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Shiitake Mushroom Preservation and Processing — Practical Technical Guide
2026-08-20
This article shares practical preservation and processing know‑how for shiitake mushrooms, including cold storage preservation, natural sun‑drying and mechanical drying processes, together with key technical parameters for commercial mushroom plants.
1. Preservation of Shiitake Mushrooms
Cold storage and quick‑freezing are two mainstream preservation solutions. Cold storage is widely adopted, which requires cold rooms with capacity from several tons to dozens of tons, operating at 1‑4°C.
1.1 Dehydration and Cold Storage
‑ Stop watering 10 hours before mushroom harvesting.
‑ Pick shiitakes at 70‑80% maturity. Sort, clean and remove stem bases according to customer requirements.
‑ Place mushrooms with gills facing upward for partial sun‑drying: 3‑4 hours in spring and autumn; 1‑1.5 hours under strong summer sunlight.
‑ Target dehydration rate: 25‑30% (100 kg fresh mushrooms yields 70‑75 kg semi‑finished products). Stems keep slightly moist and gills show minor shrinkage.
‑ Sort and weigh the mushrooms, pack into paper boxes with fresh‑keeping bags, then put into shipping cartons and store at 0°C.
1.2 Sealed Packaging and Cold Storage
‑ Select and trim fresh shiitakes, arrange them gill‑side up into plastic bags.
‑ Storage temperature: around 0°C.
‑ Fresh‑keeping time: about 15 days, suitable for supermarket retail.
2. Processing of Shiitake Mushrooms
2.1 Natural Sun‑Drying
‑ Harvest on sunny days, finish grading, trimming and cleaning.
‑ Spread mushrooms gill‑side up on ventilated drying mats or mesh screens.
‑ Complete natural drying takes 3‑4 days.
2.2 Oven Drying by Mushroom Dryer
Process flow: Harvesting → Stem trimming & cleaning → Grading → 24‑hour air pre‑drying → Machine drying → Finished‑product packaging
Three‑stage temperature control for mushroom dryer:
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Stage 1 (Surface Shaping) Pre‑set dryer to 36‑40°C before loading fresh mushrooms. Gradually raise temperature to 45‑50°C. Maintain high humidity and full ventilation for around 4 hours to keep mushroom gills upright without collapse.
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Stage 2 (Main Dehydration) Increase temperature by 2‑3°C per hour up to 50°C. Keep stable temperature for 10‑12 hours when internal relative humidity drops to 10%. Rotate drying trays regularly for uniform drying. Stable temperature at 50°C is essential to prevent gill collapse and dull color.
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Stage 3 (Final Drying) Dry at 50‑55°C for 3‑4 hours. When mushrooms reach about 80% dryness, increase temperature to 58‑60°C and keep drying until moisture content falls below 13%.
‑ Drying ratio for substrate‑cultivated shiitake: 9‑10 : 1
‑ Finished goods storage: store in sealed light‑proof bags under 15°C and 50% relative humidity.
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Henan Joconn Machinery Co., Ltd. is an enterprise specializing in the production of mushroom equipment. It is engaged in the development, production and application of machinery and equipment for mushroom growth production lines.