Shiitake

High school (ages 12+)
Food & Cooking

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/shiitake

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Lentinula edodes
2. What is the primary cultivation substrates?Hardwood logs (traditional) and supplemented sawdust blocks (commercial)
3. What are shiitake mushrooms and where do they grow?Shiitake mushrooms are tasty fungi that grow on trees, especially hardwood like oak or beech. They have been cultivated in East Asia for more than a thousand years.
4. How are shiitake mushrooms grown on logs?Growers put shiitake spawn into hardwood logs and let the mycelium colonize for several months. Then the logs are soaked in water and kept warm and humid to make the mushrooms sprout.

Mycoculture: The cultivation of fungi, particularly mushrooms, for food or other purposes.
Substrate: The material or food source on which a fungus grows, such as wood or sawdust.
Immunomodulatory: Having the ability to regulate or normalize the immune system's response.
5'-Ribonucleotides: Compounds that enhance the umami taste when combined with amino acids like glutamate.