What Makes Tongjiang Snow Fungus One in Six Thousand

"This is Tongjiang snow fungus, from Sichuan," says Carmen, who runs Fosetter in Montreal's Chinatown. "How's it different from ordinary snow fungus? Let's walk through it slowly — first, let's take it out."

The first thing to check: does it have a base

She picks up a piece of cultivated snow fungus for comparison. "You'll notice these don't have a base — that hard little spot isn't there. Let me grab some ordinary Gutian snow fungus." Holding it up: "This one's cultivated, and it has a base here — the density is higher, and this stem part usually gets picked out and isn't used once it's soaked."

Grown on wood, not farmed

"This one here is cultivated, or grown through fermentation. This one grows on natural deadwood," she says. "So a piece of wood is just standing there, and it grows on top of it. Getting it to grow this large is genuinely difficult — usually once it reaches a small size, it falls off on its own and stops growing. So getting one this big is really high-grade stock."

One in six thousand

"If you calculate by output, Tongjiang snow fungus probably makes up one six-thousandth of all the snow fungus produced in China," she says. "It can't be mass-produced, because of its specific geography and the fact that it grows wild. It's unusually soft and glutinous, and the taste is different too."