Button mushrooms grow in popularity in Japan
SETOUCHI, Japan: If button mushrooms have a defining quality, then it is surely versatility - a result of their unique texture and deep aroma.
In Japan, Okayama Prefecture produces the most button mushrooms - shipping 2,150 tons in 2014. Within Okayama, it is the Ushimado district of Setouchi that sets the pace, accounting for about 30 per cent of national production. Keen to try these button mushrooms, which are in fact native to Europe, I headed to the Ushimado area - also known as “the Aegean Sea of Japan.”
Mitsukura Nourin, a limited private agriculture company, is the leading button mushroom producer in Ushimado, accounting for almost all cultivation there. From its 54 grow rooms spread over 6 hectares (about 12 acres), the company’s output reaches about 6.5 tons a day.
Mitsukura Nourin started with about 10 people in 1974, when button mushrooms were uncommon in the Japanese food scene. It has since become one of the largest producers in the nation.
The Ushimado district is said to be suitable for growing button mushrooms because of its temperature, which fluctuates little and thus has less of an impact on the environment inside grow rooms.
Fungi planted on fermented compost grow into mushrooms. When I visited the farm, Atsushi Takeda, a 49-year-old employee who has worked for the company for more than 20 years, introduced me to its “heart” - the compost section. I wondered why the compost gave off steam. “It’s proof that the microorganisms are working,” Takeda replied.
The compost contains nitrogenrich substances such as rice bran and lime, and these promote the fermentation of the paddy straw and wheat straw that breed microorganisms.
Using heavy machinery to mix compost exposes it to the air and helps to promote microorganism activity.
The temperature at the core of the compost pile rises to about 80°C, killing unnecessary microorganisms. After a monthlong fermentation process, the compost can be used to grow mushrooms. About two weeks after the fungi are planted, fungal filaments start to grow.
Grow rooms have to be kept at 18 C, with a humidity of 85 per cent to 90 per cent. This is to create an environment similar to “an autumn forest in the morning” - ideal for growing mushrooms. To maintain this environment, employees check the grow rooms three times a day.
Takeda recommended I visit La Pirata, an Italian restaurant about a 15-minute drive from the farm. “The raw mushroom dishes served there are delicious,” he said.
The restaurant opened three years ago in Oku, Setouchi. When I arrived, 29-year-old owner-chef Noriaki Tamizane welcomed me.
I ordered Tamizane’s recommendations. He served me “Nama mushroom no karubonara” (carbonara with raw mushrooms), which is usually served in a lunch set (RM23 without tax). Tamizane thought up the dish as a way to emphasise the aroma of raw mushrooms, which caught his attention when he trained as a cook in Italy.
The fresh pasta is mixed with an egg and sour pecorino cheese sauce. Sliced mushrooms top the pasta like slivers of truffle. When I took a bite, the mellow aroma spread like liqueur through my mouth. I couldn’t help but say “buono”- the combination of the slightly firm-textured mushrooms and cheese was superb.
“I make sure the sauce isn’t heavy, to emphasise the aroma and taste (of the mushrooms),” Tamizane said as he described the dish to me.
He calls Ushimado mushrooms “the truffles of Setouchi,” and also serves them in salads or mixed with cheese.
After tasting these cute-looking mushrooms, white in colour and round in shape, I came to realize their charm. — The Japan News/ Yomiuri