Enoki Mushrooms

Latin Name – Flammulina veluptipes
(Also called Enokitake, Enokidake, Nametake, Yuki-motase, Winter Mushroom, Snow Puff Mushroom, Velvet Foot and Velvet Stem Mushroom).

Enoki mushrooms are also known as Golden Mushrooms, Enokidake, and Velvet Stem.

Enoki (en-oh-kee) mushrooms are a delicacy very much appreciated in the Orient, particularly in Japan. Their delicate size and unusual flavor (said to be more like a grape than a mushroom) add sparkle to special dishes. Even people not partial to mushrooms may find the Enoki a special treat.

This fragile fungus can be eaten raw or cooked and is a favored garnish for clear soups and salads. Before eating, the base of the cluster should be trimmed off & discarded.

Enoki mushrooms are low in calories and contain a good amount of vitamin D. They also contain small amounts of riboflavin, thiamin, and niacin, and are high in fiber.

Natural Habitat and Biology: In the wild, enoki are found in the mountains often right at the snow-line growing in clusters on decidous logs. Under outdoor conditions, wild specimens of this mushroom are short-stemmed with caps as wide as the stems are long. The lower portions of the stem have a darkened, velvety fuzz, hence the common name “The Velvet Stem” or “The Velvet Foot”. Under artificial cultivation conditions first developed by Japanese growers, cultivated varieties of this mushrooms look entirely different. Manipulation of light, carbon dioxide and temperature conditions creates a beautiful bouquet of delicate, white, long-stemmed (4-5 inches), small-capped (1/3-1/2 inch) mushrooms.

Storage: Keep refrigerated. Golden Gourmet Enoki’s are sold in 3.5 oz or 7.0 oz. (100 or 200 gramj) sealed plastic bags. In these bags, enoki’s have a shelf-life of over 14 days. Once the bags are opened, the mushrooms should be used immediately.

Flavor, Preparation & Cooking: Enoki mushrooms have a mild but delightful flavor and a pleasantly crunchy texture. Cut off and discard the bottom of the cluster of mushrooms (up to the point where individual mushroom stems can be separated). No washing is necessary. The stems are generally left long. Traditionally, enoki is lightly cooked, and served in soups or in stir-fries with vegetables and meat. Too much cooking can make the stems tough and stringy. Enoki is often added uncooked to fresh salads and sandwiches, although cooking does make the mushrooms much easier to digest and renders the nutritional and medicinal components more available for assimilation by the body.

Medicinal Properties: As with most other edible wood-decaying mushrooms, Enoki mushrooms have been found to have medicinal properties. Enoki mushrooms contain a powerful polysaccharide called flammulin. Japanese and Chinese researchers have reported anti-cancer and anti-tumor activity from extracts containing this water-soluble polysaccharide. It is believed that the abnormally low cancer rates in Nagano, Japan (the center of enoki cultivation) is related to the high consumption of enoki in that region. Enoki is also thought to stimulate the immune system and be anti-viral and anti-bacterial. Blood pressure lowering and cholesterol lowering compounds have been found in Enoki. Research indicates that Enoki may be useful in treaing lymphoma and prostate cancer. To date, the bulk of scientific medical research on the medicinal effects of Enoki and other mushrooms has been conducted in Japan and China where mushrooms have been regarded for thousands of years as powerful, natural healing agents. Only recently has Western medicine initiated clinical trials to “prove” this ancient knowledge.

Cultivation: Golden Gourmet Enoki mushrooms are grown in re-usable polypropylene bottles using techiques developed by Japanese cultivators. The mushroom likes cold temperatures down to 42 degrees F. and relative humidities of 75 to 85%. Enoki’s are relatively slow growing, taking approximately 60 days from planting to harvest.

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