How dried shiitake is made

The majority of shiitake mushrooms eaten nowadays are cultivated, and methods for doing so have been refined since the process was first invented during the Edo period (16001853). The process begins in spring, when logs, often of the kunugi or nara trees (both kinds of oak), are cut to lengths of around one metre, with around 20 small holes bored into each. These holes are then impregnated with shiitake spores. The logs, which are now referred to as hodagi, are then left in a wooded area for around one year to allow the spores to grow. This area, known as a hodaba, is carefully chosen so that it offers optimum levels of sunlight and a good temperature for the shiitake to grow. By the following spring, the logs will have borne their first crop of shiitake, and will continue to produce quality shiitake for five to seven years.