Jew’s Ear Fungi...or is it Jelly Ear?

The wild larder is not completely bare at this time of year, whilst Mother Nature begins to tease us with the appearance of the first snowdrops and the sprouting of daffodils; spring is still a long way off. But do not despair, she has spared us a few treats from the hedgerow to munch on: Sorrel, Bittercress and chickweed seem to be abundant along with two members of the fungal family: Oyster mushrooms and Jew’s ears.

We find ourselves in a sad little world indeed, when a mushroom has to have a preferential name to avoid anti-Semitism. For some time whilst teaching foraging I couldn’t decide what to introduce this tasty fungi as. Its pseudonym of ‘Jelly Ear’ is all well and good in descriptive terms- it certainly does look like an ear, lobes cartilage the lot, but in a historical context the non-PC version is preferential.

The Latin name Auricularia auricula-judae hints to its past, eventually adapted from ‘Judas Ear’ to ‘Jew’s Ear’ it was so named under the belief that Judas Iscariot hung himself on an elder tree, the principle host on which you will almost always find this fungi growing, others include beech and sycamore infrequently.

The Jew’s ear is not a difficult one to find, as mentioned, Elder trees are the place to look. They often grow on dead parts of the tree devoid of bark, either in a cluster or in a row. When picking, simply take a knife and cut the fungi off as close to the base as possible. There are a number of reasons why this fungi is worth picking more often:

 

• They are unusually frost-resistant and can be found all year round.

 

• Even when dried and shriveled up in the heat of summer, they are still fine to use: they just need reconstituting in hot water for 10 minutes.

 

• They are incredibly common and grow in large numbers.

 

• In cooking terms they are very much a neutral ingredient- they do impart some flavour, but have an interesting habit of taking on the flavours of other ingredients.

Here in the West, this fungi has had little recognition often described as ‘chewing on an India Rubber’, the age-old texture issue strikes again. In the far-east Jew’s ears are a popular addition to many soups and stews, they are either added dried and in powder form to help flavour and thicken, or cut into strips and added fresh.

In China the medicinal properties of the Jew’s ear has been recognized for centuries: They are believed to be an excellent remedy for colds and flu by lowering the body’s temperature. In Ghana it is used as a blood tonic and in the UK folk medicine cabinet of the past it has been used to treat everything from jaundice to sore throats. The health benefits are phenomenal: click here to see a complete breakdown of exactly what the Jew’s ear contains and what it is good for.

Right, back to the cooking.

The texture can be an issue if you are not a huge fan of slightly gelatinous foodstuffs, when used fresh it needs 30-40 minutes of cooking before it is ready for consumption, anything less and you can find yourself in rubber territory. To use fresh, give them a good wash to remove any woodland and wildlife, cut into thin strips and add to a soup or stew- I would err on the side of caution if you decide to fry them whole as they may well blow up in your face! Trust me…

For those of you who don’t like seaweed, squid or tripe because of the texture go for the dried powdered option: just string them together with a needle and thread and hang somewhere warm or stick them in a low oven over night.

When putting together a recipe for Jew’s ears, I decided pay heed to both its popularity and medicinal uses. A warming broth of the oriental variety: possibly capable of keeping the winter ills at bay, definitely capable of providing a tasty lunch.

Jew’s Ear Broth with Sorrel and Ginger.

(Serves 2)

This broth is designed to be good for the immune system: whilst creating a warming feeling within from the gentle heat of ginger, it also has added boost of a healthy dose of vitamin C from the lemon juice and a pleasant burst of citrus from the sorrel leaves. An excellent starter for a foraged dinner party!

100g Jew’s Ear fungus

A thumb-size piece of ginger (chopped into thin slivers)

500ml of water

1 Beef stock cube

1 TBSP Soy Sauce

2 TBSP rice wine vinegar (or cider vinegar)

1tsp of sugar

Juice of half a lemon

Handful of Sorrel leaves

First, Wash the fungi and slice into thin strips. Bring the water to the boil and add the stock cube, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, ginger and finally the Jew’s ears.

Simmer gently for 30 minutes. Before serving add the juice from the lemon, give the broth a good stir and dish up. Sprinkle a handful of sorrel leaves over the top and consume.

On another note, I did my first post for the Guardian by word of mouth blog about eating more of our lesser known freshwater fish…cue shit storm from angry anglers, which simmered gently before turning into a race row about Eastern European fishing ‘gangs’ and the legality catching and cooking them (the fish, not the Eastern Europeans).  Other than highlight the fact that perhaps I should have been a touch more impartial and left my views at the sideline, it did make me think that England is on the right track to becoming a very disappointing place! To have a read and see for yourself click here.

 

Comments

[Kevin Shannon]

I used to be surrounded by them at the place i used to work but i never knew they were edible. Damn

[meemalee]

I've always called them wood-ear mushrooms.

They do indeed make lovely soups.

I made a wood-ear mushroom and vermicelli noodle soup when I did a Burmese night at Mat Folla's restaurant The Wild Garlic.

[Oraxia]

I, too, call them wood-ears, and I believe that's basically what the Chinese name for these translates to :)

My Mom's actually used them to add texture (alongside water chestnuts) to steamed dumplings and also fried rice.

[home security systems]

Now i know, i can do a lot of things with these.

[skybluepinkish]

I keep them dried and nibble them as a snack. I seem to be the only person I know who likes them this way and my family, who will eat most things, consider it a bit odd! I am fortunate enough to have a copious supply in our woods so rarely run out and have to succumb to cream cakes instead!
gillie

[The Curious Cat]

Will check out the post on the Guardian. These look cool these mushrooms - is there any danger of mistaking them for poisonous ones? I'll keep a look out...xxx

[Mike Jones]

Haha I loved your 'can of worms' pun when repying to the angry fishermen. Nice work and a damn fine piece of writing yet again. Keep it up Nick, and perhaps your head down when near Britains waterways...

[Roger Colson]

A brave article Nick and one that most wild food books and Bush craft presenters tent to avoid.I am a paid up coarse angler my self,but on occasion take course fish to eat my self.I to avoid Eels now due to depletion.If 3 million people ate any wild harvest on a regular basis the food stuff would soon be depleted.Taking the odd Jack Pike or medium Perch does no harm.Fishery managers often net ponds and lakes in order to remove the smaller fish of a certain species so the the larger have less competition and thrive.the smaller fish are used to restock.I feel that for a Wild Food enthusiast the odd fish sensibly harvested will do no harm.

[Jungledon]

I loved the article although I spent too long reading the comments. You would have thought that you had suggested that EVERYONE eats fresh water fish from now on. Muppet's. I am not sure whether I plan to eat a pike or a 'life long angler' first... both of which have a nasty look about them. Keep it up Nick.

[msmarmitelover]

Beautifully written....

[John Cossham]

The best way to use these, in my opinion, is to clean them up whilst wet and jelly-like, and then let them dry. When you've a jar full or more of dried ones, put them in a goblet blender and reduce them to dust. I seive the dust and use the finest for thickening soups which have too much liquid in them. The slightly larger shards can go in stews, where they absorb several times their own weight of water and thicken it up. Really useful, no taste, difficult to enjoy their texture any other way... for me!

[Cheryl Sharman]

Ever thought of travelling to beautiful Tasmania (Australia)? Lots here to c & do. Tassie has a conservationist reputation - you would certainly be most welcome to promote locals' knowledge on the pleasures your type of living can enhance. Your website is most informative for me who is ready to sell up & leave the town to go sustainable farm living, chooks, hard work & etc v/soon!

R's Cheryl Devonport Tasmania
Ps. website is for house sale -so I will understand if u choose not to link it but it does give a visual of my current horizon.

[מנהלת חשבונות]

Thanks for sharing such a nice information about jelly ear. It's call as a wood-ear and Mushroom also. It's make delicious soup.

[אחסון אתרים]

I have to avoid the eels because of depletion.If 3 million people at all the regular harvest wild food stuff to run out.

[טויוטה קורולה]

Fishery ponds and lakes often network in order to remove a species of small fish, larger than those of less competition.

[Guardian Security Systems]

I really love mushrooms and no matter how they are cooked ! But really what a strange name : "Jew's ears"! Really a litlle more sensibility should be appreciated!

[Rachel]

I ate it in chinain different receipes and it was very good.Any one knows how the Chinese cook it?

[Santi Pan]

well,i am chinese.it is difficulty to explain.but i have 2 easy recipes for you.
1:put jew's ear to boiled water for 0.5~1 min.and put it in to salad after cutting it.
2:you can cook it like tortilla española,but do not put potato.cut jew's ear to small pieces,then mix it with eggs.fry in shallow oil.make sure you put salt.(add some small pieces of scallion will be better.)

[herbal incense k2]

At this time I am going away to do my breakfast, when having my breakfast coming over again to read additional news.

[Ron Jefferson]

I found some sources (including the English Wikipedia page) claiming that the jew's ear is not edible raw. I also found some sources (such as the Italian Wikipedia page) claiming that it IS edible raw.

For neither of these claims did I find satisfactory proof and so figuring that I didn't have much to lose (if they are labelled as inedible it's certainly for being considered of low culinary rather than poisonous) I finely chopped a good amount of them into a carrot salad and ate them. I test-tasted them on their own beforehand and the rubbery texture made for amusing eating experience while there was a faint metallic taste. This potentially unpleasant metallic taste was absent when consumed as one ingredient of many in a salad. It made a good addition to the salad. Also I did not feel at all ill afterwards.

So in my experience this mushroom is edible raw