In the years I’ve been shooting for Just Picked I’ve come across some wild mushrooms that were, well, pretty wild. Unless very young, some are barely edible either because they are bitter (like reishi mushrooms) or tough (like pheasant’s back mushrooms). They do, however, add intense and entirely agreeable mushroom flavors when added to other dishes in moderation, so occasionally I buy one and make a broth of sorts from it. More accurately you might call it a tea, since I boil it with nothing but water. Whatever you call it, I end up with ice cubes of instantly available mushroomy goodness. I use them in any number of dishes - anytime I want to add or deepen existing mushroom flavors.

Reishi mushroom broth retains the bitterness of the mature mushroom, but that bitterness becomes indiscernible when you use, say, one or two ice cubes (1.5 to 3 Tbsp) in a recipe serving 4 people. What remains is a deep, dark and delicious mushroom flavor imparted on the dish. Pheasant’s back mushrooms have a more delicate taste free of bitterness and there’s little risk of spoiling a dish with their broth.