Chaga

Inonotus obliquus · Fungus

40 pairings

Chaga is the hard, blackened conk of Inonotus obliquus, a parasitic fungus that grows on living birch trees across the cold northern forests of the world. Charred and cracked like burnt wood on the outside but rusty-orange within, it is not eaten whole but broken up and simmered or steeped into an earthy, faintly vanilla-woody tonic tea — and has become, with reishi and cordyceps, one of the pillars of the modern functional-mushroom market.

Picking a good onedrag

Hard, black-crusted, gold inside, sweet-woodyDamp, musty, bloomed or unsourced

Bag freshSimmer or steep, then strain - the spent solids are binned, never eaten. Cups, not litres: chaga is very high in oxalate, and heavy daily use has been tied to kidney injury.Everyday best

What the bag saysOrigin named, whole black-crusted chunks

The breakBrown right through, the veining faint

In the handHard and dry, a little crumble at the edges

Smell in the bagMildly earthy and woody, faintly sweet

What to look for, from hard, black-crusted, gold inside, sweet-woody to damp, musty, bloomed or unsourced.

Preparing