The Black Maitake or the Hen of the Woods
Despite its beauty and its bold flavor, in modern North American culture, the maitake mushroom is often pigeon-holed as medicinal. It’s viewed as a powerful adaptogen, and folks believe it to have several healing properties. There is some interesting health research being done with maitakes right now, but this shouldn’t mean that we forget the joys in simply eating this beautiful, flavorful mushroom.
Foragers who often refer to it as the Hen of the Woods, Japanese, and Chinese people eat this mushroom on the regular, maybe it’s time the rest of us catch up!
What is the Maitake Mushroom?
The more scientific term for the maitake is grifola frondosa. In Japanese it is sometimes referred to as “The Mushroom of Legendary Tale” or “The Dancing Mushroom.” There are several versions of a few stories that relate to the maitake mushroom. Very briefly, one describes a Shogun who so loved the maitake that he told the villagers nearest to his estate that he’d exchange the weight of the mushroom for the same weight in silver, exciting the villagers into hunting it for him.
The maitake mushroom is elegant in form and bold in flavor. Its fan-like fronds have a gentle, wavy frill that’s almost leaf-like. The mushroom is said to have an almost feathery texture that some people refer to as velvety. It is known to have a rich and woodsy flavor.
Some say that this is the mushroom that can change the minds of mushroom haters, who often cite mushrooms’ “squeaky” texture as a reason for not finding the fun in fungi. The maitake mushroom does not have the same squeakiness as most mushrooms.
Origins and Where to Find Them
The maitake mushroom can be found in Japan, China, and North America.
What Makes the Shogun Maitake Different?
In our blog about foraging, we discussed the difficulty that can be had in cultivating mushrooms that are meant to be wild—and thus foraged. Many people do cultivate the maitake, aka hen of the woods, but it is not always to the same glorious effect as what can be produced by nature. In nature, maitake can grow to be 30lbs or even much larger, with some researchers claiming 60lb finds. Whereas, the same mushrooms cultivated are less likely to reach these sizes.
Of course, those cultivators aren’t Yoshinobu Odaira of London, Ontario, Canada. Mr Odaira has taken cultivation to the next level. He has created a process for cultivating the black maitake that he’s branded as the Shogun Maitake.
To clarify, the Shogun Maitake is both a brand and a process that focuses on creating an environment that replicates the natural conditions for maitake growth. This means that their facilities are designed to mimic the natural temperatures and conditions of the various seasons. All of their mushrooms are free of pesticides and chemicals, of course.
Shogun Maitake is genetically faithful to the black maitake found in the Japanese wilderness. This means that the Shogun Maitake is known for its firmer texture and superior quality compared to other cultivated Maitake strains. Every mushroom is harvested by hand and selected based on criteria that meet their high standards.
Maitake Mushroom Benefits
When we think about mushrooms, we think about them in two categories: the ones that taste good on pizza, and the ones that’ll have specialized effects on our bodies. Like a few other very special mushrooms, maitake mushrooms fall under both categories.
Nutrition
At Pebble Creek Produce, we know that Maitake mushrooms are no different from other mushrooms in regard to the fact that they are relatively high in fibre and low in calories, which makes them a great choice for balanced meals. Also present are:
- B vitamins
- Vitamin C
- Copper
- Potassium
- Amino Acids
- Beta-Glucans
Many of these nutrients are linked to a healthy, long life and may have positive effects on other health conditions.
Diseases Researchers are studying the Benefits of Maitake Mushrooms
Maitake mushrooms are often acclaimed as a superfood. Whether referring to it as maitake or hen of the woods, people are very excited to discuss the possibility that this mushroom may have several positive health benefits.
People often speak of Maitake mushrooms and how they may support cancer patients. There are a lot of people discussing a lot of possible anti-cancer benefits, but the three areas getting the most attention and research at the moment are the maitake mushroom’s purported ability to:
- Protect healthy cells
- Prevent tumours from spreading
- Inhibit tumour growth
This research is promising and exciting, but by no means conclusive, and requires further replication and larger sample sizes.
It should be noted that maitake is being discussed as a parallel treatment with chemotherapy, and is not being promoted as a treatment by any researchers or purveyors of the mushrooms that would replace doctor-prescribed cancer therapies.
Other areas of research include potential positive effects on diabetes, skin care, and cholesterol, as well as several other potential health and wellness targets. The world of mushrooms and wellness has a huge overlap. There is no conclusive evidence for much of many of the findings yet, and replicable studies must continue before anything can be said conclusively.
The ways mushrooms may benefit us are truly exciting, but we must always remember that there is no such thing as a cure-all.
The fact that maitakes have so many antioxidants and beta-glucans makes them a great target for further health and wellness research.
Eating Maitake Mushrooms
I don’t know about you, but all I can think about now is putting together a fungi pizza with maitake and other delicious fall mushrooms, with a drizzle of handmade pesto. This is just one of the many amazing dishes that you could make with the highly versatile maitake hen of the woods.
How to Store and Prepare Maitake Hen of the Woods
Maitake mushrooms should be stored in the packaging in which they were purchased, or in a paper bag, until such time as they are ready to be prepared and eaten. They will last in the fridge for around a week. Maitakes, like most mushrooms, should not be frozen raw. Cooked through sauteed maitake mushrooms will stay good in the freezer for about a month.
As with many mushrooms, it is best to knock dirt off the maitake with fingers or a lightly dampened paper towel. If this is not sufficient, you can quickly rinse them under gently running water and immediately dry them off, avoiding the mushroom taking on additional moisture.
The frills of the maitake mushroom can be delicate, and you’ll want to preserve their fan-like shape to display at dinner time, so remember to handle them with some delicacy. Instead of slicing the mushroom with a knife, some people prefer to lightly tear the mushroom into pieces. Others do use a knife, but they take a cross-section of the mushroom by way of creating a mushroom steak; don’t forget to sharpen your blades for the cleanest cut, and thus the most impressive cross-section.
What to Make with Maitake Mushrooms
Most mushrooms are going to be offering up strong umami notes as one of their chief flavors, but aside from umami, the maitake is known to offer a rich, earthy, woodsy flavor. Many in the American Midwest have deemed the maitake hen of the woods “The King of Fall”. Despite the fact that, texture-wise, this mushroom is known to be velvety and feathery, it is also known to have a very strong flavor, creating an interesting contrast between texture and flavor that offers chefs an intriguing ingredient to work with.
As these mushrooms can grow quite large, cutting them into cross-sections can offer rather large canvases to work with. They are an excellent mushroom to try and mimic meat with.
Unlike some mushrooms, these ones can be eaten raw, as well as cooked, which means that they can easily be applied to salads. Why not swap the thinly sliced button mushrooms in a spinach salad with some maitakes and see what you think?
Of course, these mushrooms are happily adapted to all of the usual preparation techniques:
- Sauteing
- Roasting
- Grilling
- Stewing
- Stir frying
The list could go on. Something to consider with a mushroom as bold in flavour as the maitake is that they can easily be dried and ground into powder for a unique flavor and umami boost to soups and other dishes, much like the porcini mushroom.
Some popular preparations include tempura maitake, maitake with soba noodles, or sautéed hen of the woods tossed into a pasta with olive oil: take your next four-cheese pasta up a notch, or consider pairing it with a pesto like we mentioned above. As usual, our best advice on how to cook with mushrooms is to taste them and explore how you want to experiment with the maitake hen of the woods.
Whether you’re a restaurant or a Chef looking for high-quality ingredients, Pebble Creek Produce offers fresh, sustainably grown wild foraged and cultivated mushrooms.
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