The cultivated chestnut mushroom (Pholiota adiposa, kuritake) grows in pretty clusters of glossy, scaly cinnamon-brown caps on slender crunchy stems. Its flavor is sweeter and nuttier than the everyday cremini sometimes sold under the same English name, with a faint tang and a satisfying crunch that survives stir-frying and roasting. It is gaining popularity with specialty growers for that crunch-plus-sweetness combination. As with all cultivated specialty mushrooms, cook it before eating.
Sweet, nutty, faintly tangy; crunchy and aromatic.
Cultivated year-round; wild relatives flush in autumn.
Cultivated clusters of shiny scaly cinnamon caps on pale stems. Buy rather than forage — several Pholiota relatives are bitter or upsetting.
Always cook thoroughly before eating, and try only a small test portion of any species new to you.
No dangerous look-alikes commonly reported in range -- but always verify your own ID before eating.