By Karen Olson House, September 2007

• Introduction
• Mushrooms in North Carolina
• Edible or poisonous?
• Where to buy fresh mushrooms
• Mushroom nutrition
• Recipes
• Download the full article as a

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Introduction

After a soaking rain, as if by magic, they’re suddenly everywhere, sprouting atop stumps, sidling up trees, popping up on pastures.
But now in North Carolina we’re seeing mushrooms cultivated on small farms, where they peek out from manmade holes in inoculated hardwood logs. More often than not, they are shiitakes, or Lentinula edodes, an exotic cousin of the white button mushroom.

When fully fruited, the shiitake (pronounced “sha-TALK-ee”) goes to market. Later, they re-emerge on dinner plates, starring in tasty kabobs, hearty sauces, flavorful soups, chunky ratatouilles, silky pastas and other appetizing fare.

Tan to dark brown, with broad umbrella caps ranging in size from 2 to 4 inches, the shiitake has an earthy aroma, woodsy taste and meaty texture. A symbol of longevity in Asia because of its health-promoting properties, it’s a multi-tasker in any kitchen. Shiitakes can be sautéed, broiled, baked, grilled, stir-fried or stuffed. They don’t have to be cooked—folks slice it thin and mix it in salads and use it as a meat substitute for its protein.

Farmers markets in North Carolina are selling shiitakes now. Traditionally, shiitake season is April through November, although warm weather can prompt a flush in other months.

Brenda and John Garner, who own Sandy Creek Farm and are members of the EnergyUnited electric cooperative, started growing shiitakes on their family-parceled land in 2006. They pick them Friday or early Saturday morning and then sell them at The Depot, a farmers market in Lexington. “We lay them out in a basket so people can feel them as they pick them out,” Brenda says. This year, they’ve harvesting shiitakes off nearly 700 inoculated logs.

Shiitakes worth their salt should feel cool to the touch, she explains. "The cap should be fairly smooth—that indicates good moisture content. If they’re crinkled, they’ve lost moisture and have been around awhile.”

Eating a truly fresh shiitake is deliciously different than chewing transport-weary produce encased in plastic for a week or more. Buying local is the key to experiencing full flavor.

Indeed, John munches them raw during harvest. “We harvest the whole stem, and then trim off the end. We don’t cut the whole stem because people use them to flavor soups and stocks.” The Garners use shiitakes in egg scrambles or sautéed in butter with fresh squash, garlic and onion.

Market customers pay $2.50 a quarter pound. The Garners also sell “value-added” products including inoculated logs and t-shirts with their logo, “Shiitake Happens.”

They sell the logs at their farm, too, located in the community of Tyro, Davidson County. Visits help folks understand how to grow their own logs, which some like to give as gifts. Logs are priced according to size, and range from $20 to $40.

Depending on the season, Sandy Creek Farm also sells scuppernong and muscadine grapes, blackberries, pecans, black walnuts, garlic, heirloom pears and figs, fresh-cut and dried flowers, jams and jellies.

The Garners sell shiitake mushrooms to local restaurants, including Liberty Steakhouse in High Point, Yarborough’s Restaurant in Lexington and The Buttercup Cafe in Denton. Brenda is working to develop a veggie dip made from a frozen mushroom duxelles (onions, shiitakes, garlic and heavy cream). The Garners hope eventually to sell online.

Diane Price and husband Rob Griffith, members of the Blue Ridge Electric cooperative, throw shiitake inoculation parties at their farm in Todd, located between Boone and West Jefferson. Price has been selling shiitakes for several years from The Farm at Mollies Branch.

“My daughter and her friends help at the parties,” Diane Price says. “When it comes time to inoculate, we’ll tell people who have expressed an interest in it that we’re doing it if they’d like to come. Someone will be drilling logs, someone will be putting in the mushroom spawn, someone else puts cheese wax over the holes, someone else will be marking logs with the kind of mushroom spawn and date of inoculate.”

The logs are stacked together later. Logs fruit more generously when they are with another log or in a group.

Diane notes that the price of mushrooms is climbing with consumer interest. “When we started, they were about $8 a pound. Now at farmers markets, they’re going for $16 a pound.”

Although she no longer sells at market, she sells shiitakes to local restaurants. Their clients include the Bistro, GameKeeper, Wildflower and Melanie’s, all located in Boone.