Shiitake

Other Names

Black mushroom, hua gu, the Japanese mushroom, fragrant mushroom

Latin Name

Lentinus edodes

Usually Found In

Japan, China, South Korea, the USA, Russia, Holland, UK

Season

All year

One of the most popular mushrooms in the world, shiitake have always been as prevalent and important to Eastern food culture as the closed-cup mushroom is to the West. They stand out from the mushroom crowd in many ways, as they are hardy and textured, with almost tiger-like markings when they start to dry, and are full of their own unique ‘umami’ flavour. As well as tasting good, these chewy fungi aid our immune and cardiovascular systems; a super-healthy mushroom, they have been used in Chinese medicine for centuries.