| TOKYO, Sep. 5 – Zen-noh Business Support Co., Ltd., one of the subsidiaries of the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations (ZEN-NOH), has released “Ouch Kikurage” boxed mushroom bed for growing kikurage wood ear mushrooms at home. It aims to make consumers feel more familiar with domestically-grown kikurage mushrooms through the experience of watching them grow at home. The kit contains a mushroom bed prepared in Akita Prefecture. It’s the company’s second mushroom growing kit, which comes after the first kit released in April 2022, “Ouchi Shiitake,” for growing shiitake mushrooms.
Most of the kikurage mushrooms sold in Japan are dried products imported from China. The company hopes the kit consisting of a 2.5-kilogram mushroom bed and a container make more people to try domestically grown kikurage. When assembled, a cardboard box for shipping will become a house of the mushroom bed. You should place the mushroom house indoors, avoiding direct sunlight, and wait for kikurage to start growing for about two months. Ouchi Kikurage is available on the company’s “Oishii Tobira” net shop on ZEN-NOH’s online shopping site. The price is 3,200 yen. “We want people to experience agriculture by growing food at home and learn the importance of ‘domestic production for domestic consumption'” said the company. |
You can enjoy growing kikurage wood ear mushrooms at home using “Ouchi Kikurage.” (Photo by Zen-noh Business Support)