Drying Shiitake

Shiitake is a world-famous valuable edible fungus. With unique fragrance, it contains a lot of nutriments. Its pulp tastes very soft and smooth. It is accordingly one of frequently-used accessories in many famous dishes at home and abroad. In addition, it is a famous medicinal fungus which has higher pharmaceutical values in benefiting qi, satisfying human hunger and dispelling pathogenic wind for blood stasis. According to the modern medicine researches, it helps to improve our health, soften our blood vessels, lower cholesterol levels and even prevent against cancers if we often eat it. Therefore, shiitake sells very well in the international market and has become the second largest edible fungus in the world. It’s proven that producing and processing shiitake not only has an extensive market prospect but also can create significant economic and social benefits.

How to dry shiitake with DRYTECH dryer

Preparation: Pick up shiitake which are about half ripe and not watered for a day. Sort out the picked shiitake into groups, and then expose them in the blazing sun for 2-3 hours to remove some water; put shiitake in the plate with cap face upward and stem face backward on an even basis. Don’t overlap or squeeze them, or Shiitake quality will be decreased due to damage. Make sure that shiitake is dried after 6 hours of picking. If refrigeration available, fresh shiitake can be kept longer.
 Temperature control: Raise the temperature in the cabinet to 35°C, and then put shiitake into the cabinet. The temperature shall be lower at first, and then raise it gradually. Generally, raise 1-3°C within one hour, and the highest temperature shall be 70-75°C. Dry shiitake at 35-40°C for 6 hours, at 40-60°C for 8-10 hours and at 60°C below for two hours. The higher moisture content is, the more time it takes to dry fresh Shiitake. If the temperature increases abruptly at the beginning, the cap will not be round, chapped and become black, gills will be overlapped, and the activity of enzyme will be damaged. Shiitake will lose its original flavor accordingly. Dry shiitake until it is fully parched. Neither stop heating at will, nor change the temperature at a sudden, or shiitake will become black and its quality will decline.
 Humanity control: Exercise strict control over the temperature, and timely dehumidify in the drying process. In the early drying process, dehumidify on a full-load basis as the temperature is 35-40°C; dehumidify at intervals at 40-60°C; and stop dehumidifying as the temperature is higher than 60°C. Shiitake will become white in case of excessive removal of moisture. Hygrophanous and yellow shiitake means that moisture is not removed in a proper way or the temperature is too low, especially heat supply is stopped in the drying process.

Drying quality inspection: After 16-18 hours of drying, open the cabinet door to check dryness of shiitake. Use your finger to press the place where the cap and the stem connects. If there is only indentation, dryness of shiitake is just enough. If you feel very soft and gills are soft too, continue to dry them. Dried shiitake has a unique fragrance with yellow, erect and complete gills. Moisture content in dried Shiitake is less than 13% by weight. Dried shiitake remains its original shape with round and flat cap and natural color.