Shiitake – the umami of the forest

On the outskirts of the city of Oita, on the island of Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's four major islands, lies this fantastic farm. In the shade of trees, thousands of logs are stacked in a row. Here, under very specific conditions, Shiitake is grown.

It starts with the wood. Sawtooth oak ( Quercus acutissima ) is used and has a sweet resin and produces a very flavorful and crunchy shiitake mushroom. These trees also have the ability to sprout on their own from the stump when harvested and are fully grown again within 15 years, a sustainable farming method that has been going on for generations.

Holes are drilled in the wood and then plugged again with spores from the mushrooms. The logs are then placed in the forestry to be protected from the sun and given the right conditions to thrive. The temperature and humidity must be just right for shiitake to produce. Too little rain and nothing grows, too much and they can get too big which reduces the taste. After 2 years, the log begins to produce mushrooms and can produce for 6 years before it has lost all nutrients and begins to break down.

Everything is hand-picked and then dried and sorted based on size and quality. The grower must also dry the mushroom within 6 hours of harvesting for 24 hours to ensure quality before it can be sent to auction.

Donko vs Koshin

Donko and Koshin Shiitake are harvested from the same type of Shiitake but at different ripening times. Donko is shiitake that has been picked before the mushroom can fully bloom or open. Donko is thick and rolled edge, koshin is thin and open.