Hen of the Woods (Wild Food & Foraging)

Hen of the Woods is a lesser known edible wild fungi but is well worth seeking out. But do you know how to confidently identify it and which trees to look for it growing on? How is it different to Chicken of the Woods and is it a suitable alternative to chicken in your cooking?
In this video James and Dave will break it all down for you and introduce you to this tasty wild food.
Have you found Hen of the Woods (Grifola frondosa) yet? If so, how did you cook it? Let us know.
Join our online Wild Food & Foraging course. You can even get a free taster - right here: woodlandclassr...
Our patrons get early access to our videos. In this series, Lea & James introduce you to new skills or project ideas that will build your connection with nature through bushcraft, foraging and species ID. Want to become a patron and get access to a huge backlog of exclusive videos, wild food recipes, livestreams and more? Find out more here: / woodlandclassroom
Don't forget, we run bushcraft courses out in the woods, why not join us? woodlandclassr...
#foraging #wildfood #mushroom

[@Cyrilmc222004]

Thank you so much I really really enjoyed watching you talking about Chicken in the woods and Hen in the woods. Very, very interesting too. Please stay safe and well xxx Mags

[@WoodlandClassroom]

Thank you Mags - I'm glad you enjoyed it. Happy foraging!

[@natcross-padden]

Hello! I'm not a mycologist but I am tempted to say this is black staining/giant polypore Meripilus giganteus, not hen of the woods, partly as the fronds seem much larger and thicker (based on the research I've done and also encountering both in person)

[@WoodlandClassroom]

Thanks for sharing that. I'll pass that on to dave who I made the video with and look again. The Meripilus is not a species I'm familiar with. I can tell you that we ate this mushroom and it was fine with no ill effects. If I do discover there is a misidentification here then I will update this post.

[@Food_video]

food looks very tasty~!

[@jpdenk]

Looks a LOT different than it looks here in the US near Chicago.

[@WoodlandClassroom]

we are in North Wales

[@jpdenk]

@@WoodlandClassroom I knew they grow around the world, but I didn't realize that they could look so different in different places. I wonder if there might be more than one species of Grifola.

[@WoodlandClassroom]

There might well be, I'm not sure about that. Always check the latin name to ensure we're all talking about the same species. @@jpdenk

[@jpdenk]

@@WoodlandClassroom , yes I always do. I prefer using the scientific binomials but most people prefer common names, so I have to familiarize myself with common names too. I'm an old geezer who has been interested in mycology and wild edibles for over 50 years. I picked my first Grifola frondosa in 1972. 🙂

[@DuncanColeman]

Is this not blackening or giant polypore?

[@WoodlandClassroom]

Do you have the latin names for those and I'll check my field guides just to be 100% sure

[@natureisallpowerful]

I found one of these the other week and misinterpreted it as a giant polypore

[@WoodlandClassroom]

I hope this video helped you understand the difference. It's certainly worth knowing your common bracket fungi if you're going to be foraging this one. Good luck.

[@natureisallpowerful]

@@WoodlandClassroom the one I found was at the base of an old beech tree

[@WoodlandClassroom]

@@natureisallpowerful good to know thanks