Shiitake

Shiitake

Asian Persuasion

Shiitake is now the most produced mushroom in the world and first made popular in East Asia, predominantly the country of China. Said to have been first cultivated in China over 2000 years ago, shiitakes have long been revered for its culinary and medicinal qualities. Far to the West and approximately 25 years ago, there were not a lot of people that knew about shiitake mushrooms. Fast forward to today and you can find shiitakes in almost every major supermarket and even some pizzerias have started to offer shiitakes as a topping. But only the best pizzerias on the planet will offer shiitake mushrooms as a topping. Most pizzerias commonly use button or cremini mushrooms as a topping.

The entire planet is now involved in the shiitake craze and for all the same reasons it was so popular in Asia. Shiitake boasts amazing health benefits as well as tasting great in wide array of dishes, soups, sauces, and countless other recipes. Unlike any other vegetable found in the produce, shiitakes provide many of the same amino acids found in meat. These mushrooms also provide immune-boosting, cholesterol-lowering, and anticancer effects from the presence of polysaccharides, terpenoids, lipids, and sterols.

From a consumer stand point, shiitake mushrooms are probably going to be the healthiest choice you can make in the supermarket. Shiitakes provide a list of health benefits, tastes great while packed with umami, shiitakes have a long shelf life, and its easy to grow. Shiitake mushrooms prefer to grow in cooler conditions with a relative humidity of 75-85%. Shiitakes grow aggressively in the right conditions and are ready for harvest within as little as 7-10 days. It should be noted, shiitake mycelium usually take 8-12 weeks to completely colonize substrate and popcorn before fruiting.