Identification: Auricularia auricula-judae

These are Auricularia auricula-judae, yes?
These are on a dead & down aspen.
I've never collected and eaten these before so I want to be absolutely sure. Is there any other species these could be confused with?

If indeed they are, can anyone give tips about how to harvest them?
and then, how to prepare them?

From what I'm reading, they are have a higher water content than most other fungus and so will shrink greatly. I suspect there something like that black fungus you get in chinese restaurants.

 

Yes, you have the right species there. I eat them. I find them pretty tasteless, myself. I would put them in a salad with walnuts and a light dressing.

I thought the 'black fungus' you get in indian or chinese restaurants was black trumpets (craterellus fallax).

 

>>I find them pretty tasteless
Then they are probably used for texture.

 

I found these today, in the same habitat as the a.a.j, except growing and a dead and down spruce, instead of aspen. Definitely not a.a.j. though. It feels different, considerably harder, and looks different, too. It doesn't have the rim or the 'veins'. Anybody know what this is?

 

Looks like one of the brown tremella species to me. possibly T. foliacea? ---how 'hard' are we talking, though? T. foliacea becomes soft and squishy when wet, but dries up after the rain.

 

>>'hard'
Still rubbery, just not nearly as flexible as a.a.j.

 

>>Tremelia foliacea
Hmmm. not sure. Compared to photos is see on the web, e.g.
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/images/contrib/bartlett_tremella_foliacea.jpg
the ones in my photos are thicker and not in a large bunch.

 

Here's a log full of a.a.j.

 

Here is photo of the collected fungi. Before drying (bottom) and after drying (top). The wet fungus in the photo weighed 1 lb. The photos are the same scale. Try drying them on wax paper instead of foil (it was all I had).