News

On Thursday, January 23rd, XNUMX, workers involved in creating the Fujinokuni Food Capital visited producers as part of an exchange between the two.

A total of nine craftsmen and chefs visited wasabi and log-grown shiitake mushroom production sites in Kawazu Town and Higashiizu Town, and exchanged opinions with the producers about the appeal of local ingredients and new ways to use them.

[Wasabi]

We visited the Tatamiishi style wasabi fields, which are registered as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage site as "Traditional Cultivation of Shizuoka Water Wasabi."

The Tatamiishi method is a cultivation method developed in the Izu region, in which stones are piled up so that they gradually get smaller from the bottom to the top, with gravel laid on the surface.

By running water over the surface and inside of the wasabi fields, it is possible to produce high-quality wasabi in a stable manner. Even the same variety of wasabi will grow differently depending on the stream.

The craftsmen suggested ways to utilize the leaves and roots, and the producers seemed surprised by the ideas that they would never have thought of themselves.

[Log-grown Shiitake Mushrooms]

The method of cultivating shiitake mushrooms by inoculating felled trees in the forest is called log cultivation. The Izu region has abundant rainfall and a warm climate, making it a production area where shiitake mushrooms can be harvested even in winter.

It takes two years from inoculation of the fungus until the mushrooms grow, and because growth depends on weather conditions, it is difficult to produce them steadily.

The workers commented that they learned a lot from learning about the time and effort that goes into growing these crops.