Do you know how to distinguish good from bad wood ear mushrooms? Wood ear mushrooms come in two colors: black and white. Their nutritional content may vary based on color. As a common ingredient on our dining tables, wood ear mushrooms are widely available in markets, but their quality varies significantly—some even contain excessive heavy metals.
Today, experts teach us to assess wood ear quality through sight, touch, and smell.
Look: High-quality black fungus is deep black with slightly spread-out ear lobes. The surface is jet-black and glossy, while the underside is dark gray without clumps. Medium quality has slightly smaller or moderately sized ears with slightly curled lobes; the surface is black but lacks luster. The lowest quality has small, fragmented ears with curled, thick lobes or hardened clumps, appearing gray or brown.Some unscrupulous vendors "process" black fungus with dyes; soaking them in water will quickly turn the water black.
Silver fungus naturally has a plain white color, slightly yellowish, with uneven yellow distribution. High-quality silver fungus has thick flesh, intact caps, a round umbrella shape over 3 cm in diameter, no stem base, and no impurities. Inferior silver fungus has thin flesh, spots, a stem base, impurities, and irregular shapes.Excessively snow-white or overly pristine specimens may have been treated with sulfur fumigation.
Additionally, avoid loose, unpackaged goods whenever possible; opt for branded, packaged products instead.
Feel: Regardless of color, high-quality wood ear mushrooms have very low moisture content. They feel light in the hand and crumble easily when squeezed.
Smell: Fresh black wood ear mushrooms should be free of sour, foul, or other off-odors.Long-term storage causes protein and fat degradation, producing sourness or other off-odors. A musty smell indicates moisture damage and spoilage. If silver ear mushrooms have a burnt taste, they may have been over-dried during processing. While edible, their quality and flavor are inferior. When buying silver ear mushrooms, you can also poke a small hole in the packaging to check for pungent odors. If present, it indicates high sulfur dioxide residue.
Taste: Pure silver ear mushrooms should have no off-flavors when lightly licked. Some unscrupulous vendors soak them in alum water, alkaline solutions, or sugar water to increase weight. When purchasing, lick the underside of the mushroom. If it tastes astringent, alkaline, sweet, or has a pungent or spicy sensation, it indicates additional "processing" and poor quality.