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Wednesday 4 April 2012

A Week Apart in Spring

Auricularia auricula-judae
Robin





Ogden in March. Temperature 19c







Holmfield on April 4th 2012. Temperature 1c

2 comments:

  1. The Auricula is edible. I had never tried it but had it served to me in a Thai restaurant in France. They had cut it into long strips, like spaghetti, then cooked it and served it laced through a serving of crispy noodles; (there were other things, including a nice sauce). It was really tasty. The gelatinous fungus was a good contrast with the crispy noodles.

    Mike who took the photo says it's not good with bacon and eggs, as it tends to jump out of the pan!
    You need a wok, Mike!

    I once cooked a good helping for myself at home, but had a bad case of bloated stomach after! Something I have never had before or since. Think I just ate too much of it.

    Of course the long used colloquial name is Jew's Ear. Some think that's racist. Phillips calls it Jelly Ear. I have a Canadian friend who says it's generally known there as Tree Ear.

    Professor Watling maintains there are different forms.

    It is often said to grow only on elder (Sambucus), but the next most common host is sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus). I have a list of other mostly garden trees and shrubs it also grows on.

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  2. OOPS! Mis-spelled Auricularia :-)

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