A Fungus Fit For a King

Enlarge Image Image Gallery In Japan, the shiitake mushrooms - formerly reserved for royalty - are now grown in large quantities on harwood logs, considered an integral part of that country's forest industry, and exported worldwide by the millions... When your mushroom compost is covered with a ""spawn run"" of white mycelium, as in this close-up, it's ready to be exposed to light... The ruler will give you some idea of the size of these strong-flavored mushrooms when they're ready for eating... These clumps of mature fungi growing on mycelium-coated compost will be harvested to make room for a new crop.

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Here's the lowdown on an exotic Oriental one-legged edible!

By Joseph Alper

In ancient China and Japan, the savory shiitake (it's pronounced "she-tar-kee") mushroom was reserved for royalty, and its deep forest habitats—where the fungi grew wild on the logs of shii trees and other hardwoods—were closely guarded. Then, some thousand years ago, Japanese farmers began to cultivate the firm, slightly chewy morsels, and today the island nation exports more than three million pounds of dried mushrooms a year . . . to countries all over the world.

These gourmet treats (which are much more flavorful than the commonly available white button mushrooms) are an excellent source of high-quality protein, fiber, vitamin C, the B vitamins, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and trace elements . . . and contain even fewer calories than do apples. Furthermore, clinical tests have demonstrated the shiitake's ability to reduce serum cholesterol in humans by 10-20%, and—when fed to laboratory animals—the fungi have seemed to help prevent polio and influenza infections.

FOOD FOR ALL

B esides being a dinnertime treat and a marketable crop (the food co-ops here in Madison, Wisconsin are eager to buy all I can produce, at about $2.00 a pound), the shiitake (Lentinus edodes) can provide food for your animals. No, the critters don't eat the mushrooms (which are far too tasty to be used as livestock feed) . . . but they'll love the straw, bark, and paper compost that remains after the harvest. These fungi, you see, are lignicolous: that is, they break down the lignin that makes such wastes unsuitable for animal rations, and—at the same time—release vitamins, carbohydrates, cellulose, and sugars . . . as well as a slightly sweet aroma. (In palatability tests, cows and pigs chose mushroom compost over conventional feeds every time!)

Though the mushrooms should ideally be eaten within two days after they're picked, they do keep longer than the common white variety and are easily dried whole .. . in a 140°F oven or—better yet—outdoors on a hot day. To reconstitute them, simply soak the fungi for 20 to 30 minutes in cool water . . . or for 15 minutes in hot water. They won't swell up very much, but will become quite pliable.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print