One of the first wild foods I started confidently foraging on my own are jelly ear mushrooms also known as wood ears. They are a relatively safe mushroom to pick as it doesn't happen to have many lookalikes and as long as you pick them from an elder tree, they won't be confused with anything.
Jelly ears grow all year round but are mainly abundant in the winter. They like to live on sheltered woodland spots, and grow on decaying or living elder mostly, however sometimes can be spotted on other trees (I personally have only ever found them on elder). They grow in abundance, in large clusters climbing all around the tree. You can comfortably pick jelly ears as there is an abundance of them and they are in no way endangered or under threat.
Jelly ears are called that as they look like ears made of jelly. They are brown in colour, and their cup faces downwards. The tops of jelly ears are soft and velvety, whilst the bottom is silky and glossy. They have a jelly like consistency when plump - they are best seen after it has rained as they go big and juicy, but you can also pick them in their dried state to later rehydrate at home.
I love collecting jelly ears as they keep indefinitely if dried and stored in an air tight jar. At home, I fill a big jar with jelly ears and rehydrate as needed. Although not very popular in Western cuisine, jelly ears and their relatives are widely used in Asian cooking and have been known to be used in medicine too.
One thing to keen in mind when picking jelly ears is that the elder tree which they grow on is actually toxic except for the flowers and the berries which come from it. So when picking jelly ears, clean off any bark which comes from the tree.
When I pick my jelly ears, I immediately dry them - you can do this in a dehydrator however I use the over on a low setting for a couple of hours until the jelly ears go dry and crispy. Then I allow them to cool and add them to my storage jar. They shrink, so your jar will hold an abundance of ears as they expand when they rehydrate.
When it comes to cooking with jelly ears, there are several ways to prepare them. You can rehydrate the jelly ears in marinade like soy sauce, garlic, and chilli; stock; salted water - although not having much flavour on their own, jelly ears soak up the flavour of whatever they are cooked in. You can then add the jelly ears into stir fries, soups, curries and stews.
BE WARNED! When fried in oil jelly ears explode like there's no tomorrow - and it can hurt, as well as completely mess up your kitchen. I'm talking from experience! So it's better to either boil them or use them along a substantial amount of other ingredients to avoid a mess and potential injury.
You can also grind dry jelly ears into a powder to use in stock. Research shows that jelly ears can offer benefits such as protecting the liver, lowering cholesterol, and promoting gut health. It is also high in fibre and antioxidants - all reasons why this mushrooms have long been used in Chinese medicine.
If there is ever a reason to pop on your wellies, brave the rain, and explore some woodlands and fields it is to forage for jelly ears! These fun mushrooms are a brilliant beginner mushroom to forage, have many cooking uses, and are fun to discover.
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