Maitake

Grifola frondosa · Fungus

40 pairings

Maitake (Grifola frondosa), called hen of the woods in English, is a large clustered forest mushroom that grows not as a single capped stalk but as a sprawling rosette of dozens of overlapping, frilly, spoon-shaped fronds in smoky grey-brown shading to tan, fanning out from one branched base at the foot of old oaks — earthy, peppery and deeply umami, prized above almost all other mushrooms in Japanese cooking.

Picking a good onedrag

Dry-fronded and firmSlack, slimy, sour

Shop freshThe all-rounder: torn and sautéed in butter, roasted, or folded through rice and noodles.Everyday best

Frond facesMatte still, a few edges dried pale

Pore sideIvory, faint tan at the frond rims

Cut baseCut face cream, rim browning

SmellMild, earthy, less pepper

What to look for, from dry-fronded and firm to slack, slimy, sour.

Keeping ittap a band

A domestic fridge holds it about 5× longer than the counter.

Humidity

95%, no condensation

High but never wet: 95% keeps the fronds supple, while droplets standing on the caps feed bacterial blotch. Do not wash before storing.

Airflow

Paper bag, not sealed

A paper bag, never sealed plastic: shut in, the cluster sweats and the trapped water rots the fronds within a day or two.

Browns beside ripening fruit

Maitake makes almost none, but ethylene from apples, pears and bananas browns the caps, so keep it off the fruit shelf.

Preparing