Cooking With Kinoko
Shiitake
Alliteration makes for easier to remember and catchier series names, and so this series takes its name from the Japanese word for mushroom, “kinoko.” The easiest and most basic way to market mushrooms is to teach people how to cook with them and it was with that thought in mind that I decided, as editor, to round out the journal with a recipe series. This is, after all, the age of YouTube and Instagram, recipe bloggers and even TikTok chefs. Marketing now works to get things “trending” and any foodstuff relying on old-fashioned advertising is not effectively allocating resources. To sell exotic mushrooms, especially quality, fresh mushrooms, the industry needs to showcase both how healthy mushrooms are, and how to cook with them. Food literacy_emdash_the knowledge of pairings, flavor profiles, cooking and preparation methods is still low for exotic mushrooms in non-Asian countries. Consumers are always hesitant initially to buy products they aren’t familiar with cooking.
The layperson is often not even knowledgeable on the flavor profiles and pairings of the common Agaricus mushroom. Exotic varieties are often paired with other ingredients a large percentage of consumers in the Western market have little to no experience cooking with or even eating. Projects like the American Mushroom Institute’s “The Blend” have been very successful precisely because they attack the stigma around mushrooms and present an easy to eat and cook recipe series that simultaneously promotes the healthiness of mushrooms. This segment of the Japanese Exotic Mushroom Journal, aims to create a series highlighting simple uses of exotic mushrooms for a wide variety of dishes with an eye for making the exotic mushroom industry’s version of “The Blend” in the future. This series is the groundwork for that and other projects such as exotic mushrooms recipe books, and online recipe repositories. The point is to connect to growers and share what people in the industry are thinking about cooking and its role in marketing and branding. Looking forward, cooking contests and restaurant tie-ins offer an exciting way to bring exotic mushrooms to the average person’s kitchen table. By familiarizing curious consumers with exotic mushrooms and different recipes that they can be adapted to, sales will increase. If consumers learn that mushrooms of all varieties are not only an incredibly healthy addition to a meal, but as easy to use as diced onions, perhaps the intimidation factor at least can be lost.
This series will highlight a pair of recipes in each edition: one a common Western dish (drawn from Europe, North America and Latin America), utilizing exotic mushrooms, and one recipe that highlights East Asian cuisines that have incorporated mushrooms for centuries. For growers who depend on online sales and local markets, it may be useful to provide recipe printouts on their websites or at their stalls or even to include samples of dishes using the mushrooms that they grow. The hope is to "demystify" exotic mushrooms with easy to prepare and healthy dishes that can be replicated almost anywhere. Instagram and cooking YouTube channels are, as previously mentioned, some of the biggest platforms in advertising and have played a big role in promotions from the American Mushroom Institute and Australian Mushroom Grower’s Association. In line with each edition of the journal having a theme centered on a particular variety, the Cooking with Kinoko series will also serve to showcase that mushroom.