Fresh Chicken of the Woods

These interesting mushrooms have a lot of similar characteristics as chicken. When deciding on a dish, a vegetarian could simply take a chicken recipe and put the ‘Chicken of the Woods’ mushroom in it’s place. A young, fruiting chicken of the woods mushroom is characterized by a slightly damp, flexible, sulphur-yellow to reddish-orange body sometimes with the mushroom getting lighter in color towards its end. Older brackets become pale and brittle, almost chalk like, mildly pungent, and are often dotted with beetle or slug and woodlouse holes.

Other Names: Sulphur shelf, chicken mushroom, chicken fungus

Season: August-November

Origin: Pacific Northwest

Shelf Life: Up to 10 days fresh, up to a year frozen, over a year when dried.

Nutritional Facts: Chicken of the Woods is a good source of potassium and Vitamin C. 100g of Chicken of the Woods mushrooms contain 33 calories, 6g of carbs, 3g of fiber, 14g of protein, 1g of fat, 150 mg of potassium, 10% of daily Vitamin C, and 5% of daily Vitamin A.

Scientific Facts: Similar species include Laetiporus gilbertsonii (fluorescent pink, more amorphous) and L. coniferica (common in the western United States, especially on red fir trees). Edibility traits for the different species have not been well documented, although all are generally considered edible with caution. To learn more about Chicken Of The Woods