I found this nice looking COTW while kayaking the other day growing on a downed tree in the middle of the river.
Looks like Chicken Of The Pond to me.
Does it distribute tiny swords?
Strange fungus lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic mycology.
Yes, until the tiny uprising it did
Does it taste like Chicken Of The fil-A?
Yes, but without the homophobia.
I was never fortunate enough to catch them in their prime, but according to a friend of mine "it all just tastes like mushroom to me."
You have to cook it right, and season it right too! The quality of the mushroom makes a big difference as well (that one looks like a good one!)
It's really quite remarkable when done right.
I agree, but a well cooked mushroom will provide you with the right texture. The seasoning and browning will provide flavor.
I've cooked oyster mushrooms that tasted a lot like scallops, but if you search for it, the mushroom taste is there. I guess my friend is just more sensitive to it. Doesn't keep him from foraging, cooking, and enjoying them.
The ones I've tried that have a stronger good flavor in addition to mushroom flavor are chestnut mushrooms and chanterelles. A++.
I've never tried chestnut mushrooms before. Chanterelles are excellent though, I really enjoy their natural spicyness, kind of a peppery sort of flavor.
Chanterelles are my favorite by far. I'm yet to try morels though, and I've heard its praises.
Just had a batch of this sprout on a tulip poplar stump from a tree cut down 3 years ago. It did not look as good as this photo and was not harvested.
The woods behind the house produce a lot of this, as well as the occasional morel- which locals call dryland fish. I suspect we also get the psychedelic kind, but their appearance is so close to deadly ones in this area; and I am not a gambler.
Interesting, I've never heard of morels called dryland fish. I can see it from a taste perspective. We don't have a psychedelic mimic of the morel but we have what we call a beefsteak which is the Gyromitra esculenta.
I was unclear- I didn’t mean a psychedelic version of morel.
I meant the different mushroom species commonly used for such purposes.