Honey Mushroom Recipe: How to Cook Honey Mushrooms

Honey mushrooms (Armillaria mellea), also known as honey fungus, are edible mushrooms that grow in the northern hemisphere. Some varieties grow in clusters, while others spread out, but they all grow from a singular base.

Like hen of the woods mushrooms, honey mushrooms grow on the stumps of dead trees, on dead wood, or in decaying earth. Other wild mushrooms include chanterelles, morels, chicken of the woods, and shiitake mushrooms.

Raw honey mushrooms are acidic and bitter but become slightly sweet after cooking. Pair them with garlic and fresh herbs, such as thyme and rosemary, or cook them in an Asian stir-fry with soy sauce and ginger.

Honey mushrooms have a firm texture, even after cooking, but occasionally have a gelatinous mouthfeel. Cut the caps from the stems of older mushrooms since honey mushroom stems become fibrous as the mushroom matures. Save the stems to make vegetable stock for soups and sauces.

Honey mushrooms are edible, but accurate honey mushroom identification is crucial since the deadly galerina mushroom (Galerina marginata) looks almost identical. Here are a few tips for identifying honey mushrooms:

• Check for rings on the stems of the mushroom. Honey mushrooms have long stems. Most varieties have a pale yellow, dark brown, or white ring on their stem; however, there is a ringless honey mushroom species, so you should use this identification marker in conjunction with others.
• Look for mushrooms growing from a single base. Honey mushrooms grow in clusters from a single base. Deadly galerina mushrooms grow in loose clusters but are missing honey mushrooms’ signature singular base. Identifying the base type is a good way to differentiate honey mushrooms from deadly galerina, but it’s good practice to use multiple identification methods.
• Study the mushroom’s spore print. Honey mushrooms have a white spore print. Separate the stem from the mushroom cap and place the cap, gill side down, on a piece of black paper or another dark-colored object. Lift the honey mushroom cap to reveal the spores, which should be white. If the spore color is rusty brown, the mushroom might be deadly galerina instead.