Tremella

Tremella (Tremella fuciformis) is an edible jelly fungus that forms delicate, ruffled, almost translucent white clusters resembling a coral, a flower or a cloud. Known as snow fungus or silver ear, it is one of the few functional mushrooms used mainly in sweet dishes rather than savory ones.

An unusual way of life

Tremella has a fascinating biology. Instead of feeding directly on wood like most tree-dwelling fungi, it is a parasite of other fungi, specifically species of Annulohypoxylon that grow in decaying hardwood. Commercial growers therefore cultivate tremella together with its host fungus on sawdust or logs. It is a favorite example in mycology of how complex fungal relationships can be.

Where it grows

Wild tremella grows in warm, humid forests of tropical and subtropical regions, including southern China, Southeast Asia, South America and parts of Oceania. Cultivation in China began in the nineteenth century and today supplies most of the world's dried snow fungus.

Tremella in the kitchen

• Texture: Dried tremella is crisp and yellowish. After soaking, it swells into a soft, slippery, gelatinous cluster.
• Flavor: very mild, so it takes on the taste of whatever it is cooked with.
• Classic dish: a Chinese dessert soup of snow fungus simmered with rock sugar, red dates (jujubes), goji berries and sometimes pear or lotus seeds.

Tradition and research

Tremella has a long history in Chinese culinary and wellness traditions, where it was once a luxury ingredient. Its polysaccharides hold large amounts of water, which is why tremella extract also appears on some cosmetic ingredient lists. These polysaccharides have been the subject of research, alongside other fungal beta-glucans.

A dessert mushroom

Tremella proves that mushrooms and sweets have been friends for a long time. That same sweet-meets-earthy idea shapes Polkadot's fruit-forward confections, like our Polkadot Lychee Gummies, part of the plant-based Vegan Magic Gummies collection.