Funghi
Grifola frondosa
S tier
Grifola frondosa is maitake/hen of the woods—feathery overlapping fronds at tree bases, rich woodsy flavour, meaty texture. Wild autumn prize and now widely cultivated. Dries and roasts superbly. Roast until crisp-edged; sauté; fry as steaks from large clusters. Wild ID must be solid. One of the great culinary polypores.
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Unit
Characteristics
Preparations
FryRoastSauté
Traits
FeatheryFrond ClusterMeatySpeciesUmamiWoodsy
History
JP
Japanese cuisine valued maitake as a dancing mushroom of fortune and flavour.
Cultivation made maitake a global specialty mushroom.
Wild hen of the woods hunts remained autumn events in North America and Europe.