Elephant ear mushrooms? Anyone have any ideas for recipies?

[Deb in IA]

A neighbor gave us a big bag of what he called "elephant ear mushrooms".

They are big, flat-ish, and white.

I think they are edible, because he tore off a piece of one and ate it in front of me!

Anyone heard of these, and does anyone have any good ideas of what to do with them? Any recepies that can use them?

Thanks!

 

[SaraJayne]

Like this?

Holy cow, I have no idea what that was!! LOL

 

[SaraJayne]

I would still be very, very careful about eating them. If in doubt, throw them out ~ he'll never know.

 

[mhsjax]

I would NEVER eat any mushroom unless I purchase it from a grocery store. I saw a news show a few years ago, and the botanist said eating mushrooms that don't come from a store and a know source could be a fatal mistake. Just because nothing happened to him at the time doesn't mean anything. The tory I watched told the story of a person in liver failure from eating the wrong type of mushroom.

 

[Cindy B]

I'm not positive, but I think elephant ear mushrooms are used in making hot and sour soup.

 

[monkeyboy]

grill with olive oil and garlic

 

[cornflake]

I know some mushroom hunters and have eaten wild mushrooms that have been picked by one but he knows very well what he's doing. So I'm not opposed to wild mushrooms - however....

False morels are difficult to treat in an article on edible and poisonous mushrooms because they so clearly fit both categories.

On one hand, many people have enjoyed eating false morels for years and may even consider them a favorite wild mushroom. On the other, false morels have definitely caused serious illnesses and deaths in the United States.

The problem seems to involve the amount of a toxic chemical, called monomethyl hydrazine (MMH), present in these mushrooms. MMH causes diarrhea, vomiting and severe headaches, and occasionally it can be fatal. However, because of different cooking techniques and different individual sensitivities to MMH, false morels poison some people but leave others unaffected. In addition, false morels in some areas of the country contain more MMH than in other areas. All this makes these mushrooms a very doubtful group as far as edibility is concerned.

False morels have wrinkled, irregular caps that are brain-like or saddle-shaped. They may be black, gray, white, brown or reddish. (The "big red morel," Gyromitra caroliniana, common in Missouri, is a large false morel with a reddish cap.) Other names include elephant ears, Arkansas morels and brain mushrooms. Size: 2 to 8 inches tall.

From here.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Hmmmm. . .are these wild mushrooms or grown mushrooms? If they're wild, I say toss 'em. If he grew them, you might want to check what kind they really are. I'll echo Cornflake on this one. I just did a quick Google myself on Elephant Ears. The sites I've found, some people THINK elephant ears are safe, because some of them, grown in some regions of the country, have less MMH than others. But they're still not all that safe.

But it's also entirely possible that what he offered you are Beefsteak or some other kind of mushroom that he incorrectly identified. (My DM does this. A lot. I grew up calling all sort of plants by the wrong or by very, very, limited regional names and had to relearn what to call the plants as an adult - I know all about them and how to grow them though!)

All things considered. . .unless he's growing said mushrooms himself, I'd pass. (If he's growing the mushrooms though, by all means figure out what they really are and eat them! As a kid, I always wanted to grow mushrooms, but my parents always vetoed the idea - from what I remember, you have to drill holes in rotting logs to put the spore in and manipulate the environment and use a lot of hay and cow manure - so I'm sure my parents thought it just wasn't worth the bother!)

 

[Deb in IA]

Thanks, everyone!

I don't think they are worth the risk, so I think I'll be safe and toss them.