it might be useful to some
http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Mushroom/English/Folklore/remedies.html
and a more local one....
http://www.bostonuk.com/visitors/nature/fungi.htm
So Tone, have you eaten them?
Anyone else?
It's a fungi i see a lot of but have been put off eating them from my previous bad experience. But if someone has a good recipe to recommend I might give it another go...
It's ok, I plan on trying it a few more times over the next few months. I've never dried it though.
Try this
Wash them really well in a few changes of water, cook well. Make a sauce up using Cream, onions, garlic, basil and very finely sliced Jews Ear. It's ok with toast and I suspect it would be ok with pastry sort of stuff.
I have not had it while I have been out and about, never been hungry enough! But the more we learn about the edibles around us the more choice there will be if we do need to eat it.
Give it another go, start off in your kitchen and try a few things.
That sounds a lot better! :-D
Well it does have garlic in, which certainly has to be one of my favourite flavourings!
nameless
08-01-2004, 19:36
I dont really want to eat it but next time i find it ill dry it the eat a little bit and i hope i dont get sick :oops: but i suppose ill do it for youse :wink: has anyone ever actually eaten survival food like when they went on camp or somthing did the look around for wild food and catch animals? if so was it nice :?:
yes i did, and no it wasn't! :yikes: where's the chucking up icon? :o):
So Tone, have you eaten them?
Anyone else?
It's a fungi i see a lot of but have been put off eating them from my previous bad experience. But if someone has a good recipe to recommend I might give it another go...
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:
Ooh, just found a site with nutritional info.
Seems to be mainly carbs (as you would expect) and a good source of vitamins and minerals.
Jew's ear (http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-001-02s01wa.html)
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 :wink:
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.
Hi lee, welcome to BCUK
Probably would have been better to have cooked them in a stew to add bulk or variety.
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
Justin Time
08-04-2004, 08:33
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.
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.
stuart f
08-04-2004, 14:13
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.