Tremella, as a traditional edible fungus in China, has always been a family favorite food. Tremella polysaccharide is an active ingredient with special health care function. Tremella and bird's nest are similar in color, taste and efficacy, and the price is cheap, so it is called "the bird's nest of the poor".
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, tremella with good natural appearance has always been a good product for emperors and dignitaries to preserve their health and prolong their lives. For example, De Ling, a female official in the Qing Dynasty, said in Yu Xiang Lu: "The market price of things like tremella is extremely expensive, and often a small box of tremella can only be bought for one or two taels of silver."
Scientific experiments have proved that the main pharmacologically effective component of Tremella fuciformis is polysaccharide, which is the most important component of Tremella fuciformis, accounting for 60%~70% of dry weight. Tremella polysaccharide is an important bioactive substance, which can enhance the immune function of human body and achieve the effect of strengthening the body resistance and consolidating the foundation, and is very suitable for eating in spring with high incidence of influenza.
People are prone to get angry in spring, and often have yellow tongue coating, oral ulcers, dry mouth and so on. Therefore, the diet should be light, and it is common to cook porridge or soup with tremella and medlar. Eating a bowl of tremella soup for breakfast can replenish water, nourish body fluid, moisten lung and nourish stomach.
However, everyone should be cautious when buying tremella. It is better to buy fresh fruits and vegetables than dried tremella. It is best not to buy fresh tremella, otherwise there may be toxic consequences.
Fresh tremella, like soaked auricularia, may contain a kind of bacteria called Pseudomonas oryzae. When fresh tremella goes bad, the bacteria will produce a toxin called "rice fermentation acid".
In fact, of all the food poisoning caused by bacteria, it is probably the most dangerous. This toxin has no specific antidote, which will cause liver and kidney damage, organ failure and even death. In China, there have been many cases in which people died because of eating deteriorated fresh tremella.
Because of this toxin, many places stipulate that it is not allowed to sell fresh tremella, so it is rare to see fresh tremella on the market now. If you buy dried tremella, be careful not to soak it for too long.
When soaking tremella in cold water, I suggest you soak tremella in hot water. If the tremella is soaked in hot water, the tremella will not bloom completely, and the taste will be soft and waxy, which may cause certain nutritional loss. In addition, you'd better wash it several times to avoid some tremella being fumigated by sulfur. Most of the sulfur can be removed by soaking and cleaning.