Dryad's saddle

Cerioporus squamosus · Fungus

40 pairings

Dryad's saddle (Cerioporus squamosus), also called pheasant back, is a large fan- or kidney-shaped bracket fungus whose cream-to-tan cap is patterned with concentric brown scales like the plumage of a pheasant. One of the first edible mushrooms of spring, it carries a distinctive cool, fresh scent of watermelon rind or cucumber and is eaten only when very young and tender, before the flesh toughens to cork.

Picking a good onedrag

Soft, cool-scented, snapsCorky, dry, will not bend

Still softThe all-rounder: thin strips sauteed or fried hard, or a jar of spiced vinegar pickle.Everyday best

Bend the edgeBends, then breaks with a little push

Pore sidePores just showing, still scrape off

Cut faceWhite still, firmer under the blade

SmellCucumber fading, a mealy note behind

What to look for, from soft, cool-scented, snaps to corky, dry, will not bend.

Keeping ittap a band

A domestic fridge holds it about 3× longer than the counter.

Humidity

95%

Near 95%. Dry fridge air shrivels the soft outer margin that is the only part worth eating, but droplets standing on the cap are where bacterial blotch starts.

Airflow

Paper bag, never sealed

A paper bag or a vented box, never sealed film. Shut in it sweats, and the trapped water slimes the pore side within a day or two.

Caps brown beside ripening fruit

Mushrooms make almost none themselves, under 0.1 µL/kg per hour, but ethylene browns their caps, so keep this off the shelf with apples, pears and bananas.

Preparing