Description

Shiitake mushrooms (lentilula edodes) are from inoculated logs typically grown on oak, pecan and other hardwood logs.

The mushroom’s Japanese name shiitake (椎茸) is composed of shii (椎 shī, Castanopsis), for the tree Castanopsis cuspidata that provides the dead logs on which it is typically cultivated, and take (茸, “mushroom”). The specific epithet edodes is the Latin word for “edible”.

Nutrition

In a 100 gram amount, raw shiitake mushrooms provide 34 calories and are 90% water, 7% carbohydrates, 2% protein and less than 1% fat (table for raw mushrooms). Raw shiitake mushrooms are rich sources (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of B vitamins and contain moderate levels of some dietary minerals (table). When dried to about 10% water, the contents of numerous nutrients increase substantially.

The nutrients in 15 grams (about 4 dried shiitake):

Calories: 44
Carbs: 11 grams
Fiber: 2 grams
Protein: 1 gram
Riboflavin: 11% of the Daily Value (DV)
Niacin: 11% of the DV
Copper: 39% of the DV
Vitamin B5: 33% of the DV
Selenium: 10% of the DV
Manganese: 9% of the DV
Zinc: 8% of the DV
Vitamin B6: 7% of the DV
Folate: 6% of the DV
Vitamin D: 6% of the DV

In addition, shiitake contain many of the same amino acids as meat.

They also boast polysaccharides, terpenoids, sterols, and lipids, some of which have immune-boosting, cholesterol-lowering, and anticancer effects