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Maitake: The Magnificent 'Dancing' Mushroom
by Paul Stamets: Founder, Fungi Perfecti; Advisor, Program of Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona Medical School, Tucson. Posted: 03/21/2013 / Updated: 05/21/2013
In Europe and the United States, this mushroom (Grifola frondosa) is commonly called "hen of the woods," since its frond-like growths resemble the feathers of a fluffed chicken. Maitake is the name I prefer, in a bow to the Japanese who pioneered its cultivation. Maitake mushrooms are known in Japan as "the dancing mushroom." According to a Japanese legend, a group of Buddhist nuns and woodcutters met on a mountain trail, where they discovered a fruiting of maitake mushrooms emerging from the forest floor. Rejoicing at their discovery of this delicious mushroom, they danced to celebrate. In Italy, this species is known assignorina, or "the unmarried woman." Today these two common names, bestowed long ago on the opposite sides of the planet, seem especially deserving and perhaps foretelling recent research findings.
Maitake is a soft polypore mushroom (many other polypore mushrooms are hard woodconks), making it one of the few of that group you can cook with. Maitake mushrooms are indigenous to temperate hardwood forests and are particularly fond of oaks, elms, and rarely maples. Feeding upon the dead roots of aging trees, maitake mushrooms emerge from dark grey mounds that form a few inches under the soil at that base of the tree. From the underside of their flaring leaf-like protrusions, white spores dust the ground below or are sent adrift into the wind.
Maitake can achieve humongous sizes, sometimes up to 50 pounds per specimen! Massive maitake can form annually from dying dendritic tree roots for many years, even decades. The locations of these robust patches are often family secrets passed down from one generation to another, and for good reason! I know of one Italian-American family in New York who boast of maitake bonanzas that would seem unbelievable if were not for their annual yield of photographic evidence of giant maitake. More often than not, they fill their cars to the brim, while leaving the majority of the maitake in the woods.
As a cultivator, I am naturally envious, since cultivated maitake rarely grow to clusters weighing more than a couple of pounds. Two advantages of cultivated maitake, however, are that they are cleaner -- free of the forest debris that typically becomes embedded within the uplifting fronds of wild ones -- and that they can be grown at home all year long.
My family is delighted every time I cook maitake. Our taste buds awaken in anticipation of its rich, deep and nuanced flavors. Maitake contains L-glutamate, a natural flavor-enhancer that provides umami -- the "fifth taste" -- the savory rich flavor that excites receptor-specific nodes on your tongue. Moreover, maitake is one of the healthiest foods around. In the past, mushrooms were maligned as nutritionally poor. Since they are about 80 to 90 percent water when fresh, their net concentrations of nutrients can be underestimated. Like grains, however, mushrooms should be weighed when dry to get their correct nutrient value.
Our studies show that organically-grown maitake has:
- 377 calories per 100 grams dry weight
- 25 percent protein
- 3-4 percent fats (1 percent polyunsaturated fat; 2 percent total unsaturated fat; 0.3 percent saturated fat)
- ≈60 percent carbohydrates (41 percent are complex carbohydrates)
- ≈28 percent fiber
- 0 percent cholesterol
- B vitamins (mg/100 g): niacin (64.8); riboflavin (2.6 mg); and pantheonic acid (4.4 mg)
- High concentration of potassium: 2,300 mg/100 g (or 2.3 percent of dry mass!)