A group of the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute has announced that it has succeeded for the first time in Japan in artificially cultivating mushrooms and truffles, which are known as luxury ingredients for French cuisine, and aims to establish cultivation techniques.
This was presented by a group led by Takashi Yamanaka, research supervisor at the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture.
All of the truffles on the market today are imported from overseas and grow naturally in Japan, but the technology for artificial cultivation had not been established.
The research group has investigated whether truffles can be artificially produced by planting the roots of saplings of konara oak with the fungus of Honseiyoushoro, a type of white truffle that grows naturally in Japan.
As a result of conducting research since 2015, a total of 22 truffles were produced in November last year at the test sites in Ibaraki and Kyoto prefectures, and it was confirmed from analysis of genetic information that they were artificially cultivated.
According to the institute, artificial cultivation is being done in France and other countries, but this is the first time in Japan.
Harvested truffles are said to be as large as 9 centimeters and weigh 60 grams, and the aroma is comparable to that of overseas truffles.
The research group aims to establish cultivation techniques for domestically produced truffles, and Yamanaka, research supervisor, said, "We believe that this result will lead to the practical application of artificial cultivation of truffles. We also want to apply this technology to artificial cultivation of matsutake mushrooms." I'm here.