Oakwood Mushroom

Oakwood Mushrooms are a widely-used culinary fungus in the cuisine of the Realm and the River Province. They grow from breaks in the bark of certain oak trees, but methods of cultivation have been devised where cut oak logs are placed near fungus-bearing live trees so that they begin to grow the mushrooms. This production has allowed the Oakwood mushroom to reach not only the upper classes but the urban common folk as well. They can be sun-dried for storage and transportation, rehydrated with water as needed... many view the drying process as intensifying their flavour, an uncommon case where a preserved food is viewed more highly than a fresh one.

In cooking, they are fried, sauteed, braised, served in soups (and used to make a flavourful vegetarian stock), and pickled. The caps are the part that are consumed, the stems being very tough and slow to cook, though street stalls often gather stems for boiling in huge cauldrons to make stock.