🌹🍷 Fungi Friday Special: Wood Ear Christmas Delight

An afternoon fungi hunt, as usual, the sun is atleast trying, but the breeze was bitterly cold and though I was all wrapped up and warm, I could feel it nibbling on my cheeks… yes, it is winter.

In the winter, only a few mushrooms grow around here. One is wood ears. These humble mushrooms I mostly ignore when everything is in season, but they are the only ones I depend on when everything else is not there, but sadly that they are so underrated for their versatility, although they really go well in soups, stir-fries, stews, and even in sweets.

These wood ear mushrooms are very nutritious as not only are they low in calories and high in fibre, they also contain polysaccharides that may help support the immune system and provide antioxidant

They have a neutral flavour and soft, slightly gelatinous texture and are also great for absorbing flavours from fruits, spices, which makes them ideal for the recipe I have in mind, a sweet Christmassy treat.

I thought it would be nice to take this mushroom to the next level, so no one would think it's the usual funny, jiggly, wobbly, boring wood ears.

So I headed to the woodland where I saw a troop a couple of weeks ago, thinking that those wood ears would be bigger by now.

The woodland was bright as the trees had totally dropped their leaves.

I reached the place and yay!! The wood ears have grown bigger.

Crowding in one place.

I picked the bigger ones, and I left the small ones to grow.

I looked around for more on the old elderberry trees, which are where I normally find them. And I spotted the biggest one I have seen so far, but it was on the steep hill. It was hard to miss as it was illuminated by the trying sun in the background.

Either way, I managed to trudge up, and thanks to this branch on my way up, I used it as a hiking stick!

Finally, I reached the top and got near this beautiful big wood ear!

Under it were small ones too!

It is almost as big as my palm.

And I think the biggest one I have ever picked.

Bonus: beside the tree was a felt-ringed Agaricus.
I hardly see this type, as they only grow in the Pacific Northwest of North America, so I was confused as to why we have this here. So I took some photos:

The cap is scaly.

The dark brown gills which are free; the firm stem has a slightly bulbous base and has some phenolic smell. This mushroom is poisonous and could cause gastric upset.

Back to wood ears…

I have collected more from another tree beside.

I got more than a handful, enough for the recipe I had in mind: a Christmassy wood ear treat.

Home, and I prepared them, cut the woody part, and cleaned them, ready for the recipe.

Let's do it!

🌹🍷 Wood Ear Christmas Delight

Ingredients

1 big handful of fresh wood ears (150 grams)
1 cup blackberry wine (homemade)
½ cup sugar (adjust to taste)
Zest of 1 orange
2 tbsp orange juice (optional)
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
2 cloves (or pinch powdered)
1 tsp vanilla
2 or more tsp dried rose petals (for garnish)
2 tbsp cornstarch + splash cold water (slurry)
Powdered sugar + cornstarch for dusting (5050)

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🍷 Method

Prepare the wood ears
If dried, soak until soft and chop or pulse.

Fresh wood ears can be chopped finely or pulsed.

Make the blackberry wine syrup

In a pot, combine the Blackberry wine, sugar, orange zest + juice.

Cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, vanilla
Heat gently, stirring until sugar dissolves.

Simmer just 3 to 5 minutes to blend flavours, no long cooking required and remove the whole spices.

🍷 Add the wood ears

Stir the finely chopped wood ears into the warm syrup. Mix well

🍷 Thicken

Make a cornstarch slurry with cold water. Stir into the mixture slowly.

Cook gently until it becomes thick, glossy, and smooth, like a soft jelly.

🍷 Set

Pour into an oiled dish and smooth the top.

Sprinkle dried rose petals on top for decoration.

Chill 3 to 4 hours or overnight until set.

Once set, flip over the wood ears delight onto a plate

Cut into cubes.

🍷 Finish

Dust with powdered sugar mixed with a little cornstarch.

Optionally, add a few more rose petals on top and some pine needles for a festive look.

This Christmas delight has a soft, silky and jelly-like texture, the wood ears added some nice, gentle chew.

Wood ears have no strong taste, but they absorb the Christmas spices beautifully. So first you'll have a fruity taste from the blackberry wine, then the Christmas spices, followed by the citrusy orange that livens up everything. It's like mulled wine, but in a festive jelly.

This was an enjoyable treat on a dry winter day, just as the sun was setting.

Definitely worth trying if you have plenty of wood ears nearby.

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Further Reading & Sources:

Livestrong:

Scientific study:

My share in @fungifriday by @ewkaw
Wishing everyone a lovely day!
Mariah 💕