mushrooms

[torakris]

I haven't seen the cultivted hon-shimeji, but then I haven't been paying attention either....

I will take a look around when I go shopping next week.

[torakris]

An update on the poison mushrooms.

http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20041105p2a00m0dm011000c.html

Seems this year's unpredictable weather has caused angel's wings mushrooms to grow funny. And more plentifully, which means people are eating more of them.

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I was watching the news this morning and they said now 16 people have died including one man in his 20's...

[Hiroyuki]

I watched the news this morning, too. It could be another blow to Niigata people. I must think twice about gathering and eating the mushroom next year.

[torakris]

Nameko (Na-me-ko)

Today, I have found some interesting sites on nameko on the Internet.  I'd like to share them with you.

First, this one:

http://www3.omn.ne.jp/~furuyama/nameko%20phot.html

Click on any photo to enlarge.  You will see how nameko are cultivated.

The next one:

http://www.world-mushroom.com/nameko/e_nameko.htm

Again, click on any photo to enlarge.  This page is from the following website:

http://www.world-mushroom.com/e_newgallery.htm

Enjoy other varieties of mushrooms.  (Some links are broken, though.)  You can learn how they are cultivated.

The following site tells you how to make 32 different dishes using nameko:

http://www12.wind.ne.jp/misawa7/ryouri/ryouri.html

It's entirely in Japanese, so just enjoy the photos.

I love nameko.  Miso soup with nameko and tofu is one of my favorites.

How about you?  Do you like nameko?

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I have been noticing these in the stores recently, labeled as nama nameko, I picked some up yesterday and put thm in my miso soup. wonderful!

[Hiroyuki]

These days, whenever I buy maitake, it's this:

Maitake Family Pack. It's just a collection of maitake fragments but it's less expensive than regular ones. That's why I'm tempted to buy it.

I made miso soup with it this evening.

[torakris]

I have never seen that maitake family pack in my area before, about how much is it?

[Hiroyuki]

I have never seen that maitake family pack in my area before, about how much is it?

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Hm...., sorry I just can't remember. Will give you a reply later.

[Hiroyuki]

I have never seen that maitake family pack in my area before, about how much is it?

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I went shopping today, but found the family pack was not sold. The regular 150-g pack was sold for 188 yen, and if I remember right, the family pack (200 g?) was about 168 yen.

[Hiroyuki]

Cultured tamogi take.

Those of you who live in big cities may already be familiar with this particular mushroom, but this is the first time I have ever seen it at a supermarket here in Shiozawa.

I made takikomi gohan with it. The mushroom's vivid yellow color was completely gone when the gohan was made.

Photos of wild tamogitake:

http://park16.wakwak.com/~fungi/ajiwai_kinoko/tamogitake.htm

[torakris]

Cultured tamogi take.

Those of you who live in big cities may already be familiar with this particular mushroom, but this is the first time I have ever seen it at a supermarket here in Shiozawa.

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I have never seen nor heard of that one before...

[smallworld]

In September 2002, 東洋きのこ農園, Toyo Kinoko Noen, in Hiroshima Prefecture, started releasing this mushroom, called Matsu Kinoko, which they claimed was produced with what they called "fusion" technology, fusing Matsutake and Shiitake fungi on the same culture, the technology being developed by a private-sector researcher in Yamaguchi prefecture.  The Noen said that they were making Matsu Kinoko by fusing 80%-Matsutake and 20%-Shiitake fungi.

It was on April 19, 2003, that this topic was taken up by Nikkei Shimbun (Nikkei).  Subsequently, major national newspaper companies such as Mainichi Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun covered the story, as well as major TV stations including NHK, sending Japanese people into such a frenzy.  But in May, the Forestry Agency requested the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute to appraise the product.  On June 17, the Institute determined that Matsu Kinoko was a shiitake because of its several characteristics.

On June 20, NHK reported that the artificially cultivated matsutake, Matsu Kinoko, was a shiitake.

http://www.geocities.co.jp/Technopolis/6868/nten.htm

What was silly about this incident was that those mass media reported this mushroom without any scientific basis, without waiting for the results of a DNA analysis.

The silliest thing is that the researcher had admitted that it was a shiitake.

http://www.geocities.co.jp/Technopolis/6868/ikasama4.htm.

(in Japanese.  If you don't read Japanese, never mind.  It's for those who read it.)

Fame, publicity, commercialism, mass media, ...

What do you think?

You'd think that by now, two years later, consumers would be savy enough to avoid this rip off. Well, not this consumer. I must have completely forgotten reading this thread, because the other day I saw "matsu-kinoko" on sale at the supermarket. At 400yen for a small pack of three or four, it was expensive, but I was curious and just had to have some. I might have overlooked it, but the packaging and accompanying signs didn't say anything about matsu-kinoko being a cross between shiitake and matsutake. What the signs said (I think) was that these were the world's first cultivated matsutake.

Wanting to prepare them in the simplist way possible, I grilled them. They weren't bad, but as I wrote in my blog, they seemed more like shiitake than matsutake. I wasn't very impressed. Curious, I did a search of eGullet and found Hiroyuki's wonderful information quoted above. I'm such a sucker.

What I can't believe is that the supermarket agreed to carry them. People have such short memories!

[torakris]

smallworld,

that really is unbelievable....

[Hiroyuki]

I would love to hear some recipes for yamabushi, I always walk past it in the  supermarket and think what on earth would I do with that?!

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I've never been fascinated by yamabushi take. It has little flavor, and it has little appeal to me. But my son always asks me to buy it whenever he finds it at a supermarket. So, here it is. I made miso soup with it because that's what my son always asks me to.

Some info on yamabushi take:

http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/fungi/Hericium_erinaceum/

http://www.mikawatk.com/zyamabushi.htm

[melonpan]

i had not ever eaten bunashimeji until i moved out to los angeles, but i really like them. i add them whenever i would add any other kind of mushroom these days. that shimeji texture is soooo addicting. i wonder what honshimeji taste like. i saw the photos from the thread earlier. i will look out for them. i do not know if it is something that i can find.

some of the bunashimeji i buy is labeled 'hon shimeji' but they never look like <a href="http://www.cx.sakura.ne.jp/~kinoko/00jap/honsimeji01.htm">this</a> or <a href="http://www.cx.sakura.ne.jp/~kinoko/00jap/honsimeji02.htm">this</a>. they always look like <a href="http://www.theproducehunter.com/productdisplay.asp?ID=2093">this</a>.

anyway, tonight i made baked penne with a package of regular brown mushrooms and a package of bunashimeji. yummmmms.

i respect people who do not eat mushrooms for religious reasons, but i cant help but feel a little sorry for them.... it is my arrogant nature... i dont like to admit i feel sorry for them, but there ive said what i feel.

<center>it is PITIFUL that some people do not eat mushrooms!</center>

mushrooms...

[shinju]

I know it's not the same, but I dry matsutake in season using my oven set at the lowest temperature. I can use these for flavoring rice and soup dishes.

[Hiroyuki]

Ｉ　ｄｏｎ’ｔ　ｔｈｉｎｋ　Ｉ　ｈａｖｅ　ｅｖｅｒ　ｈａｄ　ｔｈｅ　Ｉｓｈｉｚａｋａ　ｏｎｅｓ．．．．

I think I should pay more attention.

I do buy the white ones sometimes, especially when they would  provide a nice contrast in the dish.

white maitake:

https://www.rakuten.co.jp/shoku/img1027643152.jpeg

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The September 4th edition of Tamemono Shin Seiki http://www.nhk.or.jp/t-shinseiki/index.html featured Ishizaka Maitake

http://www.nhk.or.jp/t-shinseiki/syoku.html

(Both sites are in Japanese only.)

(The edition was actually a rerun of the May 29th edition.)

It's much denser, thicker, and firmer than Yukiguni Maitake. The only problem is that it's also more expensive; a 100-g pack sells for 198 yen.

[cutehinano]

I bought a pack of buna shimeji mushrooms on Saturday - was going to cook them tonight but it seems like they might have gotten moldy. There's like white fussy stuff in the stem - is that mold or is that normal for these mushrooms? I've never cooked them before so I'm not sure, but to be safe I just threw them out.

Thanks!

[JasonTrue]

That sounds like the way the base of the stem looks when attached in a cluster. If they smelled normal (a slight earthiness) then there's nothing to worry about. Most of the time the base is white as I recall.

Where did you get them?

I bought a pack of buna shimeji mushrooms on Saturday - was going to cook them tonight but it seems like they might have gotten moldy.  There's like white fussy stuff in the stem - is that mold or is that normal for these mushrooms?  I've never cooked them before so I'm not sure, but to be safe I just threw them out.

Thanks!

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[Hiroyuki]

I think the stuff is just kinshi (fungal threads?). Just cut the stem off.

If you are still worried, why not post a photo of it?

[cutehinano]

I think the stuff is just kinshi (fungal threads?).  Just cut the stem off.

If you are still worried, why not post a photo of it?

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I'll see if I can take a pic of them tomorrow.

I don't know if the fussy white stuff is part of the stem? Because some of it is near the mushroom caps as well. It's been 3 days since they were packed so maybe they got moldy already.

I bought them at an asian supermarket in toronto.

[Kiem Hwa]

Sometimes the Japanese store in Hawaii would sell some slightly old Eryngi mushrooms for a great discount, but sometimes they had these white moldy spots (usually on the caps....), so I was afraid to buy them...could this be fungal outgrowth (from the mushroom) also?

[Kiem Hwa]

I live in LA now

Im really homesick for Hawaii, but there are a few perks here.....like the Japanese grocery stores are awesome!!!!!

The other day I saw some dried shimeji and eryngi mushrooms, the eryngi were sliced (long way).

Has anyone tried out the dried versions of these mushrooms? Could I use them in place of dried shiitake? Any ideas?

[sanrensho]

Do you mean there's some fuzz on the mushrooms? If so, it definitely sounds like mold. If you've ever bought fresh shimeji or picked mushrooms you won't find any fuzz/mold (unless the mushroom is actually moldy in the ground).

If they are immature fruit, then they will look like little baby mushrooms, not like fuzz.

Edited October 25, 2005 by sanrensho (log)

[cutehinano]

Do you mean there's some fuzz on the mushrooms? If so, it definitely sounds like mold. If you've ever bought fresh shimeji or picked mushrooms you won't find any fuzz/mold (unless the mushroom is actually moldy in the ground).

If they are immature fruit, then they will look like little baby mushrooms, not like fuzz.

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I threw them out too soon so I can't take a pic of them anymore...

Yeah it's on the mushrooms not just the bottom. I probably left them in the fridge for too long. What's the proper way to store these mushrooms? I'll try to buy them again and cook the right away.

Thanks everyone!

[helenjp]

Yep, it says on an edible fungi site on the internet in Japanese that buna-shimeji get stuff which looks like white mold, but does you no harm to eat.

In my extensive experience of incubating fungi for long periods in my fridge I would say that fungi which have gone rotten have an unpleasant fermenting sweetish smell...please feel free to apply my research to your own situation if applicable!