I've been finding a lot of good hen of the woods and my family, friends and self have been enjoying them tremendously.

My question is; When is a hen too old to eat? How do you tell? We've found a couple that were fairly dried up and brown on the edges which still had a bit of tender material underneath. Then I've also found some fairly large hens which have become rather soft and brittle and when I disturbed them they pretty much fell apart, sending a large volume of white powdery material (spores?) into the air. They had a white color on them and it looked as if someone had sprinkled them with powdered sugar.

Anyhow, is there a way to determine how old or suitable for eating a hen of the woods is? I hate to give my friends a mushroom that is not very good tasting and take the chance on their not becoming interested in mushrooming.

Thanks.