Clouds are an international focus of attention and the one at left from Australia is especially interesting as it is in the shape of an ear.  You can tell it’s Australia as there are Eucalyptus trees in the bottom of the photograph. There are other cloud formations that look like cochleas in the sky (right).  

Clouds, of course, are a visible mass of liquid droplets or frozen crystals made of water or various chemicals suspended in the atmosphere above the surface of a planetary body. Terrestrial cloud formation is the result of air in Earth’s atmosphere becoming saturated due to either or both of two processes: the cooling of the air and/or the addition of water vapor. With sufficient saturation, precipitation will usually fall to the surface.   These rare cloud formations consist of water vapor and wind modifications that happen everywhere and to the observer look like interesting things in the sky.  But is that the real topic of our blog this week?  NOT!

The real topic this week is Auricularia Polytricha….but what is that?  A disease?  A tumor in the ear?  A sign of a serious hearing loss or heart attack?   Not hardly…….

It’s Actually Cloud Ear

Believe it or not, there is a fungus or mushroom called the Cloud Ear, a rather exotic sounding name for a plant also known as black fungus, tree ears, and jelly mushroom.  This dried black fungus has been featured in Chinese cooking since the sixth century A.D., primarily in soups and sauces.  The Chinese name for Cloud Ear is mo-er, or “little ear.” As the photograph (at left) illustrates, when fresh, it does vaguely resemble a human ear.  Cloud Ears (or Auricularia Polytricha to the scientists) are ruffle-edged, thin, Black Mushrooms that are similar in appearance to Wood Ear (another type of mushroom), except the Wood Ear is black with a brownish-tan inner color and the Cloud Ear mushroom is black with a slightly lighter shade of black as their inner color. Cloud Ears have a more delicate, milder flavor and are much smaller than their Wood Ear cousin. Cloud Ear mushrooms reconstitute to a putty-like, soft, firm, smooth texture and delicate flavor.

Auricularia polytricha is a tree fungus widely distributed in moist-deciduous to wet evergreen forests of the Western Ghats, Kerala, India but is also grown in the western Chinese provinces of Hunan, Yunnan and Sichuan. They grow in clusters on rotting branches and twigs and on decaying stumps and logs (from trees such as the mango and kapok). They are gnarly when dehydrated, but once soaked in water for twenty minutes – though longer is better – they expand into shiny, translucent clusters. While Cloud Ear mushrooms add rich flavor to soups and stir fried dishes, they are used primarily for their unusual, slippery, crunchy texture. Unlike Wood Ear mushrooms, Cloud Ears should be added to dishes at the last-minute to retain their shape.   Auricularia polytricha is usually sold dried (even available at Amazon and other internet places) and needs to be soaked before use. 

Suggested Uses for Cloud Ear

Cloud Ear fungi have a firm, soft texture that makes them great in dishes where a textural contrast is desired.  Like all mushrooms, Cloud Ears are delicious in soups and sauces.  Like tofu, Cloud Ear has no flavor of its own, but absorbs the flavors that it is cooked with. Cloud ear mushrooms are sold mainly in dried form, in plastic bags. If stored in an airtight container, they usually keep for up to a year.  Before using them, soak them in warm water for at least 15 minutes, after which they will puff up to several times normal size. Then rinse them and trim the stem from where it was attached to the wood of the tree. Once the cloud ears have been cut into an appropriate shape and size, add them to a dish near the end of stir-frying, so that they do not lose their crunchy texture.

Although the two are often confused, Wood Ears are actually a distant relative of the Cloud Ear fungus. Larger and somewhat tougher, they lack the delicate taste of cloud ears. Storage and preparation of wood ears, also used in soups and stir fry, are virtually identical to cloud ears, except that they can be soaked in cold instead of warm water.

But it may also be a Medicine…..

While almost tasteless, Cloud Ear fungus is not only prized for its texture but also for its potential medicinal properties, including its newly discovered anticoagulant properties. The Chinese regularly add Cloud Ear fungi to their food because they believe it improves breathing, ac3 circulation, and well-being. Recent studies of the medicinal effects of Auricularia polytricha suggest that the Chinese could be correct in their centuries-old assumption. Recently, a chemical in Cloud Ear has been found that tends to inhibit blood clotting. Since blood vessel diseases, strokes, and heart attacks are associated with clotting, perhaps moderate ingestion of this mushroom as food may indeed confer long life and good health on its users.  Additionally it has even been suggested that it could be an anticancer remedy, but the jury is still out on that one……

So, maybe a cloud ear has more important things to be than (as pictured above) just the “Cochlea Over Fujisan.”