After autumn, the weather begins to become dry, and many people begin to experience symptoms caused by dryness such as dry lips, dry skin, dry cough, and constipation. The focus of health care in autumn is to prevent "autumn dryness", and the key to preventing autumn dryness is "moistening the lungs". Cheap and good-quality white fungus is a good choice.

The efficacy of Tremella

Tremella, also known as white fungus and snow fungus, was first recorded in "Compendium of Materia Medica Renewed".

Sweet in nature and flavor; light; flat

Returns to the lung, stomach, and kidney meridian

Functions: nourishing and promoting body fluid, moistening the lungs and nourishing the stomach. It is mainly caused by cough due to fatigue, blood in the sputum, lack of fluid and thirst, physical weakness after illness, shortness of breath and fatigue.

Note that as a tonic, it can be consumed by the general population. However, it is contraindicated for those with cough caused by wind-cold and those with damp-heat causing phlegm.

In ancient times, Tremella was a valuable tonic. There was a saying that "Mist is born, dew is born from mist, and ears are born from dew." Therefore, Tremella was considered to be a gift from God.

With the success of modern artificial cultivation technology, Tremella has entered thousands of households and has become a food with the same origin as medicine and food that is loved by the general public.

How to choose Tremella

Tremella is the dry fruiting body of the Tremella fungus Tremellaceae. It is in the shape of an oblate spherical or irregular block, with a diameter of 3 to 18 cm, and is composed of many small It is composed of thin wavy curly fruit body valves.

Look at the appearance

The ear flowers of high-quality Tremella fuciformis are large and loose, the ear meat is thick, the flower shape is relatively round, the pedicle has no black spots, and the color is natural white or slightly tinged. yellow.

If the color is silvery white, the flower shape is incomplete, and the pedicle is dirty, it is not suitable to buy.

Smell

High-quality Tremella fuciformis smells like natural fungus, while spoiled and inferior Tremella fuciformis will have a sour smell or other peculiar smells.

By feel

High-quality dried white fungus is slightly prickly to the touch, but not brittle.

If it feels prickly and brittle, it means the moisture content is too low; if it doesn’t feel prickly, it means the water content is too much, so it is not suitable to buy.

Answers to common questions about Tremella

Can I drink Tremella soup overnight?

Tremella soup cannot be left overnight for a long time. Leaving it for a long time will not only reduce the nutritional content, but also produce harmful substances to the human body.

Can fresh white fungus be eaten?

Freshly picked and unprocessed Tremella fuciformis contain porphyrin-like light-sensitive substances. Eating fresh Tremella fuciformis may cause symptoms such as solar dermatitis and skin redness and swelling.

However, the fresh Tremella fuciformis sold in the market are processed and dried, and the porphyrins contained in them are destroyed and disappear during the processing, so you can buy and eat them with confidence.

Can eating white fungus really replenish collagen?

Tremella fungus cannot replenish collagen. Collagen is the main component of animal connective tissue and is only found in animal foods.

The sticky taste of Tremella fuciformis comes from Tremella fuciformis polysaccharide, which is a water-soluble dietary fiber.

Tremella polysaccharide not only helps to promote the growth of intestinal probiotics and protect intestinal health, but also improves the ability of macrophages to phagocytose pathogens and improves the body's immune level.

Tremella polysaccharide can reduce the deposition of lipofuscin in the myocardium, body surface skin and other parts.

In addition, Tremella polysaccharides have good water-holding properties and help replenish the water needed by the body. Therefore, eating Tremella regularly also has certain skin care effects.

Can you eat yellowed Tremella?

The true color of Tremella fuciformis should be ordinary white, slightly yellowish.

In the case of special yellowing, it should be that the Tremella has been left for too long, the Tremella has become damp or the moldy components have changed. The deteriorated Tremella is not as dry as when it was just bought, and it will feel moist to the touch.

After normal dried Tremella is soaked in warm water, its volume will quickly expand 5 to 10 times, while the volume of deteriorated Tremella will not increase much after being soaked in water.

The white fungus may have been fumigated with sulfur.

The longer the white fungus soaking time is, the better?

Tremella fuciformis is the most easily contaminated food by fungi. The foaming time should generally not exceed 4 hours. It is advisable to soak it in warm water of about 60°C.

Experts remind you to use scissors to cut the soaked white fungus into pieces to make it easier for glue to form during the cooking process.

Recommended therapeutic recipes

Tremella, Lily and Wolfberry Soup

Ingredients: 20 grams of Tremella, 20 grams of lily, 10 grams of wolfberry, appropriate amount of honey.

Method: Put white fungus, lily, and wolfberry into the pot, add appropriate amount of water, simmer over low heat until it becomes thick juice, add honey, and cook for another 5 minutes before serving.

Efficacy: Nourishes yin and kidneys, replenishes qi and blood, moisturizes skin and calms nerves. It is suitable for people with insomnia, forgetfulness, fatigue and shortness of breath due to insufficient yin.

Rock sugar, white fungus, and snow pear soup

Ingredients: 1 white fungus, 1 snow pear, 50g rock sugar, 6 red dates, and several wolfberries.

Method:

1. Wash the white fungus, red dates and wolfberry, peel and cut the pear into pieces.

2. Put the white fungus and snow pear into a casserole, add an appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer for 1 hour.

3. Add red dates and wolfberries and simmer for ten minutes.

4. Finally add rock sugar, adjust the sweetness to suit your taste, and turn off the heat after the sugar has melted. It tastes better when chilled.

Efficacy: Replenishing qi and moistening the lungs, nourishing yin and promoting fluid production.

Produced by Jilin Daily

Planning: Jiang Zhongxiao

Author: Zhuang Zhuang