Snow mushroom (Ice, Silver, Tremella fuciformis): what it is, what it looks like, where and how it grows, edible or not

Snow mushroom is a rare but very tasty mushroom from the Tremellaceae family. Of interest is not only the unusual appearance of the fruiting bodies, but also the taste, as well as beneficial properties for the body.

What is this ice mushroom and what does it look like?

The ice mushroom is known by many names - snow, silver, jellyfish mushroom, white or spindle-shaped trembler, silver or snow ear, tremella fucus.A photo of a snow mushroom shows that in appearance it resembles a kind of ice flower, translucent and very beautiful.

The photo of the ice mushroom shows that its fruiting body is elastic and elastic, similar to gelatin, but at the same time quite hard. Tremella is whitish and translucent in color, can reach up to 4 cm in height and up to 8 cm in diameter. Its surface is shiny and smooth.

The fucus tremella looks like an ice flower

The snow mushroom does not have a clearly defined stalk; the fruiting body grows directly from the tree trunk. The pulp of the fucus tremella is the same whitish-transparent as the entire fruit body, and does not have a strong smell or taste.

How and where does ice mushroom grow?

Fucus tremella prefers a warm, preferably tropical climate. Therefore, on the territory of Russia it can only be found in Primorye and in the Sochi region, where average annual temperatures remain quite high.

Since the snow mushroom is a parasitic organism, it settles on the trunks of fallen trees and draws juices and minerals from them. In Russia you can see it mainly on oak trees. Tremella appears in mid-summer and bears fruit until mid-September; it can grow either singly or in small groups.

Silver ear grows on deciduous tree trunks

Doubles and their differences

The unique external features of the fucus tremella practically do not allow it to be confused with any other mushrooms. However, in the absence of experience, related species can be mistaken for the snow quaver.

Orange shaker

White and orange tremors are very similar in structure - the fruiting bodies consist of thin petals of a gelatinous consistency.The orange trembler also grows on deciduous trees and selects regions with warm climates.

As is clear from the name, species can be distinguished by color - the orange trembler has a bright yellow-orange or red-orange hue. Sometimes in rainy weather it can become discolored, and then it becomes almost impossible to tell the difference.

Important! Orange tremors belong to the category of edible mushrooms, so a mistake during collection does not pose a particular danger.

Brain shake

Another species that can be confused with snow tremella under certain conditions is the brain tremella. The fruiting body is a gelatinous, gelatinous growth on the bark of a tree. The shape is tuberous, unevenly spherical, so the trembler resembles a miniature human brain.

Although the color of the brain trembler can also be whitish and almost transparent, the shape does not allow the fruiting body to be confused with a snow mushroom. In addition, brain tremors grow not on deciduous trees, but on coniferous trees. The fundamental differences turn out to be very useful, considering that the brain tremella is not suitable for consumption and should not be confused with the tremella ice mushroom.

Is the mushroom edible or not?

Despite its unusual appearance and consistency, the snow mushroom is completely suitable for food. It is not recommended to eat it raw, but after processing it can be added to a variety of dishes.

How to cook ice mushrooms

Snow shaker is used very widely in cooking. It is not only boiled and fried, but also pickled, salted for the winter and dried. Tremella can be added to soups and main courses; it can serve as a good side dish for potatoes, pasta and cereals.

Before any preparation, the silver ear must be processed and prepared. There is no need to clean it, since it does not have ordinary legs and a cap. It is enough to simply cut off the small roots through which the tremella receives nutrients and shake off the remaining forest debris.

Before cooking, fresh snow tremors need to be boiled, or rather, steamed for 10 minutes in hot water. Steaming not only eliminates possible harmful substances in the composition, but also increases the volume - the silver ear swells by about 3 times.

Fucus tremors are actively used in cooking

Ice Mushroom Recipes

You don’t see snow mushrooms in the forest very often, but there are a lot of recipes using them. Basically, heat treatment is practiced, after which it becomes especially tasty.

How to Make Fried Ice Mushrooms

The simplest recipe suggests frying the snow mushroom in a frying pan with vegetable oil and spices. It is necessary to cut the fresh pulp into small pieces and then place it in a frying pan.

Fry the pulp briefly, only about 7 minutes until golden brown, and at the end add salt and pepper to your taste. It is not necessary to steam the snow mushroom before frying.

Cooking scrambled eggs with ice mushrooms

Tremella fucus is popular in combination with scrambled eggs. To prepare the dish you need:

fry 3 eggs, 100 g of chopped ham and 50 g of hard cheese in a frying pan;
immediately after coagulating the egg white, add 200 g of steamed tremella;
salt the scrambled eggs to taste and add pepper and your favorite herbs.

Fry the eggs for no more than 10 minutes. The finished dish has an unusual aroma and bright flavors.

Silver ear is often fried with scrambled eggs

How to cook ice mushroom in Korean

You can use tremella fucus to prepare a tasty and spicy dish according to the Korean ice mushroom recipe. Necessary:

steam and rinse about 200 g of snow mushroom;
cut the pulp into small pieces and place in a ceramic container;
in a separate pan, mix 3 large spoons of soy sauce, 1 small spoon of honey and 2 chopped garlic cloves;
add a little ground black pepper, paprika or standard spices for Korean carrots to the mixture to taste;
heat the mixture until the honey is completely dissolved.

Pour the resulting sweet marinade over the Korean-style ice mushroom and leave to marinate under the lid for 4 hours.

Fucus tremors in Korean are very popular

Snow Mushroom Soup Recipe

You can add tremella fucus to a regular vegetable soup - the dish will acquire a pleasant aroma and original taste. The recipe looks like this:

Cut 2 potatoes, 1 medium carrot and onion into small cubes;
Boil the ingredients in 2 liters of water until completely softened;
add 100 g of finely chopped dried tremors to the broth and cook for another 15 minutes.

The soup should be salted to taste; if desired, you can add herbs and a little pepper to it. It is not advisable to overcook the snow mushroom, but with moderate heat treatment it will delight you with its bright taste and pleasant texture.

You can add silver ear to soup

Advice! You can also put fresh tremella fucus in the soup, but dried fruiting bodies are used more often because their aroma and taste are more intense.

How to pickle white ice mushrooms

For winter storage, snow mushrooms are often pickled.The recipe looks pretty simple:

1 kg of fresh tremors is washed, cut into small slices and boiled for 10 minutes in salted water;
in a separate pan, 50 g of sugar and 10 g of salt are poured with 30 ml of vinegar and 200 ml of water, add 3 chopped garlic cloves to the marinade;
the mushroom pulp is placed in a jar in a dense layer, a layer of onion, cut into half rings, is placed on top, and so, alternating layers, the container is completely filled;
The tremors and onions are poured with cold marinade and placed under pressure.

Marinating the snow mushroom takes only 8 hours, after which it can be consumed.

How to salt fucus tremors

Another method suggests pickling snow mushrooms for the winter. They do it very simply:

white tremors are boiled in salt water for 15 minutes;
then the mushrooms are cut into large strips;
The strips are placed in a small jar, sprinkled generously with salt.

If desired, you can add pepper, bay leaf and dill to the brine - the spices will make the taste of the salted shaker more pungent and spicy.

Silver ear mushroom is suitable for pickling and canning

How to preserve silver ears mushrooms for the winter

The preservation recipe suggests preserving snow mushrooms for the winter as follows:

white tremors in the amount of 1 kg are boiled for 15 minutes;
shortly before readiness, add 1 large spoon of salt, the same amount of sugar and 3 dill umbrellas to the pan;
season the ingredients with 5 black peppercorns, 2 cloves and 3 chopped garlic cloves;
cook for another 10 minutes, and then add 4 large tablespoons of vinegar and remove from the stove.

White tremors in a hot marinade are poured into sterile jars and the canned food is tightly sealed for the winter.

Is it possible to dry and freeze jellyfish mushroom?

It is not recommended to freeze the snow mushroom; tremella fucus reacts poorly to lower temperatures. Freezing destroys all the beneficial substances in the mushroom and damages its structure.

But you can dry tremella fucus. First, it is steamed in the standard way, and then a thin thread is threaded through the fruiting bodies and hung in a dry, ventilated place. You can also dry the tremella in the oven at 50 °C, leaving the door open.

Attention! Dried white tremors retain all their beneficial properties and rich aroma. Interestingly, when cooked after a new steaming, the tremella increases in volume again.

It is not recommended to freeze silver ear, but drying tremella is allowed

The benefits and harms of snow mushrooms

The unusual tremella fucus has numerous beneficial properties. In particular, she:

increases immune resistance and accelerates regeneration processes in the body;
improves blood circulation and prevents the development of varicose veins and thrombophlebitis;
reduces the level of glucose and bad cholesterol in the blood, strengthens blood vessels and improves heart function;
has a beneficial effect on the respiratory system;
regulates digestion and metabolic processes;
accelerates peristalsis and stimulates bile secretion.

Tremella also has contraindications. These include:

pregnancy and lactation - any mushroom pulp is dangerous for pregnant women and nursing mothers;
children's age - you can offer snow mushroom to a child only after 7 years;
individual intolerance.

Also, you should not use white tremors at the same time as taking blood thinning medications.

Silver ear has numerous valuable properties

How is it useful for oncology?

The valuable properties of tremella fucus are used in the treatment of cancer. It has been proven that white trembling increases the body's endurance and makes it more resistant to radiation, removes toxic substances from tissues and accelerates recovery processes. Snow mushroom is recommended for use after a course of chemotherapy; it helps the body better cope with the side effects of treatment.

The use of silver mushrooms in cosmetology

The benefits and harms of ice mushroom also affect the cosmetology field. Mushroom pulp contains many polysaccharides with chemical characteristics similar to hyaluronic acid.

Store-bought and home remedies containing tremella fucus extract have a moisturizing and rejuvenating effect on the skin. Masks and lotions containing tremella help clear the face of acne and blackheads, increase the firmness and elasticity of the epidermis, and even out the complexion.

Tremella is also used to create hair masks. The beneficial substances contained in the snow mushroom nourish the scalp and prevent the appearance of dandruff.

How to grow ice mushroom at home

Fucus tremella is quite rare, so connoisseurs prefer to grow it at home or in the country. This can be done using a damp deciduous log without rot or flaws:

In a small log, holes are drilled no deeper than 4 cm and mycelium purchased from a special store is placed in them.
The log is placed in a warm and moist place on the ground, remembering to water it 3 times a week.
After the first rudiments of the tremella appear, the log is immersed in cold water for 1-2 days, and then placed vertically or obliquely in the air or in a bright, warm room.

Snow mushrooms should be grown at a temperature not lower than + 25 °C, regularly moistening the wood or substrate. The first fruiting bodies appear 4-5 months after planting the mycelium. For the winter, the log should be moved to a darkened basement, but the temperature in it should still remain positive.

Interesting facts about snow mushrooms

The tremella fucus mushroom was discovered only about 150 years ago - it was first described in 1856 by the British scientist Michaels Berkeley. But it gained popularity very quickly; for example, in China, the annual harvest of specially grown fruiting bodies is about 130,000 tons.

The healing properties of snow mushroom are widely used in Eastern folk medicine. Asian healing practitioners use tremella to treat coughs and colds.

Snow mushroom is an expensive delicacy product. Just 50 years ago it was available only to very rich people, but now sellers can charge about 1,500 rubles for 1 kg of dried tremors.

Fucus trembler is a rather expensive product

Conclusion

The snow mushroom is a very beautiful and useful representative of the mushroom kingdom. Although it is rarely found in nature, it is actively grown artificially, and therefore there are a lot of culinary recipes using tremella fucus.

Name:	Ice mushroom
Type:	Edible

Ice mushroom (Snow, Silver): photo and description, recipes