Mitoku Donko Shiitake Fine Grade 1.76 oz Bag

There is strong evidence that higher grades of shiitake are more effective for healing purposes. Scientists now believe an important medicinal substance resides in the spores of shiitake which is the medicinal powder that falls from the undersurface of the cap. The most common grades of shiitake are thinner and have open-caps. The highest grade of shiitake are donko, which are thicker and have closed-caps. Nami-Nami Donko Shiitake are the fine grade of the donko-family of Shiitake mushrooms. Donko gives Shiitake mushrooms their nickname as the "Miracle Mushroom." Mitoku Donko Shiitake can be used in gourmet dishes or used as a medicinal tea.

Ingredients: Japanese dried shiitake mushrooms (Fine Grade, Donko). Thick, Closed-caps

Shiitake, Japanese forest mushrooms, are one of the Orient's most exotic, versatile, and delicious foods. Their distinctive taste lends a gourmet flair to almost any dish. Mitoku Shiitake are cultivated by the natural, traditional carefully dried, thus concentrating their exquisite flavor and goodness for year-round use. Shiitake Mushrooms are known to be a source for naturally occurring vitamin B 12. Truly the world's "Miracle Mushroom," modern science has proven shiitake contains anti-cancer properties.

Uses: Use with their soaking water for superb soups, tea, stews, sauces, gravy, casseroles, fried rice, noodles, or add to stir-fries.

The majority of Japanese shiitake and all Mitoku brand shiitake are grown outdoors on natural logs, and no fungicides or pesticides are used at any stage in the process. They are picked early, before the caps open. Some Mitoku donko shiitake are sun-dried, thus increasing the already abundant vitamin D content of shiitake that are naturally grown outdoors. In the West, however, a high-tech method of growing the mushroom indoors under controlled conditions on synthetic sawdust logs (actually sawdust blocks) is used by approximately 80% of the more than 250 commercial growers. 70% of Taiwan's shiitake are now also produced on sterilized sawdust. Often fungicides are used to prevent competing molds and fungi from taking over the logs. Of course, these fungicides pose a health threat to consumers and workers. In addition to the obvious benefits of growing shiitake on natural logs without the use of toxic chemicals, proponents of this traditional cultivation method are convinced that shiitake grown outdoors, subject to the rigors of the natural environment, have more concentrated medicinal properties and flavor.