What are the benefits and effects of shiitake mushrooms? Plus prices and autumn management techniques
Shiitake mushrooms are a common food in everyday life; whether used as an ingredient or a main dish, they are highly loved by everyone. Shiitake is the world's second largest edible fungus and has long been known among the people as a “mountain delicacy”. So what are the benefits and effects of shiitake mushrooms? Do you know the autumn management techniques for shiitake mushrooms? And how much was one jin of shiitake mushrooms in 2018?
I. Benefits and effects of shiitake mushrooms
1. Boost immunity
A study by the University of Florida showed that eating some shiitake mushrooms every day can strengthen the memory immune system and prevent colds. Because shiitake mushrooms contain relatively high protein, vitamins, unsaturated fatty acids and a large amount of minerals, and also contain a variety of amino acids essential to the human body, eating them regularly not only supplies the nutrients the body needs but also enhances disease resistance.
2. Protect the liver and prevent cancer
Shiitake mushrooms contain an active substance——lentinan, which has a certain anti-cancer effect and also resists some viruses; in addition, shiitake mushrooms also contain double-stranded ribonucleic acid, which can inhibit the division rate of cancer cells, so persisting in eating a certain amount of shiitake mushrooms every day in the early stages of cancer or after cancer surgery has a certain effect on controlling the metastasis of cancer cells.
3. Lower lipids and blood pressure
Shiitake mushrooms contain nucleic acid substances, lentinan, purines, as well as vitamins and various functional substances such as zinc and selenium. They can inhibit the absorption and synthesis of cholesterol and reduce the cholesterol content in the blood, thereby lowering blood lipids, lowering blood pressure and reducing cholesterol, and are helpful for improving and preventing arteriosclerosis.
4. Tonify qi and nourish blood
Shiitake mushrooms contain mineral elements such as calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, sodium, zinc and selenium, and have the reputation of being the “meat among vegetables”, with a regulating effect on anemia, qi and blood deficiency, and the like.
5. Strengthen the stomach and aid digestion
Ancient books record that shiitake mushrooms can benefit the stomach and aid eating, strengthen the bones and muscles, improve complexion, and that taking them for a long time makes the body light and prevents aging; they can treat symptoms such as poor appetite and weak spleen and stomach function.
6. Beautify and nourish the skin
Shiitake mushrooms are rich in a variety of trace elements, vitamins and ribose-type substances, which can promote blood circulation and skin cell metabolism, inhibit melanin production, and keep the skin young, rosy and free of wrinkles.
7. Lose weight and slim down
The dietary fiber in shiitake mushrooms helps increase intestinal wall peristalsis, helps clear waste residue from the body, shortens the time harmful substances stay in the body, and improves and prevents constipation symptoms. At the same time, it can also inhibit fat absorption, which is very helpful for weight loss.
8. Prevent rickets
Shiitake mushrooms contain vitamin D and provitamin D——ergosterol, which ordinary vegetables do not have. They can promote the calcification of bone tissue and are helpful for preventing rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults.
9. Benefit intelligence and strengthen the brain
Shiitake mushrooms contain as many as 16 kinds of amino acids, 7 of which are essential amino acids for the human body. Amino acids are important substances that promote brain development, and scientific research has found that IQ is closely related to amino acids in the brain; in addition, shiitake mushrooms also contain relatively high protein and a variety of trace elements, and eating them regularly is very beneficial to intellectual development.
II. Autumn management techniques for shiitake mushrooms
1. Indoor spawn running
Shiitake mushrooms need more than 60 days from inoculation to physiological maturity. After inoculation, they should be promptly moved into a spawn-running room for cultivation. The fungus bags are arranged in a "well" shape, 8~9 layers high, with the room temperature controlled at around 25°C and the relative humidity required to be below 70%.
From 1~6 days after inoculation, the mycelium is in the recovery and germination stage, and the room temperature should be controlled between 28°C~30°C. During this period the fungus bags must not be turned, ventilation should not be used, and shading should be used to create dim light. From 7~10 days, the mycelium begins to grow and feed on the substrate, the room temperature is lowered to 26°C~28°C, ventilation is given 2~3 times a day, and on the 7th day the first turning of the pile is carried out, that is, the stacked fungus bags are swapped top to bottom and inside to outside so that every fungus bag can receive management under the same conditions. When turning the pile, handle them gently, strictly preventing damage to the seals and infection by contaminating bacteria; at the same time, carefully check for contamination by contaminating bacteria while turning the pile. If speckled contaminating bacteria are found, inject a mixture of 50 ml of 75% alcohol plus 30 ml of 25% formaldehyde to seal the affected area.
2. Color change of fungus bags
How early or late and how good or bad the color change is affects how early or late fruiting occurs and how high the yield is. After the mycelium reaches physiological maturity, it changes from white to reddish brown, and yellow water droplets appear, followed by the appearance of shiitake primordia. During the color change period, indoor scattered light should be increased, ventilation strengthened, and the film opened and covered from time to time to form a dry-wet alternating environment and promote color change.
3. Outdoor fruiting induction
Shiitake mushrooms are a low-temperature, variable-temperature fruiting mushroom type. When the fungus bags have changed color into a reddish brown fungal film, the bags are moved to a shaded outdoor place, covered above and below with wheat straw, and watered to retain moisture. Cover with film at night and uncover it during the day, repeating for 4~5 days, then cover with plastic film to seal in the mushrooms and induce fruiting.
4. Fruiting management
In autumn the temperature gradually drops, which is favorable for robust mycelial growth. Three days after fruiting induction, pick out the fruiting fungus bags once a day and place them on the bed frames in the mushroom shed, with a bag spacing of 7~10 cm, until fruiting induction is completely finished. After the fungus bags are placed on the bed frames, use a sharp knife to cut the film open around the mushroom buds to carry out mushroom squatting. Generally, during the squatting period of 7~10 days no film is covered; when the young mushrooms are the size of peanut seeds, flower induction can be carried out.
After variable-temperature bud induction, when the fruiting bodies have grown to 2~3 cm, choose a sunny noon to splash water on the ground surface to accelerate the growth of the fruiting bodies, then uncover the film at night to let cold air stimulate them and dry the caps, then cover the film again, using ground temperature and ground moisture together with alternating dry and wet conditions to promote the caps to split into patterned flower mushrooms.
III. How much was one jin of shiitake mushrooms in 2018?