Crown-tipped coral mushrooms are always a welcome sight, pound for pound they have an excellent yield, as well as the bonus of looking like an life form from under the sea.
These are a favorite of mine for special menus and chef's tables since they rarely fruit in large quantities where I live. On occasion, I find enough to garnish a nice meal with them. These can be a confusing batch of species-keep a field guide handy.
Identification Tips
As far as corals-type mushrooms go these are easy to identify. The biggest takeaways, at least for me, are the following:
- Crown-tipped corals grow *directly* from wood, not on the ground, although it could be possible to confuse some as growing terrestrially if they are coming from a buried log.
- Crown-tipped corals are looser in structure than ramaria, and much more delicate.
- Crown-tipped corals are always white, or a shade of dingy white due to age. The base of the mushroom where they attach to the wood will be brown.
- Ramaria mushrooms grow directly from the ground, and come in a variety of colors. Compare the two pictures below a few times, the differences are easy to pick out.
Look a Likes
There are other mushrooms that are not good that could be confused with these. My advice is:
- Don't pick any that have a scent of Phenol (embalming fluid) or smell bad in general.
- Don't pick any that have a gelatinous or liquidy/slimy base.
- Don't pick any corals that are colored deep red. (I've been informed of a deadly Japanese coral that's red)
Habitat
Where I live they grow only on dead and dying wood like oak. Crown tipped corals will not grow directly on the ground, like Ramarias. I see them in the early and late summer in Minnesota.
Cooking
First of all, these are ok to eat, but honestly they're not going to blow your mind.
Crown tipped corals cook really, really fast, and can be a pain to clean since debris and dirt can get lodged in them.
To clean large amounts of them I like to break them into small clusters and swish them quickly in cold water. After their light bath, I set them on a cloth or towel to dry in the fridge.
With crown tipped corals at the restaurant, I like to pour boiling salted broth over them, leave let them cool in it, and then simply pick out individual clusters to drop into a soup as a garnish at the very last minute.
Its also a lot of fun to serve them with seafood and freshwater fish, to get a sort of "sea" and fish combination/play on ingredients.
Cooking in Soup or Broth
Cooking in soup or broth is one of the best ways to prepare these, just like I recommend doing with yellowfoot mushrooms, or Craterellus tubaeformis and their cousins. Cooked in a liquid, these will retain a little more color and texture.
Preservation
These do not dry well, the smell changes a bit and gets kind of "gym-sockey", from my experience. If you want to pickle them I would make sure to separate them into large clusters.
Recipes
Recipes for crown corals, or where they can be substituted easily.
- Wild Mushroom Conserve
- Wild Mushrooms With Garlic And Parsley
- Wild Mushrooms With Breadcrumbs, Garlic, And Chili
- Crispy Fried Crown Coral Mushrooms, Chive Aioli
- Seared Tenderloins with Hericiums and King Crab
Pickled Crown Coral Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 lbs Coral mushrooms the younger and more firm the better
- 4 cups water
- ½ cup champagne or white vinegar
- 2 cloves of garlic whacked with the back of a knife
- a dried chilli or two for heat depending on how hot you like things
- a sprig or two of an herb thyme or savory would be great
Instructions
- Separate the coral mushrooms into clusters about the size of golf balls.
- Next wash your coral mushrooms in cool water and clean them to remove any clinging dirt or debris.
- Heat the water, salt, vinegar, chillis, garlic, and herbs in a pasta pot or another wide pan until the salt is dissolves and the mixture has come to a boil, then turn off the heat and leave the mixture to infuse for 5 minutes.
- Remove the herbs and garlic and taste the mixture, if you want to, add more garlic or another chilli or two to make it more spicy, etc.
- When the pickling liquid tastes like you want, add the coral mushrooms and stir, they will wilt very quickly.
- When the mushrooms are wilted, use a pair of tongs, or a hand held strainer to remove the mushrooms and place them in ½ pint canning jars
- fill the jars with mushrooms and their pickling liquid, leaving ½ inch of head room at the top of each jar to prevent them exploding.
- Process the jars of pickled coral mushrooms in a water bath canner for 10 minutes.
Patricia A
Delighted to find your site and see someone doing innovative things with these gorgeous fungi! I just located a wealth of Crowned Coral yesterday and, while I will be eating it in various ways 'fresh' was also hoping to preserve some for winter. You briefly mention pickling these - which I agree - would look spectacular - but, I couldn't find a recipe.... Any details of this you might share? Vinegar types? Additions? Processing time? Really appreciate any insights you have to offer.
Alan Bergo
Patricia, I put a recipe up for you.
Patricia A
Alan - just wanted to say a belated thank you for the recipe! It worked perfectly - and I am delighted to have been able to add this gorgeous little 'shroom to my 'winter cupboard'.... Much appreciate your artistry and generosity in sharing.
Amanda
Thanks so much for sharing your recipe! I canned some last week and my family loves them. The only thing I did differently is leave the spices and garlic in and it turned out wonderfully. We found 2-3 pounds more yesterday so guess what I'm doing tonight. 🙂 Love it!
Alan Bergo
Glad you enjoyed them, are you pickling Ramaria species or Clavicorona?
Elizabeth
July 2015 was the summer of my joyous introduction to the illusive Crown Coral Mushroom! A prior such moment was in the Spring of 1961, when I had the wonderful opportunity to meet the Moral. An aside: I was presented a large quantity of fresh-picked morels and, after soaking them in a saltwater bath to remove any riders (critters), I fried them in a 12" iron skillet with a stick of salted butter. Forthwith, I took my new-found treasure to the kitchen table and consumed the entire skillet-full. Three days later, a visiting neighbor remarked, "Oh, you're back!" Turns out, I had consumed enough of the Hallucinogenic properties present in all mushrooms to varying degrees was to put me in an altered state - nothing serious, mind you. After that, I reduced the quantity and, to this day, enjoy the Morel!
Now, back to the topic at hand - the Crown Coral! The Mushrooms first gathered were like unearthing a treasure. I was delighted to discover they were responding well to the same preparation as the Morels. A few days later, I went to the same spot on the UP Michigan spot; and, lo, there was new growth. Over the next months, I gathered more wondering when the season would end. Finally, in mid-September, fearing I might not find any more after that day, I decided to preserve this possible last batch. Now, I had always dried Morels; but, instinctively, I knew not to dry these Crown Corals. Instead, after cleaning them, after their salt bath and the removal of the last vestiges of foreign matter, I drained them overnight in a colander. Next, I placed them on a kitchen towel to further evaporate the water. Then, when still moist, I placed them in freezer bags. This was a successful way of preservation, as the mushrooms maintained their integrity! Now, after checking this site and reading that pickling was the only mentioned method, I hope to introduce freezing as a method, as well. I personally could not see pickling them. But, I am game to taste them pickled.
Happy foraging!
Elizabeth
Paul
Morels do not cause hallucinations, regardless of the amount eaten. If they do you were eating false morels, not a good idea.
Lyndsay Black
Hello,
I just found an entire acre of these mushrooms. Literally thousands. I can't eat mushrooms, but would love to sell them. Any tips?
Ty
Lindsay
Alan Bergo
Contact restaurants and make friends with the chefs, give them the best stuff you can find, 10$ for mushrooms should get your foot in the door.
Terry Osborne
Hello I'm looking for the current prices for the crown tipped coral mushrooms. Can you point me to a site that keeps up with mushroom prices.? Thank you
Alan Bergo
I'd sell for 10$ lb they're not that special as far as selling goes.
davidf
like to know how to definitively identify if this is what I found
Alan Bergo
These are easy to identify. Re-read the post, or google mushroom expert and check Micheal Kuo's description. Also make sure you're using field guides to cross reference information.
John J. Williamson
I used your crispy fried coral recipe on some wrinkled club that is plentiful here in the UK. really good and the batter helps keep the fragile flesh together. Perfect
Alan Bergo
Thanks John. I enjoy Clavaradelphis pistillaris here in the states.