A domestic research team has developed a new variety of shiitake mushroom that grows larger and faster and which has an equally or better taste.

The Korea Forest Research Institute (KFRI), part of the Korea Forest Service, has developed a new kind of Lentinula edodes, the Sanmaru No. 1, that boasts a richer taste and flavor, according to many, and also grows 15 percent larger than its cousins.

The Sanmaru shiitake is the first domestic variety to ever be cultivated in sawdust. It thrives at relatively high temperatures, between 20 and 29 degrees Celsius.

When it is dried, the new Sanmaru mushroom can generate 3.9 kilograms of dried mushroom per 100 kilograms of sawdust needed for its cultivation. That is almost 15 percent more than the Sanrim No. 10 variety of shiitake that grows in medium temperatures and which generates only 3.4 kilograms of dried mushroom per 100 kilograms of sawdust.

The institute expects to win rave reviews from customers as well as producers, as the new variety is outstanding in many respects, from quality and taste through to higher productivity.

“In all likelihood, the Sanmaru will be favored, not only here at home but also in overseas markets, including in China. In the Chinese market, safe, healthy Korean produce is always in high demand,” said Doctor Park Won-chul, a chemist and researcher into microorganisms at the KFRI.

By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photo: the Korea Forest Research Institute
jiae5853@korea.kr