| ≥1 piece |
Maitake is a delicious and much sought-after mushroom with excellent nutritional and medicinal properties. Up to now, availability has been limited due in part to the difficulty of cultivation. maitake has a robust, earthy flavor and fragrance. This mushroom can be prepared in many ways including stir-fry, sautee, and baked. Tempura-battered, deep-fried Maitake is very popular in Japan.
Maitake is grown and harvested as a cluster. Towards the stem base, the flesh of the maitake is thick and fleshy. The caps are petal-like and brown. Maitake is packaged in a semi-permeable, sealed plastic film and has a long shelf-life of up to 3 weeks when refrigerated. Maitake mushrooms ship well because of this "balloon" packaging protects the delicate petals of the Maitake mushrooms from mechanical damage and moisture loss.
Maitake mushrooms have been enjoying a lot of attention lately from nutriceutical and pharmaceutical companies due to remarkable medicinal qualities. Clinical trials have shown Maitake to be useful in the treatment of cancer, diabetes, and a variety of immune-deficiency and auto-immune disorders.