Amber jelly roll mushrooms growing on an oak twig.
When the nickname of a wild edible is “snot on a stick,” then you certainly know that the appearance of said edible is, shall I say, lacking. And so it is with the amber jelly roll (Exidia recisa). This mushroom often grows on hardwood twigs and looks as if someone had coughed up little gobs of dark brown mucus all over a stick.
Despite its unappealing exterior, this member of the jelly mushroom family is edible and though it does not boast the flavor of morels, for example, it does add structure and substance to soups, salads, stews, and egg dishes. The amber jelly roll is mostly a winter mushroom, thriving on the dead or dying limbs of hardwoods. I have found them mostly on members of the red and white oak families.
A January or February snow event can result in these limbs breaking and falling to the forest floor. But I gather amber jelly rolls most often in March when the temperature is too warm for snowfall but just right for an ice storm. Then it’s a simple matter to scavenge through a forest and gather large numbers of twigs and small branches covered with this species. Take these branches inside, slice or pull off the mushrooms, and warm up with a bowl of tomato soup, replete with peas, carrots, and a gob of amber jelly rolls.
Bruce and Elaine Ingram will profile a different wild edible every month. For more information on their book Living the Locavore Lifestyle, contact them at bruceingramoutdoors@gmail.com
