Matsutake mushrooms can cost over $500 per kilogram. Here's what makes them so expensive.

• Matsutake mushrooms harvested in Japan can cost over $500 per kilogram.
• But it's hard for mushroom foragers to predict the quality of a harvest.
• Over the past 70 years, Japan's harvest has declined by over 95% driving up the price.

Matsutake mushrooms harvested in Japan can cost over $500 per kilogram. Mushroom foragers like Gihei Fujiwara search for matsutake once a year around early fall. But it's hard to predict the quality of a harvest. Over the past 70 years, Japan's harvest has declined by over 95%. Now the mushrooms future is unclear. So what makes these mushrooms so expensive? And why have they almost disappeared?

Read the original article on Business Insider

from Business Insider https://ift.tt/3d0PzrS
via IFTTT