Mouth-watering delicious matsutake, is it a protected species?

If we were to choose the most coveted food for foodies, it would be Matsutake. Matsutake has a simple appearance, but it contains a delicious and fragrant aroma that makes people want to stop. From the deep mountains and dense forests to our dining tables, Matsutake has gone through several years of growth; wild mushrooms that were once unpopular have now become a precious resource that needs to be used reasonably. The story of Matsutake began quietly in the land covered by pine needles under the original pine forest.

Matsutake mushroom | Tuchong Creative

Chinese Matsutake

my country's matsutake mainly grows in the primeval forests of the Hengduan Mountains in the southwest and the Changbai Mountains in the northeast. It has very high requirements for the environment. Altitude and soil are considered to be two important factors affecting the growth of matsutake. Matsutake likes to grow in pine forests about 50 years old at an altitude of more than 2,000 meters. The soil particles should be large and the soil should be loose, without too many dead plants and plants, so that it is permeable and breathable, which is conducive to the growth of mycelium.

Unopened matsutake mushrooms have the strongest aroma and are considered to be of the best quality | Louis-Léopold Boilly / Wikimedia Commons

"Matsutake" means "pine mushroom", and as the specific epithet of Matsutake suggests, Matsutake is a mushroom that grows mainly on the roots of pine trees. When the spores of Matsutake germinate and the hyphae encounter suitable roots of trees, they will attach to the tips of the young roots, but will not extend into the inner cortex to harm the plant, so Matsutake and plants are mutually beneficial. Plants develop better with mycorrhizae, and rich and strong root systems provide growth conditions for mycorrhizal fungi.

During its growth, matsutake mushrooms exchange active substances with trees, a "biological code" that humans cannot currently crack. Many mycorrhizal fungi are delicious edible fungi, but unfortunately, like some species of chanterelles, truffles and boletus, matsutake mushrooms have never been able to be cultivated artificially. Perhaps this is the price of deliciousness.

The country that loves eating matsutake mushrooms the most

China is one of the world's largest exporters of matsutake mushrooms. Most of the exported matsutake mushrooms come from the southwest region, represented by Yunnan, and a small amount comes from the northeast region. As matsutake mushrooms become more and more well-known, they are gradually appearing on Chinese people's tables. The popularity of "A Bite of China" has instantly increased the fame of matsutake mushrooms, and "Shangri-La Matsutake" has also become a representative of high-quality matsutake mushrooms.

Matsutake｜TuChong Creative

Shangri-La is located in the northwest of Yunnan Province and in the heart of the Hengduan Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is a mysterious and poetic place. The name comes from the English word "Shangri-la", which was a fictional place name created by the famous British writer James Hilton in his novel Lost Horizon in the 1930s. With the hot sales of the book, the word "Shangri-la" has also become a synonym for "paradise". When the Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture officially renamed its capital "Shangri-La", the once ideal world became a reality, and people from all over the country and even the world wanted to see the real Shangri-La.

The unique natural environment of the area breeds a variety of wild mushrooms, including the famous matsutake, which also attracted the attention of the film crew of "A Bite of China". The first ingredient introduced in the popular documentary "A Bite of China Season 1" in 2012 was matsutake, telling the story of Zhuoma's family collecting wild matsutake in Shangri-La.

Today, matsutake mushrooms are worth more than double the price. | Ryane Snow / Wikimedia Commons

Matsutake Shopping Guide

Spores form hyphae, hyphae combine with tree roots to form mycorrhizae, mycorrhizae breed fruiting bodies, and fruiting bodies spread spores. The entire life cycle of matsutake can last up to five or six years! These precious edible mushrooms are often buried under pine needles and are difficult to be found. Inexperienced people can't pick them at all. From the end of June to mid-September every year, the Tibetans in Shangri-La spend more than ten hours every day, walking dozens of kilometers, to the primeval forest to dig matsutake. When they are unlucky, they may not be able to pick a single one even if they walk several kilometers.

Matsutake｜TuChong Creative

It is the season for matsutake production now. Pinduoduo's third "Agricultural Goods Festival" provides excessive subsidies to high-quality agricultural production areas and geographical indication agricultural products across the country to promote the upgrading of local agricultural industries. Authentic Shangri-La matsutake is available on the Pinduoduo store "Yunzhong Mushroom Store", with the "10 billion subsidies" and the price as low as 185 yuan per catty. In August this year, the first all-cargo route was opened at the branch airport in Yunnan Province - the Diqing to Kunming to Shenzhen matsutake cargo route, which can be delivered to your home in one day without worrying about it going bad, allowing the public to taste the taste of matsutake at a cost-effective price.

When it comes to how to eat matsutake mushrooms, I really want to share it with you while drooling. Matsutake mushrooms are relatively easy to clean. You can remove a small amount of soil from the roots and then quickly rinse them with running water. Do not soak them to prevent the smell of matsutake mushrooms from becoming lighter.

Matsutake Sashimi｜TuChong Creative

There are many ways to eat Matsutake. The most original and authentic way to eat it is to eat it raw. Wash and slice the Matsutake like sashimi, and then add salt, mustard, etc. according to personal taste.

Fried Matsutake with Butter | Tuchong Creative

The most classic and mouth-watering way to eat it is the fried matsutake with butter in "A Bite of China". Wash and slice the fresh matsutake, fry it in heated butter, and when the matsutake is fully fragrant, add fine salt and it is ready to eat.

Matsutake Chicken Soup | Tuchong Creative

Another very soothing way is to add matsutake mushrooms into soup. A bowl of soup is infused with the deliciousness and nutrition of matsutake mushrooms, which warms the heart and stomach and leaves people with endless aftertaste.

An everyday way to eat matsutake mushrooms - matsutake rice | Lombroso / Wikimedia Commons

Matsutake rice is a more economical and down-to-earth way of eating. Wash and slice the matsutake, stir-fry it with carrots, and then put it in the rice cooker and cook it with rice.

Mushroom or plant?

In March 2019, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) evaluated the global population of matsutake mushrooms and concluded that the number of matsutake mushrooms had decreased by 30% over the 50-year evaluation period. Matsutake mushrooms were also listed in the "National Key Protected Wild Plant List (First Batch)" released in 1999. In addition to over-harvesting, the sharp decline in the number of matsutake mushrooms worldwide also includes pine tree diseases and deforestation, so its collection and export are regulated. For this reason, the Yunnan edible fungus research community and industry have proposed the "Suggestions on the Action Plan for the Conservation and Cultivation of Matsutake Mushrooms".

Although it is listed in the "List of Key Protected Plants", Matsutake is a fungus, and mushrooms are very different from plants. The mushrooms we usually eat are actually the reproductive structure of fungi. In the matrix where they grow, there are many hyphae, which are the main part of mushrooms. When we pick mushrooms, it is like picking fruits from plants. They can grow again next year.

The largest organism in the world - Honey Fungus｜TuChong Creative

We harvest mushrooms, but the mycelium of the mushrooms still exists in the soil. Harvesting in moderation and giving them time to grow again can achieve sustainable harvesting. In order to achieve sustainable use of matsutake, on the one hand, we should do a good job of control during the harvesting process to avoid disorderly and exhausting harvesting; while harvesting, we should also protect the mycelium of matsutake and the forest environment on which they depend. The early realization of artificial cultivation of matsutake is also an effective way to protect this species.

Matsutake mushrooms also need our protection | Wikimedia Commons

Finally, I would like to end this article with a passage from A Bite of China: "After the matsutake mushrooms were unearthed, Zhuoma immediately covered the mushroom pit with pine needles on the ground. Only in this way can the mycelium not be destroyed. In order to continue the gift of nature, the villagers abide by the rules of the mountains and forests."