Golden Swan Dried Shiitake Mushrooms, 1 kg

You can get cheaper, you can get cheaper and buy smaller quantities. I always come back to this specific Golden Swan pack. The shiitake mushrooms are very meaty. You soak them for a few hours and they grow by 2-3cm. Don’t get fooled by the dried compactness seeming small. They taste great too, I use them to make brothy soups and with 4.5L of water and just 10 average sized mushrooms from the pack, and the entire broth tastes like the mushrooms. Storage is fine for me because I individually vacuum seal these. I’ve not noticed any bugs or mould (some other mushroom packs can come with these). I’ve also tried using the yellow and green ikea food bags and they work well. The mushrooms must be very clean. I’m not sure if these come in smaller bags but I’d recommend these. You don’t need to vacuum seal them if it’s too much, any sealed bag is fine because of how clean and dry the mushrooms are.

These are very good large mushrooms with a great smoky taste, and good value given the quality. They do need reconstituting well because of the size - I add them to a pan of boiling water, bring back to the boil, stir and cover for at least half an hour.

Good quality

This is the first time I've used these. A large quantity (1kg) of full heads with a few broken pieces. Overall a good value product. I've never liked dried mushrooms. They are rather soggy and rubbery after rehydration. I only gave them 4 stars. I wouldn't give dried mushrooms any higher. However, I haven't fully experimented with these to see if I can get them to a better texture after soaking; they need at least 45 minutes. I would buy them again; The flavour is fairly good for dried mushrooms. They are packed nicely and the bag is robust. Buy some 4ltr Tupperware containers, or a big 10 ltr: you'll need to. They take up a lot of space. Just making some mushroom soup to see how they fair.

Good value

Value for money.

Amazing value for money, they rehydrate to a good size. Good taste and texture. They should soak at least over night. You're not going to be using all of it, so be sure to find some method to re-seal these. Personally, I took out a couple handfuls and put them in a kilner jar and the rest I re-sealed into pockets using a vacuum sealer. Also, as others have noted, this package as it comes, is huge. About the size of a pillow. Another reason to re-seal into smaller portions.

This product is unsatisfactory, potentially defective, and differs from its advertised image. After trying multiple preparation methods, the results were poor, and consumption caused mild discomfort. I do not recommend this item and advise purchasing elsewhere.