Tremella

Other names:

• Latin name: Tremella fuciformis

• Czech names: snow fungus, silver sundew

• Chinese: Bai Mu Er (白木耳)

• Japanese: Shirokikurage

• English: Snow fungus, Silver ear, White jelly fungus

Brief Description:

The Tremella, also known as ciliate jelly, is one of the mushrooms that catches the eye at first sight. Its snow-white to slightly yellowish fruit looks like a delicate flower or a piece of sea sponge. In traditional Chinese culture, it has earned poetic nicknames such as 'snow mushroom' or 'silver ear'. It has been part of Asian cuisine and cultural heritage for centuries. It is said to have been a favourite delicacy of the imperial court, and to have been used in beauty rituals, its delicate, jelly-like texture evoking purity, gentleness and youth.

This mushroom grows most often on the smouldering wood of deciduous trees, but what is really special about it is the way it lives. It is not an ordinary wood-decaying fungus - Tremella in fact, it forms relationships with other fungi on whose mycelium it parasitizes. This fascinating form of cohabitation is relatively rare in nature and is a testament to the fungus' great adaptability. The fruiting bodies tend to be semi-translucent, fragile and, when fresh, have a soft, flexible texture. They shrink and become brittle when dried, but return to their original soft form when soaked.

In the kitchen, Tremella is particularly popular for its ability to take on the flavours of other ingredients. It is often added to delicate rice or fruit desserts, but also appears in savoury soups and broths. Its texture is unmistakable - soft, elastic and slightly crunchy. Many people like it not only for its taste, but also for the unusual gastronomic experience that eating it brings.

In modern times, interest in tremella is reawakening - not only as a kitchen ingredient, but also as an interesting natural material. In some countries it is popular, for example, in the cosmetics industry, where it has gained attention as an alternative raw material with a fine, natural origin.

Tremella thus represents a remarkable combination of natural elegance, mystery and tradition. It is a mushroom that captivates not by its size or distinctive flavour, but by its story, its shape and its ability to be part of delicate, harmonious recipes and cultural references across the centuries.

We wish to inform you that our website can no longer make claims that might give the impression of any therapeutic effect of herbs or mushrooms. Current EU legislation prohibits this. Even though traditional Chinese medicine has been around for thousands of years and has been tested on countless patients. At the same time, we must not mention the effects proven by contemporary scientific studies. But we believe in the common sense of our customers. For detailed information about herbs and mushrooms, please search the publicly available sources on the Internet. For example, valuable information can be found at www.tcmencyklopedie.cz.