● Species profile
Tremella
Tremella fuciformis
Photo: Ron Pastorino, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A translucent jelly fungus called snow fungus, used in Chinese sweet soups. Its polysaccharides hold water, which is why it shows up in skincare. Most evidence comes from lab and animal work.
Historical Use and Context
Snow fungus has been part of Chinese cooking and medicine for centuries, usually simmered into sweet soups with jujubes, goji, and rock sugar. Folklore links it to Yang Guifei, the Tang dynasty consort famous for her beauty, though there is no record she actually ate it.
It was an expensive delicacy until cultivation began in Sichuan in the late 1800s. Gutian County in Fujian later became the world center of production, and tremella shows up today in skin care as much as in soup.
The Short Answer
May help with memory and skin moisture, but human evidence is very limited.
Tremella (snow fungus) is a mild, jelly-like mushroom used in sweet soups. Human evidence is thin: one small trial hinted at memory benefits from an extract, and most skin and antioxidant claims come from lab work.
How Strong Is the Research?
Lab studies plus 1 small trial
How to Eat It
Dried, Cooked in Soup
Soak for 20 to 30 minutes, trim the hard yellow base, then simmer until soft and silky.
Extract Capsules
The only human trial used a tremella extract, not the whole food.
A Normal Serving
As food, a typical serving is about 5 to 10 g of dried tremella (1 small whole piece) in soup. The human trial used 600 or 1,200 mg a day of an extract.
When You Might Notice
In the one human trial, memory scores were measured after 8 weeks of daily extract. There is no human data for eating it as food.
⚠ Who Should Skip It or Ask Your Doctor First
- Mushroom allergies: skip it if other mushrooms or fungi have caused reactions.
- Diabetes medicines: tremella compounds lowered blood sugar in animal studies, so be cautious with concentrated extracts.
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding: eating it as food is traditional, but extracts have no safety data here.
- Anyone with a weak immune system: be extra careful with food safety, since soaked tremella left out too long can grow dangerous bacteria.
Buying, Storing and Cooking
1
Pale, Dry, Clean Pieces
Choose light cream-colored, fully dry tremella with no strong smell; very bright white can mean it was bleached.
2
Soak Briefly, in the Fridge If Longer
Soak for under an hour at room temperature, or in the fridge; tremella soaked for a day or more at room temperature has caused serious food poisoning in Asia.
3
Cook Until Soft
Simmer until the pieces turn silky and slightly thick, and throw out any that feel slimy or smell sour before cooking.
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The Research in Plain English
2018 · 75 adults with memory complaints · RCT
People who felt their memory was slipping took 600 mg or 1,200 mg of tremella extract or a placebo each day for 8 weeks. The tremella groups did better on some memory and thinking tests, with no major side effects. One small trial in Korea, not yet repeated. Read the study ↗
2023 · Review of skin research
This review looks at tremella for skin moisture, wrinkles and sun damage. Most of the evidence comes from cells, animals and cosmetic formulas, not from people eating it. Read the study ↗
2025 · Review of tremella polysaccharides
A review of tremella's main carbohydrate (polysaccharide), covering antioxidant, immune and blood sugar effects. The findings are almost all from lab and animal work. Read the study ↗
This Tremella guide summarizes published research for general education and isn't medical advice. Talk to your doctor before starting any supplement, especially if you take medication.
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