Shitake Mushrooms, A Fungus with Many Uses

By Anne Harvester [ 28/01/2008 ]


You might not think of mushrooms as bulk organic herbs, but when dried and crushed into a powder, these edible fungi can add a delicate flavor to many dishes, particularly Asian ones. Although gourmet mushrooms such as the shitake can be expensive, you’ll pay less when buying wholesale. Shitake mushroom is perhaps one of the most flavorful of these, and because it is relatively easy to cultivate, the price has been dropping in recent years.

An Ancient Cultivar

Bulk organic herbs go back a long way in history, but the idea of using mushrooms in the same way as dried herbs is a fairly new idea, going back only a thousand years or so – and wholesale shitake mushroom have only been widely and relatively cheap in the West in the past ten or twelve years, and are now a significant part of the herbs wholesale market.

Technically known as lentinula edodes, the shitake (also spelled shitake) mushroom is native to the temperate forests of China, where it is known as shiang-ju, and Korea, where it is called the pyogo, as well as Japan. In the Southeast Asian countries of Thailand and Vietnam, the shitake has been called hed hom and nấm hương respectively – both of which mean “fragrant mushroom.” It is perhaps the king of bulk organic herbs.

There are records of shitake mushrooms being eaten dating back to China’s Han Dynasty, 2000 years ago. However, they were not deliberately cultivated until the Song Dynasty, roughly a millennium later.

Medicinal Uses

Like many dried herbs, the shitake appears to have beneficial health effects as well. Wu Juei, a Chinese physician during the Ming Period, found that in the form of powdered dried herbs, shitakes were an excellent treatment for respiratory ailments, circulatory and liver disease as well as a stimulant.

As far as modern medicine is concerned, the shitake mushroom has been demonstrated to have tumor-inhibiting properties, and has shown promise as a treatment for arterial thrombosis. Wholesale shitake mushroom can also provide vegans with a non-animal source of vitamin D.

Shitake in the Kitchen

No kitchen is complete without a good supply of bulk organic herbs, and bulk herbs like dried shitakes are no exception – especially for fans of Asian cuisine. Shitakes are one of the bulk herbs used in miso soul as well as vegetarian dashi, and is also an important ingredient in Korean dishes like bulgogi and jigae.

You’ll save on bulk organic herbs when you buy your herbs wholesale. Although technically a fungus, shitake mushrooms are among the increasing number of bulk organic herbs now being cultivated in all parts of the world, meaning that buying herbs wholesale is now easier and less expensive than ever. Getting your bulk herbs at a discount wholesale price means you have no excuse for not having your kitchen well-stocked with fine bulk organic herbs for those exotic, far-eastern dishes.

About the author:
As an herbalist who has studied the benefits and history of many bulk organic herbs, Anne Harvester discusses the history and uses of the wholesale shitake mushroom. Annes advice for purchasing herbs wholesale can save you time and money.

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