Shiitake mushrooms – The taste of nature - video Dailymotion

The Manila Times

Shiitake mushrooms – The taste of nature  Shiitake mushroom is an indispensable ingredient for washoku, or Japanese cuisine, adding umami to the dish. They can be bought either fresh or dried. Safe, delicious and chemical-free, Japanese dried shiitake are growing in popularity abroad. Mostly produced in Oita Prefecture in the southern island of Kyushu, dried shiitake are cultivated by inoculating spores into logs of sawtooth oak, and left in the forests to slowly grow. Shiitake needs sunlight to grow, so the surrounding trees must be regularly thinned and cared for, helping conserve the forest ecosystem along the way.   VIDEO BY MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF JAPAN  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe    Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net    Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion    Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital    Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Stitcher: https://tmt.ph/stitcher Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein   #TheManilaTimes #Japan #nature #mushroom #food

Transcript

00:00 [Music]

00:06 In spring and autumn, Japan's forests are ripe with mushrooms.

00:12 Of all the many types, shiitake are perhaps the mushrooms most often used in washoku, or Japanese cuisine.

00:19 Both fresh and dried shiitake are used.

00:22 The dried mushrooms are first rehydrated by soaking in water.

00:27 Shiitake produce the umami flavor that's the basis of all washoku.

00:33 Not only delicious, but also safe and chemical-free, Japanese dried shiitake are growing in popularity abroad.

00:41 Sixteen countries now import major quantities of these delicious meaty mushrooms that are often cooked in the same way as steak.

00:52 Oita, in the southern island of Kyushu, is Japan's largest producer of dried shiitake mushrooms.

01:02 Seventy percent of Oita is forested, and these forests contain many broadleaf trees like oak,

01:08 and especially sawtooth oak that are ideal for shiitake cultivation.

01:15 There are two methods of shiitake cultivation.

01:20 They can be grown indoors on artificial mushroom beds, and on logs out in the forest.

01:30 Shiitake for eating fresh are usually grown indoors, while shiitake for drying are grown outdoors on logs.

01:38 For indoor cultivation, mushroom beds of finely crushed wood with added nutrients are inoculated with shiitake spores.

01:49 Our organic shiitake mushrooms are grown on beds made from freshly cut sawtooth oak, grown right here in Oita.

01:56 To help the mushrooms grow, we infuse the beds with specially selected natural nutrients.

02:03 Temperature, humidity, and light are precisely regulated to ensure uniform results.

02:15 In the outdoor method, logs inoculated with shiitake spores are left stacked up in the forest for the mushrooms to grow naturally.

02:25 The first step is to cut trees to make the logs.

02:29 Sawtooth oak is an evergreen, acorn-bearing tree.

02:35 This is shiitake farmer Kurahashi Kiyoharu and his son, Seizo.

02:43 After felling the trees, they leave them to dry naturally for several months.

02:49 The sawtooth oak is fast growing, and it takes just ten years for a new tree to grow back from the stump.

02:57 After the timber has dried, they cut it into one-metre lengths, then drill holes to implant plugs containing the mushroom spores.

03:07 The inoculated logs are then stacked up deep in the forest. They'll be ready to harvest in about two years.

03:16 See how the sunlight comes through the trees onto the logs?

03:19 That's because we thinned out the forest this year. You need lots of light to get really good shiitake.

03:27 Shiitake cultivation requires careful and regular thinning of the surrounding trees, a process that also helps preserve the forest.

03:37 When a forest becomes too dense, the trees interfere with each other's growth and never develop fully.

03:45 Too thick a canopy of branches and leaves blocks out the sun, preventing plants on the ground from growing and damaging the whole forest ecosystem.

03:57 So shiitake cultivation protects the forests too.

04:02 These are really nice.

04:06 This method results in excellent quality shiitake without the use of artificial chemicals.

04:12 Logs last for four to five years before becoming too decayed for cultivation.

04:19 Nothing goes to waste. We use the old logs for fertiliser.

04:25 After harvesting, the mushrooms are sorted by size and dried for about 24 hours.

04:34 Drying deepens the flavour of the shiitake and gives them a long shelf life.

04:43 Dried shiitake mushrooms, highly nutritious and brimming with umami, are a feature in all washoku, from daily meals to gourmet banquets.

04:55 Healthy and safe, with a true taste of nature, shiitake are a key part of Japan's food culture.

05:04 For more information, visit www.fema.gov/en/shiitake-cultivation.

Shiitake mushrooms – The taste of nature

Category

Transcript

Recommended