Black Fungus: Origin, Price, and Differences from Cloud Ear Fungus Explained
Black fungus, also known as black vegetable, mulberry ear, tree chicken and so on, is a traditional health food, and is much loved by people for its delicious taste and rich nutrition, so many people like to cook it or serve it cold dressed, so where does black fungus grow? How is the price? And what is the difference from cloud ear fungus?
Where does it grow?
Black fungus comes in two types, wild and artificially cultivated, and most of what is sold on the market now is artificially cultivated, while wild ones are very few. Artificial cultivation generally uses wood, but not dead wood; it is usually freshly cut wood, cut into sections, then holes are drilled in it and spawn is inserted, so it can grow out, and then it is picked and sold on the market!
Latest price:
Grade-one black fungus is about 60 yuan to 70 yuan per jin, grade-two black fungus is about 40 yuan to 50 yuan per jin, and large-piece black fungus is about 30 yuan to 40 yuan per jin, with prices varying according to the market.
Differences from cloud ear fungus:
Wood ear fungus has several classifications, and their effects are all about the same: black fungus, Northeast small wood ear, and cloud ear. Cloud ear can be said to be wood ear, except that generally speaking cloud ear is a high-altitude product, while wood ear is the general term for all ear-shaped fungal bodies growing on wood.
Cloud ear is one type of wood ear. All three kinds of wood ear have effects such as benefiting qi, moistening the lungs, supplementing the brain, lightening the body, cooling the blood, stopping bleeding, astringing the intestines, invigorating the blood, strengthening the will, and nourishing the complexion; they contain large amounts of carbohydrates, protein, iron, calcium, phosphorus, carotene, vitamins and other nutrients. Cloud ear contains rich plant collagen components, which have a strong adsorption effect, and also have a dissolving and oxidizing effect on foreign matter such as hair, grain husks, wood residue, sand, and metal shavings that are accidentally eaten and are difficult to digest.
Cloud ear is a kind of wood ear, and because its selling price is cheap, most people regard it as a dish ingredient and completely ignore its nutritional value. In fact, cloud ear contains rich protein, iron and various vitamins, and is a cheap nourishing food.
Compared with white wood ear, black fungus, apart from being inferior to white wood ear in fat, calcium and phosphorus, is higher than white wood ear in all other nutritional components. Black fungus itself has no flavor, so when cooking it is mostly used only as a dish accompaniment. It has the effects of moistening the skin and nourishing the complexion, benefiting qi and strengthening the body, and treating hemorrhoids and stopping bleeding.
Cloud ear, namely black fungus, is the fruiting body of the fungus plant wood ear of the family Auriculariaceae, class Basidiomycetes, and is widely distributed throughout the world. It often parasitizes on the dead wood of mulberry, pagoda tree, willow, elm, paper mulberry, and Chinese elm trees, and is named for its body shape resembling a human ear. Wood ear is not very selective about tree species; as long as the branches and trunks are rotten, it can almost always grow. Its quality varies with the wood it grows on. Besides the wild ones, there are also artificially cultivated ones, and during artificial cultivation, a scattered-light, warm and humid environment should be maintained for it to grow well.