THINGS JAPANESE: Matsutake Mushrooms (Translated from Japanese original)

Slowly, trees are turning yellow and red, adding an autumnal feel to the air. Seasons in Japan are clearly divided, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter each having their own character and beauty, but among them all, Autumn is the most appreciated. There are more "makurakotoba" associated with autumn than any other season. (Makurakotoba are words made up of the season name and something always connected with it or that people always do at that time. Hence, "Sport's Autumn", "Appetising Autumn", "Art's Autumn", etc.)

The king of autumn flavours (as regards price as well), is "matsutake" (pine-tree mushroom from the kanji). As far as National products are concerned, Matsutake from Tamba (near Kyoto) are the most highly prized (although as far as wine, fish and chips and other high-class products, different regions argue as to who makes the best). Just having checked the market price for matsutake, the Tamba variety is going for 10,000 Yen per 100g - write three articles for the newsletter and with the proceeds of your efforts, you too could enjoy 100 grams of mushrooms. Domestically produced matsutake are hugely expensive, so the number of imported mushrooms appearing in the market is growing rapidly to the point that almost all are grown abroad. Only domestically produced mushrooms that are over 8 cm long, with the top still unopened, and with even thickness of stem will be seen in the best Japanese restaurants.

Matsutake are native to Asian countries (mainly Japan, Korea, North Korea, etc.) but are also grown in the North and South Americas, so that they are now available all year round. Japanese trading companies fish for tuna all over the world's oceans, but their workers can be found in the hinterland of the Himalayas searching for matsutake. Soon we'll be seeing Nepalese and Bhutan mushrooms on the dining room table probably.

Locally as well price depends on weight, but in the Japanese marketplace prices are increased so many times they are worth their weight in gold. Of course, if you were searching for treasure, you should use a metal detector. Why? To find matsutake requires experience, and while a metal detector is of course of no use, in fact some smart people sometimes embed nails inside the mushrooms to make them heavier. When buying always be a little careful. Matsutake are one of the natural features of autumn, so you will only find them in the shops and restaurants at that time. While it seems that in New Zealand the first cultivated matsutake can now be produced, and since the seasons are opposite to Japanese seasons, in the future matsutake may become a spring food as well. Even if you have no interest in matsutake, the company that starts cultivating them will certainly be one to invest in.

The phrase goes, "Aromatic matsutake, tasty shimeji" means while the aroma of matsutake is exquisite, the flavour of the shimeji mushroom is far better. So if you have a yearning for mushrooms, shimeji are both tasty and cheap so you can buy them without hesitation. Until I went to high school, I believed that this saying ("Aromatic matsutake, tasty shimeji") was invented by my mother because she didn't have enough money to buy matsutake. However, it seems that this is fairly common in Japan.

Well, perhaps in general use. The main recipes using matsutake are matsutake soup, matsutake rice, grilled matsutake, sukiyaki and so on. For recipes the really bring out the aroma of Matsutake, pretty much anything goes. People who don't know what matsutake smells like might be wondering what sort of aroma it has, but all over the world but, another Japanese saying goes "Tade kuumushi mo sukizuki" (even the bugs that eat knotweed have likes and dislikes - or there's no accounting for taste), so that what is classed as a good smell varies from culture to culture. When I was in Canada, I worked for a company that imported matsutake. When I was in the factory handling matsutake, myself and some Asian workers found the smell fine, but other workers said that they could put up with fish, but that they couldn't stand matsutake and stopped working. Hearing about something unpleasant, some people are more interested in seeing it. As for Yamasa Newsletter, in the future we would like to be able to send sound files and video files (for example, the interviews etc.). When we are able to send smell, you'll be the first to know the smell of matsutake mushrooms. (Stop! Don't unsubscribe!).

While looking at the autumn leaves, you can also force your way into the mountains and indulge in "matsutake gari" (matsutake hunting). People who own mountains charge a fee to enter the hills and search for matsutake, but since it's so difficult, you can't get nearly as much as when you do "budou gari" (grape hunting) or "ringo gari" (apple hunting). Matsutake are usually concealed under the fallen leaves, so you cannot really see them easily. Search in slight rises, in slightly exposed areas, around pine trees. We cannot guarantee that you will be able to find something as with "Otogawa yana" ayu, but for all those that cannot find anything, you'll be given some matsutake as a souvenir. Next year's Discovery program may also involve a matsutake gari - under consideration at present. You can take home all the matsutake that you find, so any students looking for a get-rich quick plan should consider coming. See you next year in the mountains.