How do you tell the quality of shiitake mushrooms? No need to taste them - just smell and look to pick the champion
On the 24th, the Xinshe District Farmers' Association in Taichung, China invited mushroom farmers to hold a shiitake mushroom evaluation competition. The event was also moved to the Legislative Yuan for the first time, hoping that through the competition, consumers can learn how to judge high-quality shiitake mushrooms. The judges' methods for evaluating shiitake mushrooms include appearance, weight, thickness, aroma, color and taste, among others. Interestingly, the taste category is judged by touch, not by eating.
Lu Yun-sheng, an assistant research fellow at the Agricultural Research Institute and one of the judges, said that due to the warm winter, the overall growth of shiitake mushrooms this year was poor, but the mushrooms entered in the competition still maintained excellent quality, and the competition was very fierce. He said the key points in shiitake mushroom evaluation include indicators such as weight, opening degree, uniformity, aroma and taste. Weight and opening degree are measured using scientific instruments, while uniformity, aroma and taste are evaluated through the senses. However, the taste comparison is not done by eating, but by touching, so that judges can feel the elasticity of the shiitake mushrooms. In terms of scoring proportions, scientific measurement and sensory scores each account for half, so it will not be unfair because of a judge's personal preference.
The champion of this competition was the dried shiitake mushrooms of 28-year-old second-generation farmer Wu Chen-an. Lu Yun-sheng said that his shiitake mushrooms were uniform in size, strong in aroma, and had good springiness after being soaked in water, which is why he won. Wu Chen-an said that when he first discovered that growing shiitake mushrooms could be profitable, he returned to his hometown to grow shiitake mushrooms right after graduation. Because he had helped out in his family's mushroom shed since childhood, he was already familiar with the work as soon as he entered the industry, and later he also established the "Shangzhen Shiitake" brand for sales. Is there any secret to winning this time? Wu Chen-an said, just do the management that should be done well, and good results will naturally follow.
Luo Wen-cheng, director-general of the Xinshe District Farmers' Association in Taichung, China, said that the price of the winning dried shiitake mushrooms is 20% to 30% higher per kilogram than ordinary dried shiitake mushrooms. But Wu Chen-an said that after winning the championship, he would not raise the price of his shiitake mushrooms; he cannot raise the price just because he won the championship once, as that "would scare customers away."
Taiwan, China's annual output of dried shiitake mushrooms is about 55,000 tonnes, more than half of which is produced in Xinshe. Chen Tien-shou, deputy chairman of the Council of Agriculture, said in his speech that in addition to continuing to guide mushroom farmers to obtain traceability certifications, organic certifications and other verifications, the Council of Agriculture will also promote artificial intelligence (AI), automation and other technologies in the future to help mushroom farmers produce higher-quality shiitake mushrooms through technology.
