A Celebration of the Shiitake

As Asian cuisine from China, Japan, and Korea have come into the mainstream restaurant options in the United States, shitake mushrooms have gained a more widespread acceptance among diners. However, mushroom farming of the shiitake has taken place for many centuries in the countries of the Far East, with the first recorded instance of the mushroom going back to the second century. With Japanese farmers learning that they could use to spores to grow mushrooms instead of just harvesting wild ones, the shiitake started to play a larger part in the culinary culture of the region.

Currently, most people are aware of shitake mushrooms because of the popularity of the Chinese dish called Buddha’s delight. In addition, the common miso soup of Japan often contains slices of the delicately flavored mushrooms. With the Asian cuisines now reaching many markets, other nationalities have started using the shiitake in their regional cooking. Countries as diverse as Russia and the United States regularly feature the ingredient in dishes.

For a person that would like to try cooking with shitake mushrooms, it should not be difficult to locate the product as there are many answers to the question of where to buy mushrooms that are not native to the country. In the case of the shiitake, they can be purchased from specialty stores that have many ingredients used in Asian cuisine. In addition, many supermarkets have started carrying the mushrooms as well due to demand for the variety. A person that wants the freshest shitake mushrooms can make an attempt to grow mushrooms by following one of the many guides that exist on the Internet. Mushroom farming is not nearly as difficult as most people believe and even a novice will be able to bring a batch of the special mushrooms to maturity for a tasty treat.