Resinous Polypore

I set out to find puffballs and ended up with a ton of resinous polypore mushrooms instead.

Resinous polypore (Ischnoderma resinosum) is found on hardwood and conifer trees from September until November. It is semicircular in shape and when young at its prime harvesting time, is soft, fleshy, extremely moist, often exudes red droplets hence the term "resinous" in its name, and smells of anise. As it ages, it becomes hard, woody, and dry.

I've never worked with them before, as I've only found them in their later stages. I've also never come across any readings that made them sound worthy of the effort to prepare and eat it.

I gave these ones a little pinch, cut into them, took a deep inhale, and instantly started salivating. My timing was perfect, many were still young and incredibly moist. I thought this time, I might as well give them a try.

I cut these mushrooms into small pieces and cooked them in a cast iron pot over fire on indirect heat. This slow cooking process allowed the mushrooms to release their juices, slowly cook down and caramelize in their own broth. I added garden herbs, blitzed it up in the food processor with smoked parsnip, potatoes, and pork sausage. It was quite possibly the best dumpling filler I've ever tasted.

Aside from its edibility, the resinous polypore has its values. It is a great bioremediator (a tool used in waste management techniques that involve the use of natural organisms to remove or neutralize pollutants from a contaminated site) for synthetic dyes.

These dyes are created for fabric, paper, food, pharmaceuticals, etc that seep into our environment. They are environmental pollutants, considered toxic, many carcinogenic or mutagenic, and are difficult to remove from our environment. It is estimated that 280,000 tons of textile dyes that are discharged into industrial effluents every year.

Resinous polypores are also rich in lectins, which have a diversity of medicinal actions including immunomodulation and anticancer.

Dr. Cristina Allen ND