Shiitake

Shiitake are native to Japan, China and Korea and have been grown in all three countries since prehistoric times.The oldest record regarding the shiitake mushroom dates back to CE 199 at the time of Emperor Chūai in Japan.They have been cultivated for over 1,000 years. The first written record of shiitake cultivation can be traced to Wu Sang Kwuang in China, born during the Song Dynasty.The name shiitake originates from its Japanese name, shiitake.  listen (help·info) (kanji: 椎茸). Shiitake are also dried and sold as preserved food. These are rehydrated by soaking in water before using. Many people prefer dried shiitake to fresh, considering that the sun-drying process draws out the umami flavour from the dried mushrooms. The stems of shiitake are rarely used in Japanese and other cuisines, primarily because the stems are harder and take longer to cook than the soft fleshy caps.Shii is the Japanese name of the tree Castanopsis cuspidata that provides the dead logs on which it is typically cultivated, and take means "mushroom". Other common names by which the mushroom is known in English include "Chinese black mushroom", "black forest mushroom", "black mushroom", "golden oak mushroom", or "oakwood mushroom"...

tags:shiitake,mushroom,