Scientific name
Agaricus edodes
Description
Shiitake mushrooms are cultivated all over the world. Because of their rich texture, smokey flavor, and nutritional components, they are the world’s second most widely farmed edible fungus. Shiitake mushrooms have an umbrella-shaped crown that ranges in color from tan to brown. The cap’s edges drift down and inwards towards the pale, cream-colored gills on the underside. Shiitake stems are white or cream, however, they can become brown as the fungus grows larger.
Habitat
Shiitake mushrooms grow in clusters on the rotting wood of deciduous trees such as shii and other chinquapins, oak, chestnut, maple, beech, poplar, sweetgum, hornbeam, ironwood, and mulberry. Its native range includes warm, damp areas throughout Southeast Asia.
Uses/Importance
Shiitake mushrooms, both fresh and dried, have several uses in East Asian cooking. They are consumed in miso soup in Japan, as the base for a type of vegetarian dashi, and as a component in several steamed and simmered meals. They are frequently sautéed in vegetarian meals such as Buddha’s pleasure in Chinese cuisine. When cooked, shiitake mushrooms are said to have an earthy, smokey flavor with a rich meaty-yet-buttery texture.
Eritadenine, a substance believed to lower blood cholesterol levels, is present in shiitake mushrooms. Shiitake mushrooms are high in polysaccharides such as lentinans as well as other beta-glucans. These substances protect cells from harm, enhance the immune system, and increase white blood cell synthesis to combat pathogens. Polysaccharides have anti-inflammatory effects as well.
Some people are allergic to uncooked shiitake mushrooms because of the lentinan component they contain. This chemical, which offers many of the mushroom’s health advantages, can cause skin dermatitis in people who are sensitive to it.
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