Jew's-ear

9.9

A brown ear-shaped edible mushroom that grows on dead wood and is used in Asian cooking

noun
/dʒuːz ɪr/

: oreja de judío

The Jew's-ear fungus is often used in Asian dishes for its unique texture.

Examples

After heavy rain, clusters of Jew's-ear appeared on the old willow tree.
She collected fresh Jew's-ear during her morning walk in the forest.
I found some Jew's-ear mushrooms in the forest.
Have you ever cooked with Jew's-ear fungi?
After heavy rain, clusters of Jew's-ear appeared on the old willow tree.
She collected fresh Jew's-ear during her morning walk in the forest.
The Jew's-ear fungus is often used in Asian dishes for its unique texture.

Synonyms

ear fungus

vsJew's-ear

7.3

A small edible mushroom shaped like a thin ear that grows on dead wood

is described as widely distributed without limiting it to specific regions

Auricularia auricula

vsJew's-ear

Specialized

9.4

A brown ear-shaped fungus you can eat that grows on dead wood and is used in Asian cooking

is the neutral botanical description without culinary emphasis

Surface Forms

Jew's-ear singular

Jew's-ears plural

Etymology

Jew's-ear comes from an older name Judas's ear and a folk story that the fungus grew on the tree linked to Judas Iscariot, and it looks like a human ear. So, a helpful way to remember the word is to think of an edible, 'ear-shaped' fungus that grows on old wood.