After spending a spring on the West Coast, and, more specifically, near the Berkeley Bowl grocery store, I have grown to adore the black trumpet mushroom. But they seem to no longer be in season, and, I suspect, when I’m back in the midwest, they’ll be virtually impossible to find any time of the year.
As a result, I’m on the lookout for a reasonable substitute. I mostly use them sautéed in pasta sauces, where I like them because they provide a nice, rich, meaty flavor without overwhelming the sauce with “mushroomy” notes. Any ideas for what (readily available) mushrooms might work in that setting?
Dried “black fungus” mushrooms maybe? If you have a Chinese grocery near you, that’s what they’re called. They look pretty similar to the black trumpets as best as I can tell and they have a nice meaty taste (when rehydrated) without being too–mushroomy. Also the texture’s a little bit like fruit-leather, even when rehydrated fully–so they don’t have the gross spongy texture most mushrooms have.
A little research says it might be “wood ear” but wikipedia says that woodears are spongey and jelly-like and these are NOT. (This is a feature, not a bug)
(If you’ve ever had Mu-Shu, they’re always in that dish)
Midwestern grocery store chain Hy-Vee carries nice dehyrated ones year round. A little steeping and they’re good to go. Kroger might have them as well. They’re typically right next to the fresh herbs in the produce section.
I’m a fan. I use them heavily in a mushroom sauce when I make turkey scallopini.
Hmm. If they’re anything at all like woodear mushrooms, then they’ll be a no go: the consistency of woodears is far too slimy and chewy for my taste. I’ll have to see if I can find the black fungus variety and experiment.
drastic_quench: I don’t recall seeing black trumpets in the Kroger near my place, but that was before their deliciousness was revealed to me, so I never looked too hard.
There is no slime texture at all. Zero. Think “fruit leather” for the texture. Or maybe “soft beef jerky”.
The “black fungus” is commonly called “woodears”, but the more I read about woodears, the less black fungus sounds like them. Unless dehydrating/rehydrating them completely and utterly changes the texture in a way that other mushrooms don’t.
I think the Black Trumpet mushroom is pretty different from other black mushrooms, and other chanterelle-type-trumpet-like mushrooms. I’d heard them mentioned, in recipes and my mushroom guidebook, as having a special spicy taste to give to egg dishes. So I don’t know if you’ll be able to find a substitute in other umani-flavored fungi.
FWIW, I did find them growing when I day hiked in the Appalachian Trail, and I did study and even sniff them. But I don’t eat fungi I find based on a guide books picture and description. It did have a spicy smell.
Surely the Dope has some mushroom lovers that can chime in!