Mushrooms

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One particular kind of mushroom is matsutake which only grows among red pine trees under certain weather conditions, making it somewhat of a rarity. They are rare enough that they can cost up to $250 for one single mushroom at one of Japan's finer restaurants.

Interestingly enough, there has also been no method developed which will allow matsutake to be grown under controlled conditions so mass-production of the mushroom is not possible yet.

In general, people who find them in the forest tend to cook them right away as the mushroom loses its freshness quickly.

There are also kinoko (fungi) available in the forests. Like elsewhere, many of these are of the poisonous variety. Among those that are not are shimeji, enokidaka, maitake and nameko. Shittake is the most popular of these fungi and is used in Japanese cooking a great dela.

The best of the shittake are named donko; these are not only said to be good-tasting but they also have some medicinal properties, the spores having been shown to help strengthen the immune system and possibly help prevent cancer.

There are around 180 known edible kinds of Japanese fungi, 10 of which are cultivated widely. The most common is the pine mushroom (matsutake) which is often considered to be the most aromatic and best-tasting of all the mushrooms.