Wood ear, bean sprouts, cloud ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, kelp, etc., are common foods on our dining tables, but these things also have fake versions. On the market, some mushrooms are soaked in bleach, daylilies are fumigated with sulfur, bean sprouts are soaked in chemical fertilizers, and so on. When purchasing the following foods, you must learn to distinguish the real from the fake.
Good mushrooms grow in grass ash, so they are inevitably stained with it and feel a bit sticky when touched. Mushrooms soaked in bleach, on the other hand, are snow-white, translucent, and spotless. They are also cheaper and feel smooth to the touch, without a greasy sensation.
Naturally grown bean sprouts have straight, firm bodies with unsoftened roots. They are glossy, white and tender, slightly slender, and have no rotten roots or tips. Bean sprouts soaked in chemical fertilizers have a grayish-white color, with thick stalks, short roots that are few or absent, and bluish beans. If you break such a sprout, water will seep out from the break, and some may still smell of chemical fertilizers.
If the rice you buy is exceptionally bright and shiny, it may have been polished with mineral oil. When a small amount of this rice is soaked in hot water, it feels greasy to the touch. In severe cases, an oil film may float on the water. Additionally, upon close inspection, the color of oiled rice is often uneven, and careful observation will reveal a slightly yellowish tint to the grains.
Real wood ear mushrooms have a pure, non-peculiar taste with a light fragrance after being chewed. Fake wood ear mushrooms usually have the taste of adulterants. For example, a bitter taste indicates that they were soaked in alum water.
Dried daylilies with excessive sulfur dioxide are often light yellow or white. "Attractively colored" dried daylilies are mostly severely contaminated with sulfur dioxide. Their light yellow or light white appearance is abnormal, and they have a pungent, sour smell. High-quality daylilies should become progressively darker in color through the process from fresh to dried.
If kelp is unnaturally plump, has an especially bright green color, and is very shiny, it has likely been processed with chemicals. The natural color of kelp is usually olive green or dark olive green.
The color of snow fungus is not an indicator of better quality when it is whiter. Sulfur fumigation can remove the yellow color, making the fungus appear full, plump, and exceptionally white. However, after a short storage period of about 10-20 days, it will oxidize upon contact with air, turning yellow and then red. When selecting snow fungus, you can taste a small amount. If it feels irritating or spicy on the tongue, it may have been fumigated with sulfur.