Subject: Re: Mushrooms - Hen of the Woods

From: [email-masked] (David Kolasa)
Date: Tue, 27 Sep 1994 12:26:30 GMT

>>I have a hen of the woods mushroom just sprouting it my back yard.
>>There is a huge one in my front yard.  Can I eat these things this 
>>early in the year?  The big one has been around since the end of august.

>You're supposed to eat only the tender, fleshy outer rim when it is very
>young.  I just tried one and threw it in the garbage- the taste wasn't
>offensive or anything, but it certainly wasn't worth all the bother to
>cook it up.  Others rave on about it- maybe you'll be one of them.
>Remember to double-check your identification.   -RSW

>  RICHARD WINDER                    Title: Research Scientist
>  Canadian Forest Service           Phone: (604) 363-0773
>  Victoria, B.C.                    Internet: [email-masked]

At our mushroom club meeting last sunday, the founder of the club told us that 
the hen of the woods could used to make tumors disappear. He dries them (don't 
go over 180 degrees F or the active ingredient is destroyed) and then 
reconstitutes with liquid as needed and applies it in a poultice. 

I haven't had to remove any tumors but, instead, have been frying up the 
tender outer parts for immediate eating and boiling the rest to make some very 
tasty soup stock which I then freeze in small containers to be used during the 
winter.

Dave Kolasa [email-masked]