GROWING GOURMET - Anto2ni.it

GROWTH PARAMETERS 281
Natural Method of Outdoor Cultivation: On logs of broad-leaf hardwoods, especially beech, poplar and
assorted deciduous oaks, a la the method for Shiitake. Because of the high moisture requirement for this
mushroom, partially burying the logs in a high peat moss soil base is recommended.
Recommended Courses for Expansion of Mycelial Mass toAchieve Fruiting: Spawn is quickly generated
with liquid inoculation of grain from petri dish cultures. The grain spawn can be exponentially
expanded two generations using standard grain-to-grain inoculations. Intermediate sawdust spawn can
then be produced from the grain spawn for final inoculation into supplemented hardwood sawdust For
many cultivators, going from grain spawn to supplemented sawdust is an easier, and more direct approach.
Suggested Agar Culture Media: MBA, MYA, PDYA and DFA.
1st, 2nd and 3rd Generation Spawn Media: Grain spawn throughout.
Substrates for Fruiting: The supplemented sawdust formula described in Chapter XVII is recommended.
Arita (1969) recommends that no more than 10% rice bran be used as a supplement for oak
hardwood formulations. However, I have found that 20% rice bran supports a more massive first flush
and second flush when using Alnus rubra (red alder). Arita also found that the addition of 15% rice
bran was the optimum if using conifer sawdust (Pin us densiflora—Asian Pine and Cryptomeria
japonica—Japanese Cedar) as the base substrate.) This is one of the few gourmet mushrooms that
will give rise to substantial fruitings on conifer wood.
Recommended Containers for Fruiting: Autoclavable bottles and polypropylene bags.
Yield Potentials: The fruitings pictured in this book yielded, on the first flush, an average of slightly
more than 1 lb. of mushrooms from 5 lb. blocks of hardwood sawdust supplemented with rice bran.
Form of Product Sold to Market: Primarily fresh mushrooms are sold. An interesting, tasteful, if
not elegant mushroom, Pholiota nameko is a mushroom well worth cultivating. Whether or not its
marketing in North America will be successful is another question. P nameko is popular in Japan.
Its flavor is so distinct and appealing as to win over the squeamishly skeptical.
Nutritional Content: Crude protein ( N x 4.38): 20.8%; fat: 4.2%; carbohydrate: 66.7%; ash: 8.3%;
and fiber: 6.3%. Vitamins (in milligrams per 100 grams dry weight): thiamine: 18.8; riboflavin 14.6;
niacin 72.9. Minerals (in milligrams per 100 grams dry weight): calcium: 42; potassium: 2083; iron:
22.9; sodium: 63.
Medicinal Properties: According toYing (1987), water and sodium hydroxide extracts of this mushroom
are 60% & 90% effective, respectively, against Sarcoma 180 implanted in white mice. Further,
resistance to infection by Staphylococcus bacteria is substantially improved. No parallel studies by
Western researchers are known to this author. The references making these medical claims are in Chinese.
Flavor, Preparation & Cooking: A very slimy mushroom—a feature that has caused less consternation
in Asia than in North America. Nameko is easily diced into miniature cubes and can be used imaginatively
in a wide variety of menus, from stir fries to miso soups.Although pleasantly satisfying when lightly cooked,
I prefer the strong flavor that thorough cooking evokes. Once the glutinous slime is cooked away, the
mushroom becomes quite appetizing, having a crunchy and nutty/mushroomy flavor.
PDF compression, OCR, web-optimization with CVISION's PdfCompressor