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Spice Pickled Jelly Ear Mushrooms

Spice Pickled Jelly Ear Mushrooms is a modern British recipe for classic preserve of jelly ear mushrooms in a spiced blend of cider and malt vinegars. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Spice Pickled Jelly Ear Mushrooms.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

10 minutes

Total Time:

30 minutes

Additional Time:

(+2 weeks maturing)

Makes:

1 jar

Rating:

Tags : Wild FoodSpice RecipesBritish Recipes

Jelly Ear (also known as wood ear, tree ear and jew's ear mushrooms/fungus) are ear-shaped mushrooms that grow on elder trees. Admittedly, they're not the most exciting of fungi, but are used in many Asian recipe and this sweet and spicy pickle gives them more of a zing than they usually have. After pickling in this way, they can be used sliced in salads.

Ingredients:

3 handfuls of fresh jelly ear mushrooms
300ml cider vinegar
100ml malt vinegar
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 star anise
2 dried red chillies
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1 lemongrass stalk, bruised

Method:

Lay the jelly ear mushrooms on a sheet of newspaper, set indoors in the sun for 2-3 days, until dry.

At this point, pick off any stray pieces of bark or moss, then quickly rinse the fungi with three changes of water (do this quickly so they don't have a chance to rehydrate).

Transfe to a bowl, cover with cider vinegar (make sure you have enough vinegar to completely cover). Allow to rehydrate for 20 minutes.

Drain the fungi, reserving the left-over vinegar then pack the fungi into a sterilized and warmed pickling jar.

Add the malt vinegar, sugar and spices to the leftover cider vinegar in a pan. Pul over low heat and warm until the sugar dissolves. Bring just to a boil, take off the heat and set aside to infuse for 10 minutes.

Pour the still warm liquid into the jar with the wood ear mushrooms, ensuring that all the mushrooms are covered and leaving a 2cm head space. Tap the jar on your work surface a few times to dislodge any air bubbles. Seal, allow to cool then label and store.

Set aside for at least 2 weeks to mature before opening and eating. Store in the refrigerator once opened.