Shiitake
Shiitake ( Lentinula edodes )
The shiitake or shiitake ( Lentinula edodes, syn. Lentinus edodes ) (Chinese香菇/冬菇, Japanese椎 茸) is a species of fungus in the family Schwindling relatives ( Marasmiaceae ). For a time he was assigned to the Schwindling relatives ( Marasimiaceae ), classic he was ranked among the Tricholoma relatives ( Tricholomataceae ). The Japanese name means shiitake mushroom ( take), which grows on Pasania tree ( shii ); the fungus is therefore called in German also Pasaniapilz.
He is counted in traditional Chinese medicine the most effective medicinal mushrooms.
- 4.1 Literature
- 4.2 Notes and references
Features
It has a light to dark brown hat and grows on various deciduous trees, preferably those with hard wood. In China and Japan it has long been cultivated, eg beech, oak, chestnut, maple, walnut and others. The slats run something on a stick down and are smooth to rough. The stem is usually in the middle of the hat, but can also start something on the side. The brim is rolled up in the young stage still inside. The hat skin is mostly covered with delicate flakes. In China, the shiitake香菇( Xianggu ) or冬菇( Donggu ) is called, which can be paraphrased " for the winter mushroom" with "good fragrant mushroom" or and refers to the fine, pilzigen smell he gives off in the fresh state.
Dissemination
In the forests of China and Japan, it occurs wild, but also come the mushrooms available there in the market all of them from a farm. In Europe and North America it is not found in the wild, but also cultivated here increasingly.
Importance
Mushroom
After the mushroom he is the most widely cultivated edible mushroom at all; in East Asia, it is the number one among the cultivated mushrooms, in Russia it is now very common. There are essentially two types on the market: the best-selling Donko, Tongku or Tong Gu, a dickfleischiger, solid mushroom with hardly open cap and Koshin, a dünnfleischiger fungus with wide open hat.
Shiitake have the taste quality umami. Modern science has now recognized umami as a fifth over the tongue perceptible taste quality in addition to sweet, salty, bitter and sour. Umami is caused by the presence of glutamate and activates special taste receptors on the tongue. It is co-determines the taste of protein-rich foods such as meat, legumes and some fungi.
Allergy -like skin reaction
Originally, the recommendation to comply with the use of fresh mushrooms as possible a cooking or cooking time of twenty minutes, otherwise could occur in rare cases, allergic-type skin reactions ( shiitake dermatitis). Recent research, however, reveals that lentinan (probably the responsible agent for the skin reaction ) is heat resistant and shiitake dermatitis can also occur after consumption of cooked and fried mushrooms. Despite the world wide distribution of shiitake mushrooms are relatively few cases of shiitake dermatitis have so far, however, especially in Germany become known.
Folk medicine
In Japan and China find shiitake as a medical food ( = Yakuzen ), like other mushrooms and vegetables, a targeted application in inflammation, tumors, stomach problems, headaches, dizziness, liver cirrhosis and arteriosclerosis. More frequent meals with shiitake to relieve the symptoms mentioned. To this end, the mushrooms are cooked, roasted or steamed in aluminum foil. There are boiled rice, sushi or vegetables. The seasoning the whole with miso, soy sauce or tomato sauce.
History
Shiitake has been valued for thousands of years in China and also in Japan as a food and as medicine. The shiitake was for the people at that time so valuable that it was profitable as a gift for emperors and kings: so shall the year 199 the inhabitants of the Japanese province of Kyushu to emperor Chuai have offered Shiitake as a gift. But there are still far older Chinese sources on the use of shiitake.