Last weekend I went for a day out in Glasgow at Queen’s Park for a foraging workshop with the very knowledgeable and enthusiastic White Cat Herbal (Cat is organising another free workshop for the end of April). The cherry on the pie for me was that the whole family was able to join and participate.
We learned to identify plants, which we could bring homes and cook such as nettles, wild garlic, Jack of the Hedge, Hawthorn, plantain…. it was a fantastic day out and we all enjoyed it.
So today, I decided to renew the experience all on my own, albeit in my backyard. As you can see, I have been really successful with the wild garlic.
Actually, there were loads of them growing in amongst Japanese Knotweed (which will also soon start to be edible). I just made a tincture with the wild garlic using apple vinegar as well as other herbs, and (as wild garlic has quite a short season) Lindsay will ferment the rest of it so that we can continue enjoying it throughout the year.
However, the most exciting part of my trip, whilst I was not looking for it, was to find the fantastic and underrated Jelly Ear Mushroom. Actually, it was more like a colony of Jelly Ear rather than the usual handful.
To say that the Jelly Ear is underrated is actually an understatement but to be honest, this is not really surprising. The mushroom is not the most attractive looking and its taste is bland. However, few know this following little secret…….
In order to unlock the true potential of the Jelly Ear, one needs to work the mushroom. The particularity of the Jelly ear is that when cooked it absorbs the flavour and so what I do is to cook it with a stock (home made in this instance and beef stock works the best) until it is reduced. Now the most amazing part of it is actually the texture of the mushroom. The Jelly Ear has a different consistency on the palate, it is quite crunchy, but when you bite into it, suddenly, it amazingly releases the concentrate of flavour in which it has been cooked. If you have never tried it, you will need to take my word for it. It is just so incredible and so I mix it sparsely with pasta, rice, lentils or vegetable dishes.
Below is picture of my Jelly Ears just ready to be cooked. The excess is now in the dehydrator.
I know that mushroom picking can be pretty daunting. When I was a boy, my father took me mushroom picking. As I grew older, I lost all the knowledge and then became completely unconfident to pick mushrooms on my own. So here is a trick for anyone who wishes to learn about mushrooms or to refresh his memory: The easiest way is to join your local Fungus Group. My Group is the Clyde and Argyll Fungus Group and you can see the list of the Scottish Fungus Groups here.
As for me now, I am just delighted to have found what looks like an endless supply of this fantastic mushroom near me. Moreover, the Jelly Ear is also one of those mushrooms that is not seasonally dependant and can be harvested throughout the year.
naturallyinsideout 