Best Drying Temp of Shiitake is 158 Fahrenheit or 70 Celsius: First batch getting ready to mail out!

Comparative analysis of taste compounds in shiitake mushrooms processed by hot-air drying and freeze drying

Our oven only goes down to 170 F and runs a little hot - so I have the door up and last I checked it was at close to 150 F.

I dried the shrooms right away in the forest - we had a storm go through night before last. I drove up yesterday - and was surprised to find some 20 shrooms had fruited. Some were small still so I didn't harvest - just in case they grow more in more rain. Scattered showers today looked like they were going to miss the area. Global warming is hitting northern Minnesota hard - and so it's been drought conditions - making a first harvest very tough. The first harvest is small since the logs are not read totally.

Still when drying over the wood stove on the drying rack - the Umami flavor smell was strong! The glutamate flavor is created through the drying process! The color of the shrooms darkened as the flavor intensifies from drying. I started out drying outside but too hard to control the various factors.

Oh perfect - 158 degrees now with the door open!
Ok I'm waiting to hear back from the first customer.
He ordered last summer and we've corresponded a bit since then - but it's been a few weeks I think. And with the pandemic - who knows.

I'll post some photos next.

https://www.barnardhealth.us/food-processing/flavor-and-aroma-of-shiitake-mushrooms-the-5.html

While vegetables are generally low in 5'-nucleotides, ranging 1 to 10 //mol per 100 g fresh weight, mushrooms contain large amounts of these nucleotides...fresh Shiitake mushroom from 182 to 235 /;mol of 5'-nucleotides per 100 g fresh weight. Its content in the extract of dried Shiitake mushrooms is twice that in the extract from fresh ones. The process of drying not only makes it possible to preserve Shiitake for a long time but also enhances the flavor with a unique taste. Guanylic acid has been identified as the main constituent of the particular good taste of Shiitake extract. An extract containing 1-2 mg of guanylic acid can be obtained from 1 g of dried Shiitake, but a little free guanylic acid can be detected in fresh or dried Shiitake. The increase of guanylic acid content is due to the decomposition of ribonucleic acids by ribonuclease during cooking at 140°F (60°C)-158°F (70°C). Lenthionine (C2H4S6) has been identified in the aroma from Shiitake mushrooms (14).

The Chinese believe that Shiitake is effective in the prevention of cerebral hemorrhage. Recently the medical effects of the Shiitake mushroom have been studied by many Japanese researchers, and its remarkable ability to remove serum cholesterol and its antiviral or antitumor activities have been shown through biological tests (15,16).

Drying of Shiitake. Nowadays harvested Shiitake are dried by artificial heating to maintain good flavor and the luster of the cap. Cabinet dryers are generally used for artificial heating. Revolving dryers are suitable for mass production. The mushrooms are dehydrated starting at 86°F (30°C) and the temperature is then increased 2°F (1°C)-4°F (2°C) per hour until a temperature of about 122°F (50°C) is reached (usually in 12-13 h). Finally they are heated to 140°F (60°C) and held there for 1 h to enhance the flavor and bring out the luster of the cap.