Shitake mushroom and its cultivation

- Sendai Japan is located in Miyagi prefecture
- largest city in the Tohoku (northeast) region and the pace is not as hectic as Tokyo's
- a back garden that even the Japanese adore

- February is the best season to have oysters and strawberries in Sendai
- Wasabi and shitake mushrooms also flourish there
- a family there has won 2 accolades for the shitake mushrooms they grow
- they're apparently very solid and fragrant
- the mushrooms flesh are very thick and even those dried
- the mushrooms are cultivated in the backyard of the family's house

- traditionally grown on logs but is rarely used nowadays
- logs with more white pith provide more nutrients for shitake mushrooms
- picking quality logs is the first step in the cultivation of shitake mushrooms

- after making selection, the farmer drills holes in the logs
- the holes must be equally spread out and bear the same diameter
- if the holes are too close, the shitake mushrooms will cram together and not grow healthily
- this is the fungi of shitake mushrooms and we'll take them out and stuff them into the holes we have dug

- this must be done properly (not too deeply if not the outer layer will become dry and the fungus will not absorb any nutrient or grow healthily)
- inserted fungus can survive for about 6 years
- shitake mushrooms cultivated in the first year are the most solid and gorgeous
- production begins to dwindle in the second and third years

- fourth and fifth years yield smaller shitake mushrooms
- water intake and humidity determine the amount of variegation on shitake mushrooms
- water is sprinkled once a week for roughly 4-5 hours
- sprinkling must stop once the shitake mushrooms grow to the size of a thumb
- too much sprinkling of water will turn the fungi black

- to pluck the mushroom, grab the base and pluck it out gently (don't use force)
- a fresh shitake mushroom weighs quite a lot
- looks soft but it feels solid
- harvest is as many as 600 kg of  mushrooms a year
- traditional method of cultivation doesn't pale in comparison to more advanced methods
- the harvests are such humongous beauties

- the last step in processing shitake mushroom is to arrange them on the trays nicely
- the farmer treats the shitake mushrooms lovingly like his children (evident from every minute detail)
- after he arranged them with such meticulous care, the trays will go into the oven to be dried for 20-24 hours
- the finished products are the shitake mushrooms we normally see in Singapore
- the dried ones still look pretty and preserved their original fragrance
- the shitake mushrooms when barbecued is a unique appetiser
- the sight of them is enough to make one drool and the taste is refreshingly sweet
- the best way to cook shitake mushrooms include shitake mushrooms with rice, fried shitake mushrooms and fermented ones
- they're the products of the farmers' love and patience