This past week iridescent yellows, golds, oranges, and reds have been exploding through the falling foliage. Admittedly, the residential zones of Waltham don't have the prettiest colors, and our street is particularly drab due to the lack of trees, but Prospect Hill provides a nice oasis to experience the seasons.
In addition to being a picturesque place to run, this past week Prospect Hill also provided us with a mushroom called Chicken of the Woods. Considered one of the Foolproof Four, it is unmistakeable and considered a "choice delicacy" by many mushroom hunters. True to its name, it looks, feels, and tastes just like chicken! In fact, it is dense, moist, cool, and rubbery-soft, just like raw chicken flesh (which is admittedly rather gross). None the less, Seth and I of course had to take a tiny risk and try some :o)
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| Chicken of the Woods, Laetiporus sulphureus |
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| It is most tender, tasty, and least likely to cause problems when it is still young and fresh, like this one |
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| For a person who doesn't like to deal with raw meat, this mushroom is a bit creepy |
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| It pulls apart along a grain, just like meat |
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| The texture and appearance is a little repulsive, but the flavor is spot on; it smells and tastes like (salt-free) chicken bouillon. It even has a slight MSG flavor, which must be the savory umami taste mushrooms are famous for. |
Some people do have a negative reaction to the mushroom, so last night we cooked it and tried just a little bit. We woke up this morning *alive and kicking,* so we will have some more tonight in a "chicken" soup. Hopefully I will be around to give an update on how it was...
