Dashi de shiitake

Dashi refers to a group of broths that can be prepared by infusing various ingredients in cold or lukewarm water. Best-known dashi is made with infused kombu seaweed. As for strong flavors, most famous are those made by extracting flavor from dried bonito flakes, dried sardines, dried shiitake mushrooms...

What all dashi have in common is their incomparable umami flavor. Roughly translated as "delight" in Japanese, umami is that rich, savory, coating quality that lingers on tongue and makes certain foods so irresistibly delicious. Shiitake mushrooms contain guanylic acid, which is one of "umami" tastes.

Along with glutamic acid from kombu and inosinic acid from dried bonito flakes, they are the three main components of umami. Shiitake mushrooms are said to have been introduced to Japan from China by Tang dynasty envoys 1,000 years ago. However, volume of production, which was around 15,000 tonnes at the start of the Showa period (1926-1989), is now around 2,300 tonnes, as consumption has dropped considerably from 200 g to 40 g per person per year.

Industry is now under pressure to undergo a major reform if it is not to disappear. Quality shiitake in Japan is grown on coniferous trees such as Japanese cedar, or on oak trunks, and grows in mountains for two years. Shiitake production is linked to mountain management and protection.