Exotic mushrooms – from the Midlands

SHIITAKE mushrooms are a speciality f rom Japan, and can be bought for vast expense from supermarkets.

But this summer you will be able to buy the intensely flavoured oriental fungi without them having been flown halfway around the world.

Leicestershire farmer tim Livesey, one of very few British producers who specialise in the dark arts of woodland mushroom cultivation, is supplying Asda with British-grown shiitake mushrooms for the first time.

tim, the third generation of Liveseys to cultivate exotic mushrooms at their farm near Ashby- de - l a- Zouch, made several trips to north tokyo to pick up the secret growing techniques that have helped him produce the fungi here.

He grows carefully selected strains of shiitake mushrooms, chosen for their ability to thrive i n chilly northern Europe, a longside ot her unusual gourmet mushrooms to sell to the supermarkets.

He mixes together sawdust and other ingredients he won’t disclose, sterilises the mixture with steam and then inoculates it with the mycelium (network of germinated spores) of the highly prized mushrooms. they are then left to incubate for six months, at carefully controlled temperatures, before being moved to harvesting rooms, where t he speckled ‘ f r uit bodies’ ( what we know as mushrooms — they’re actually the reproductive organs of the fungus) appear overnight.

‘We’re seeing a huge boom in demand for exotic mushrooms and are selling 2,500 packs every week,’ says David Booth, Asda’s fungi specialist.

‘Mushrooms are twice as rich in protein as other vegetables, making them popular with health conscious shoppers and sporty types.

‘When cooked, the texture of these gorgeously tender mushrooms is rich and chunky, so they’re a great alternative to meat, and their local provenance makes them even more attractive for shoppers.’

the British grown Extra special shiitake mushrooms cost £1.70 for 115 g at Asda.

Alternatively, you could try the Livesey brothers’ other of f eri ngs, i ncluding pale, sprig- like Enoki mushrooms (£1.70 for 150 g), which are tradit i onally made i nto soup, but can be used in salads.

the brothers also sell mixed selections of exotic mushrooms (£2.90 for 300 g).

Choose between Fungi Fusions Fungi Wok woodland mushrooms, whi c h contains a selection suitable for a stir-fry, or Fungi Fusions Fungi Ensalada, which are ideal for salads.