Is Snow Fungus the Same as White Fungus? A Detailed Guide to Selection Methods and Benefits

Everyone knows that white fungus can beautify the skin, invigorate the blood and clear heat, and is a food loved by many women, who use white fungus to make soup. So is white fungus the same as snow fungus? How should you select it? What are its effects?

1. Is white fungus the same as snow fungus?

Snow fungus and white fungus are the same thing! Snow fungus is also called white fungus, or white wood ear. It was originally a gelatinous fungus growing wild on rocks, and it has the functions of invigorating the blood and clearing heat, moistening the lungs and nourishing yin, and strengthening the heart and supplementing the brain. Rock sugar is sweet in taste and neutral in nature, and has the functions of supplementing the middle and boosting qi, and harmonizing the stomach and moistening the lungs. After white fungus is fumigated with sulfur, its color turns snow-white, hence it is called snow fungus.

However, some snow fungus has been treated with sulfur, so it is best not to buy it, because it is bad for the human body. When buying white fungus, it is better to choose slightly yellow ones; slightly yellow is the natural color of white fungus that has not been fumigated with sulfur, and relatively speaking it is healthier.

2. How to select white fungus?

1. Look: High-quality white fungus has large, loose heads, thick flesh, and is tough and elastic, with a small base, no roots, no black spots, and no impurities. After dried fungus is soaked in water, it has a high rehydration rate. Low-quality white fungus has heads of uneven size, is stiff and not loose, has an unclean base or even black spots, has rotten fungus and impurities, and the dried fungus has a low rehydration rate.

2. Touch: White fungus is crisp, sun-dried, and light in weight. With a gentle touch of the hand, the small clusters of white fungus can be broken off; poor white fungus cannot be torn apart, and fungus that is thoroughly sun-dried is easy to store.

3. Smell: White fungus originally has a faint mushroom-like aroma, the same smell as mushrooms. White fungus fumigated with sulfur has no mushroom aroma; if too much sulfur was used, it has a pungent sulfur smell.

4. Taste: Chew dried white fungus in your mouth, and it has a faint sweetness. Those fumigated with sulfur have a spicy taste, and these cannot be eaten. White fungus that is deep yellow also tastes sweet when eaten and also has a mushroom aroma; it is only too dark in color because the white fungus absorbed moisture during processing, and this does not affect normal consumption.

3. The effects of white fungus

1. Beautifying and skin care: It can enhance the skin's ability to resist damage. White fungus contains a large amount of carotene, which is of great help in maintaining the normal function of skin cells and tissues, stimulating skin metabolism, and keeping the skin moist and delicate. It can also enhance skin tension and has the effect of eliminating wrinkles.

White fungus also contains a substance similar to gum arabic, which has a good nourishing effect on the skin's stratum corneum and helps delay aging. If white fungus is eaten over the long term, it can make the subcutaneous tissue plump, and the skin delicate, moist, and elastic, making it an excellent beauty and skin care product for winter and spring.

2. Nourishing yin and tonifying deficiency: White fungus also has the effect of nourishing yin and tonifying deficiency, supplementing depletion, boosting essence and qi, moistening the lungs and tonifying the kidneys, and is used for yin deficiency of the lungs and kidneys. It is suitable for tonifying those who are weak after long illness or suffer from consumptive disease.

3. Moistening the lungs and protecting the liver: Modern famous doctors say that white fungus “has the moistening nature of dwarf lilyturf without its coldness, and the sweetness of fragrant solomonseal rhizome without its cloying richness”, and is an excellent product for moistening the lungs and nourishing yin. In clinical practice, it has been found that white fungus has a significant therapeutic effect on chronic bronchitis and cor pulmonale in the elderly. It can improve the liver's detoxification function and protect the liver, and can also enhance the body's protection against radiation and its inhibitory effect on cancer cells.