Grass jelly is made by boiling the aged and slightly oxidized stalks
and leaves of Mesona chinensis (member of the mint family) with
potassium carbonate for several hours with a little starch and
then cooling the liquid to a jelly-like consistency. ... The jelly
itself has a slight bitter taste, a light iodine and lavender flavor,
and is a translucent black.
A mistranslation of mediaeval Latin auricula Judae (“Judas's ear”), from its shape, and its occurrence on the tree on which Judas Iscariot was supposed to have hanged himself. A kind of edible fungus growing on tree-trunks, formerly used for medicinal purposes.
In the West, A. auricula-judae was used in folk medicine as recently as the 19th century for complaints including sore throats, sore eyes and jaundice, and as an astringent. Although it is not widely consumed in the West, it has long been popular in China, to the extent that Australia exported large volumes to China in the early twentieth century. Today, the fungus is a popular ingredient in many Chinese dishes, such as hot and sour soup, and also used in Chinese medicine. It is also used in Ghana, as a blood tonic. Modern research into possible medical applications have variously concluded that A. auricula-judae has antitumour, hypoglycemic, anticoagulant and cholesterol-lowering properties.