The mushroom's Japanese name shiitake (椎茸) is a compound word composed of shii (椎, Castanopsis), for the tree Castanopsis cuspidata that provides the dead logs on which it is typically cultivated, and take (茸, "mushroom").[5] The specific epithetedodes is the Latin word for "edible".[6]
The earliest written record of shiitake cultivation is seen in the Records of Longquan County (龍泉縣志) compiled by He Zhan (何澹) in 1209 during the Song dynasty in China.[8] The 185-word description of shiitake cultivation from that literature was later cross-referenced many times and eventually adapted in a book by a Japanese horticulturist Satō Chūryō (佐藤中陵) in 1796, the first book on shiitake cultivation in Japan.[9]
The Japanese cultivated the mushroom by cutting shii trees with axes and placing the logs by trees that were already growing shiitake or contained shiitake spores.[10][11] Before 1982, the Japan Islands' variety of these mushrooms could only be grown in traditional locations using ancient methods.[12] A 1982 report on the budding and growth of the Japanese variety revealed opportunities for commercial cultivation in the United States.[13]
Shiitake are widely cultivated worldwide, contributing about 25% of the total yearly production of mushrooms.[14] Commercially, shiitake mushrooms are typically grown in conditions similar to their natural environment on either artificial substrate or hardwood logs, such as oak.[13][14][15]
Rarely, consumption of raw or slightly cooked shiitake mushrooms may cause an allergic reaction called "shiitake dermatitis", including an erythematous, micro-papular, streaky pruriginousrash that occurs all over the body including face and scalp, appearing about 24 hours after consumption, possibly worsening by sun exposure and disappearing after 3 to 21 days.[16] This effect – presumably caused by the polysaccharide, lentinan[16] – is more common in East Asia,[17] but may be growing in occurrence in Europe as shiitake consumption increases.[16] Thorough cooking may eliminate the allergenicity.[18]
Fresh and dried shiitake have many uses in East Asian cuisine. In Japan, they are served in miso soup, used as the basis for a kind of vegetariandashi, and as an ingredient in many steamed and simmered dishes. In Chinese cuisine, they are often sautéed in vegetarian dishes such as Buddha's delight.
One type of high-grade shiitake is called donko (冬菇) in Japanese[21] and dōnggū in Chinese, literally "winter mushroom". Another high-grade mushroom is called huāgū (花菇) in Chinese, literally "flower mushroom", which has a flower-like cracking pattern on the mushroom's upper surface. Both of these are produced at lower temperatures.
In a 100-gram (3+1⁄2-ounce) reference serving, raw shiitake mushrooms provide 141 kilojoules (34 kilocalories) of food energy and are 90% water, 7% carbohydrates, 2% protein and less than 1% fat. Raw shiitake mushrooms contain moderate levels of some dietary minerals.
Like all mushrooms, shiitakes produce vitamin D2 upon exposure of their internal ergosteroltoultraviolet B (UVB) rays from sunlight or broadband UVB fluorescent tubes.[22][23]
^ abWasser S. (2004). "Shiitake (Lentinula edodes)". In Coates PM; Blackman M; Cragg GM; White JD; Moss J; Levine MA. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Dietary Supplements. CRC Press. pp. 653–64. ISBN978-0-8247-5504-1.
^Vane CH; Drage TC; Snape CE. (2003). "Biodegradation of oak (Quercus alba) wood during growth of the Shiitake mushroom (Lentinula edodes): A molecular approach". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 51 (4): 947–956. doi:10.1021/jf020932h. PMID12568554.
^ abcBoels D; Landreau A; Bruneau C; Garnier R; Pulce C; Labadie M; de Haro L; Harry P. (2014). "Shiitake dermatitis recorded by French Poison Control Centers – New case series with clinical observations". Clinical Toxicology. 52 (6): 625–8. doi:10.3109/15563650.2014.923905. PMID24940644. S2CID21541970.
^Hérault M; Waton J; Bursztejn AC; Schmutz JL; Barbaud A. (2010). "Shiitake dermatitis now occurs in France". Annales de Dermatologie et de Vénéréologie. 137 (4): 290–3. doi:10.1016/j.annder.2010.02.007. PMID20417363.
^ abNational Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Food and Nutrition Board; Committee to Review the Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019). Oria, Maria; Harrison, Meghan; Stallings, Virginia A. (eds.). Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. The National Academies Collection: Reports funded by National Institutes of Health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press (US). ISBN978-0-309-48834-1. PMID30844154. Archived from the original on 9 May 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
^Ko JA; Lee BH; Lee JS; Park HJ. (2008). "Effect of UV-B exposure on the concentration of vitamin D2 in sliced shiitake mushroom (Lentinus edodes) and white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus)". J Agric Food Chem. 50 (10): 3671–3674. doi:10.1021/jf073398s. PMID18442245.
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