193720 Tue Feb 12 14:57:54 -0800 2002 4 18 Manhattan 0 1033850 i love this japanese mushroom more than tuber melanosporum but unlike the truffle i rarley ever see it preserved, frozen, powdered, dried etc. i know food with highly volitile aromatics are hard to hold while preseving inherent qualities but i refuse to believe that it is done relatively successful with black truffles and can't be done with matsutakes! does anyone know where to find such a matsutake product? help me i need a fix! Tue Feb 12 14:57:54 -0800 2002 0 chauncey 1 1033877 Ahhhhhhhhh the matsutake. There is only one way to eat this mushroom and that is fresh. My father who is now in his late 60's has spent the last three years showing me all the spots his father showed him 40 years ago. Something many people don't know about Vancouver is the amount of mushrooms one can pick anywhere between 20 min to 3 hours from downtown. If you come to Vancouver in the fall I can give some directions. Maybe. Tue Feb 12 22:20:41 -0800 2002 1033850 0 steve in vancouver 1 1033878 Freshly frozen can come pretty close to fresh. Preserved matsutake has a different flavor from the fresh. Dried Matsutake has a somewhat smoky flavor, again, wholly different from fresh. I've had them in all forms, but all home made. Nothing comes close to the freshly picked Matsutake, though that's not to say they're not good. Just not the same. Tue Feb 12 22:44:14 -0800 2002 1033850 0 HLing 2 1033884 What I love about matsutake is the silky texture. The white matsutake is still available fresh in California. Wed Feb 13 01:39:51 -0800 2002 1033878 0 Melanie Wong 1 1033929 I'm from Japan and I've never heard of preserved matsutake. The joy of this mushroom is its wonderful flavor, which only comes from the fresh ones. The best way to enjoy the aroma is yaki-matsutake (grilled, served with citrus juice and soy sauce) and dobin-mushi (soup). To make these, you need to have fresh ones. But if your craving is really strong, why don't you try matsutake-gohan (rice cooked with matsutake) or osuimono (soup). You can find them at Japanese grocery store. The rice is pre-cooked and packed in a plastic bag. As for the soup, it's powdered. All you've got to do is to pour some hot water. (I'm not sure if this powdered soup is actually made from the mushroom, but at least it smells like matsutake.) Japanese appreciate seasons. They sense each season not only from change of temperature and scenary but also from food. Personally, I would rather enjoy matsutake only in fall to celebrate its season. Wed Feb 13 14:45:00 -0800 2002 1033850 0 Hanako