Shiitake Mushroom Deep Processing: Production Workflow and Key Technical Points

I. Shiitake Soy Sauce Production Process

Generally, each kilogram of shiitake by-products (deformed mushrooms, substandard mushrooms, small mushroom pieces, mushroom stems, and the residue from shiitake submerged fermentation) can be made into 10 kg of premium soy sauce. The production steps are:

1. Raw material selection: 10 kg fresh mushrooms, 400 g dried ginger, 300 g fennel, 250 g Sichuan pepper, 200 g star anise, 200 g orange peel, 150 g cassia bark, 100 g food-grade preservative, 50 g lysine, 50 g MSG, 6 kg roasted salt, 10 kg soybean water, 100 kg warm water, and an appropriate amount of soy sauce coloring.

2. Crushing and extraction: Remove impurities from the fresh mushrooms, rinse, and drain. Crush them with stainless steel machinery; for manual work, rolling and crushing is preferable, and an iron knife must never be used for cutting. After crushing, add warm water (about 50°C) and soak for 5 hours, stirring frequently. To increase the extraction rate of useful components, food-grade acid may be used to adjust the pH to 4-4.5. Then place in a stainless steel pot and heat to a boil for 5 minutes.

3. Blending and concentration: Add the dried ginger, fennel, Sichuan pepper, star anise, orange peel, and cassia bark to the mushroom material, stir, and boil until it rises twice; then reduce the heat, cover, and soak for 24 hours; stir again and simmer for 2 hours; filter through a clean cloth bag and clarify. If low-temperature vacuum concentration is used, it should be maintained below 600 mmHg in the concentration pot. If pressure concentration is used, the steam pressure should be kept at 2.8-3.0 kg/sq cm and concentration continued until the refractometer reading reaches 30%.

4. Preparing the brine: Separately, use 5 kg of warm water to soak and dissolve the soy sauce coloring, add water and bring to a boil, then add the roasted salt, stir until dissolved, cool, and clarify.

5. Refining the finished product: Put the above two clarified liquids together into a large pot and boil for 5-10 minutes. Add the MSG, lysine, preservative, and the soybean water made by boiling soybeans, stir until dissolved, and it is ready. The finished product is filled into steam-sterilized glass bottles or other packaging containers, capped and sealed, and after quality and hygiene indicators are spot-checked, it can be sold as a commercial product.

II. Shiitake Seasoning Processing Technology

1. Raw material selection: 16 kg fresh mushrooms, 300 g lion's mane powder, 200 g Sichuan pepper powder, 200 g fennel powder, 100 g orange peel powder, 100 g star anise powder, 100 g refined salt.

2. Raw material preparation: First wash the shiitake by-products, remove impurities, and drain off surface moisture, then place them in a drying room or dryer for roasting; the maximum drying temperature should be 65°C. After removal from drying, spread them out to cool, then put them into a machine to grind; the finer the better. Then dry-fry over low heat until fragrant, and sift to obtain 2 kg of shiitake powder. The other auxiliary materials should be pure and in fine powder form; among them, the Sichuan pepper should also be dry-fried until fragrant before use.

3. Mixing the finished product: Put the mushroom powder into a mixer, add the lion's mane powder, Sichuan pepper powder, and all other auxiliary materials, and mix dry until evenly blended, yielding about 3.1 kg of shiitake seasoning.

III. Method for Making Instant Shiitake Mushroom Powder

1. Raw material selection: 100 parts fresh mushrooms, 120 parts dextrin, 5 parts refined salt, 0.5 part composite umami agent, 150 parts water.

The composite umami agent is made by mixing 95% sodium glutamate, 2.5% inosinic acid, and 2.5% guanylic acid.

2. Preparing mushroom paste: First wash the assorted mushrooms, remove impurities, and drain; place in a container and lightly pound into paste, or grind mechanically for later use.

3. Coating and soaking the mushrooms: Mix the dextrin and water evenly in the required proportion, place in a rust-free pot and heat to 70°C. When the dextrin has dissolved and the temperature has dropped to 40°C to 45°C, add the fresh mushroom paste and keep at 40°C for 12 hours.

4. Pressing and concentration: Wrap the raw material in two layers of gauze and press to extract the filtrate. The resulting filtrate should be steamed at constant temperature for 20 minutes, then dried to obtain dry powder crystals.

5. Blending and packaging: Mix the dry powder crystals with refined salt and the composite umami agent, stir evenly, and it becomes the composite umami instant shiitake mushroom powder. After hygiene inspection, package it in sterilized wide-mouth bottles or food bags for sale.