Hello, I will be harvesting maitake mushrooms (Grifola frondosa) this evening. In past years I've only cooked them as food, but I'd like to try something different. I have Christopher Hobbs' s Medicinal Mushrooms book, and he seems to favor the concentrated extract powder method to maximize medicinal value. He also has directions for making tinctures. I've never made such a powder or tincture, so either method will be a new experience for me. Do you recommend a particular method and why? I realize this may be beyond the scope of our herbal studies, but nothing ventures nothing gained :) Thank you.

Update! Well, I am the proud maker of some gorgeous, quite fine, concentrated maitake extract powder :) I can't say I didn't have my doubtful moments... like when trying to spread the wet batter onto the parchment paper sheets (at midnight - needed extra time to cook down) since I don't have fruit leather trays for the dehydrator (and wiping off the floor the bit that fell )... or when thinking it was never going to dry (though, in the end, it only took a little over 24 hrs). I also froze some of the batter into "concentrated maitake extract cubes" which I suppose can be added to hot water or food or whatever. Working with Maitake is kind of intense for me - cleaning them can take hours, and I always end up with sore fingertips where I've scraped out bits of dirt and stuff (there must be something in the mushrooms - perhaps only when raw? - that can irritate skin, as it happened to my husband as well). Also froze some raw "leaves" for use as food, and will make teriyaki jerky and a creamy (with coconut milk) soup base to freeze for use in curries, etc. I'd still be interested in your thoughts on best extraction methods if you'd like to share, but maybe we'll cover this at a later date. Can't wait for more medicine making adventures! Thank you.

Sounds awesome and a great leaning experience, the recipes sounds wonderful as well.