Hanaiguchi mushrooms, botanical name Suillus grevillei, are edible mushrooms that are not cultivated rather only harvested from the wild. In fact the majority of all edible mushroom varieties are wild harvested. The hanaiguchi mushroom is harvested by mushroom hunters who fan out across heavily wooded ares in remote Japan, spending months at a time in mostly obscure and undocumented regions. This is a common practice among foragers throughout not just Japan, but throughout timber communities in the world.

Hanaiguchi mushrooms are a classic umbrella-capped mushroom with a characteristic sticky rim and thin semi-woody stem. Their caps have a burnt orange lid with cream colored interior. The texture of the hanaiguchi can be described as supple-firm. They have aromatics reminiscent of their origins, earthy and woodsy. When cooked, hanaiguchi mushrooms release a garlic-pine aroma and have a rich, toasty, umami flavor.

Serving Ideas

Hanaiguchi mushrooms are quite typically known as a soup mushroom, especially utilized for miso soup. Familiar and complimentary pairings include fermented soy, chiles, garlic, ginger, leeks, shallots, foods cooked over charcoal or wood, chicory, butter, vinegars, other foods rich in umanmi such as seaweed, cheese, beer, braised meat, fermented soy and scallops, and spices such as cardamon, cumin and smoked pimienton.

Ethnic/Cultural Info

Japan consumes more hanaiguchi mushrooms than anywhere else as it has one of the highest per capita mushroom consumption in the world. One of the prominent reasons is attributed to Japan's large percentage of forest. Two-thirds of the total land area is covered with forest, where mushrooms grow wild and prolifically.

Geography/History

Hanaiguchi mushrooms grow wild and most conspicuously on green carpets of moss within the Larch forests of Japan. The hanaiguchi's flamboyant orange hues make them easier to spot among the emerald forest floor versus many other nondescript forest mushrooms. In the wild, bolder colors among mushrooms are actually a natural defense mechanism signaling "do not touch", regardless of their potential edibility. Though the Hanaiguchu mushroom begins fruiting in the summer months it doesn't truly develop until after the weather cools and rainfall has increased the funghi's fullest growing potential.