Planning a meal using mushrooms? We've got the details on how to store, cook,
and forage. Fun-guys and fun-girls, keep watching for the facts on edible fungus.
Mushrooms can be tricky to keep fresh. Almost everyone has reached into the fridge to find a
package of slime-covered mushrooms shortly after bringing them home. Fresh mushrooms
should be stored in the fridge due to their high water content. Mushrooms contain 85-95% moisture,
which releases as they age. This is why most store-bought packaging comes with holes to
allow for moisture to escape. If you really want to protect the freshness of mushrooms,
plastic packaging creates too tight of a seal for more than a couple of days.
Food52 recommends storing the fungi in a paper bag as the best method to
help avoid the slime. The paper bag will absorb some of the moisture and
help avoid the buildup of condensation that typically results in airtight containers.
If you don't have a paper bag, then adding a paper towel can help absorb extra water
that accumulates in a container. Mushrooms can stay fresh this way for up to a week.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it's important to wash fruits and
veggies in running water, especially if you intend to consume them raw — proper washing
helps ensure any pathogens lingering on the produce are killed. That said,
fresh mushrooms — which are fungi — are not to be treated like other plants. Many home cooks
wrongly believe that you can't rinse off mushrooms before cooking. Remember a quick rinse isn't the
same as washing apples from the grocery store. Martha Stewart recommends placing your mushrooms
in a water bath and then patting dry, but warns you'll need to use them right away:
washed mushrooms don't last long in the fridge. The hollow and spongy morels are an exception:
brush the textured mushrooms first before using any water.
Even though water isn't a major problem for mushrooms, it doesn't mean you need to rinse. Bon
Appetit recommends skipping the faucet, and instead brushing mushrooms off
with a wet towel. The cooking site especially recommends wiping wild,
porous mushrooms such as shiitakes, maitakes, lobsters, chanterelles, oysters, and morels,
and goes as far as to recommend skipping the cleaning entirely if the mushrooms were
bought from a reputable store or farmer's market. This is because mushrooms are prone
to absorbing liquid, so mushrooms might be soggy if you're not cooking them afterward.
One of the most common ways to cook fresh mushrooms is a sauté or sear in a little oil, fat,
or butter. While combining fat and heat certainly is a delicious method, starting with water might
be the best way to capture the perfect texture of well-cooked fungi. After all, mushrooms naturally
release moisture when cooked. Though the technique may be controversial, one chef's secret to the
perfect texture is boiling mushrooms in a small amount of water before adding any flavorings.
Chef Jim Fuller explains that mushrooms have a unique cellular structure, so they won't
over boil. Fuller adds more water as needed until they stop releasing water on their own,
then once they're tender, allows the water to evaporate from the pan.
Only at that time does he recommend adding a bit of oil to the pan if you want a crisp sauté.
One big myth is that mushrooms should be cooked at low heat to avoid burning. This couldn't be
further from the truth. Mushrooms are full of water. For this reason, high heat is best to
evaporate moisture. Fine Cooking explains that common white mushrooms will release
their water during cooking, resulting in the fungi steaming and boiling in their own juices
if the heat isn't high enough — and this makes it tough to get a nice brown on your mushrooms,
plus you'll end up with soggy fungi. This is also why the site recommends avoiding
overcrowding in the frying pan, and instead suggests putting in a small batch at a time
so the liquid from each can burn off before more are added. The best method to sauté
is by cooking mushrooms in small batches in a heavy pan where the oil is sizzling.
If you're going to choose to sauté, might as well make the best mushrooms possible.
Cooking mushrooms takes a bit of prep. Whether you're sautéing, grilling, or boiling mushrooms,
you likely begin by chopping off and removing the stems. But don't make the mistake of
discarding those stems into the garbage. For mushroom varieties with delicate stems,
the stems can typically be chopped up and included in the dish along with the caps.
Woodier stems from styles such as shiitake still make good mushroom stock, even if they're
not ideal for eating. You could also keep and dry the stems, and use the grindings to create a tea.
Food52 also suggests using your removed stems in sauces, pasta dishes, or a vegetable paté.
Mushrooms are delicious when cooked in a rich oil. Although mushrooms have plenty of
nutritional value, they don't contain much fat. Many home cooks will reach for plain old butter
to heat up mushrooms, and add some flavor to the bargain. That'd be the wrong move.
As Fine Cooking explains, a high temperature is what mushrooms need if you're going to sauté
or sear mushrooms in a pan. For this purpose, clarified butter is a better choice than butter.
You might be asking, what's the difference? As it turns out, butter will burn at 350 degrees — a
fairly low temperature when it comes to cooking — and burned butter will affect the taste of
your dish and might even be unhealthy. Clarified butter, which is similar to ghee, eliminates the
milk solids. It has a higher smoke point than regular butter, ideal for sautéing mushrooms.
You don't have to skip butter together. Another way to make mushrooms with butter, according to
Lifehacker, is to wait to add the butter until the end. The site recommends cooking mushrooms
without any oils at all, thanks to the water content of the fungi. You can add butter at the
end after sautéing the mushrooms dry, which adds delicious flavor without the possible burnt taste.
Some people wrongly believe that mushrooms don't have any nutritional value.
This is false. Mushrooms are full of vitamins and minerals, such as selenium, potassium,
and vitamin D. The fungi are also a solid option for a low-calorie food with antioxidants and even
protein. For this reason, mushrooms can be a great plant-based meat alternative.
More than vegans and vegetarians are able to benefit from the protein. Cooking Light
reminds us mushrooms do offer some fiber, just not a lot, so combine them with vegetables,
beans, lentils, and sweet potatoes. And despite what we might want to believe,
a pizza topped with mushrooms can't really be considered a health food.
More about the potential benefits of mushrooms still needs to be explored.
"And the other side will make you grow shorter."
"The other side of what?"
"THE MUSHROOM OF COURSE!!!"
Popular Science reports compounds found in mushrooms are able to support the nervous system,
lower rates of cancer and heart disease, and could even help with tumors. All of
these compounds offer potential health benefits in isolation,
but science has yet to prove if consuming them in mushrooms will fight disease or
make you live longer. Best to enjoy them as simply part of a balanced diet, for now.
Vitamin D is important to health because it helps the body absorb calcium,
resulting in strong bones, muscles, and the immune system. Mushrooms are also sometimes touted as one
of the few non-animal sources of vitamin D. But as it turns out, that's a hard maybe. Harvard
School of Public Health explains that commercially sold fungi are often grown in controlled indoor
environments, so they may not contain much vitamin D unless the grower exposes the plants to sunlight
or uses UV lamps. The health site also explains that some varieties like white button, shiitake,
and oyster mushrooms tend to contain less vitamin D because they flourish in lower-light conditions.
Dried mushrooms will offer a denser concentration of nutrients if stored in a cool dry location.
So, you might get the most vitamin D out of your mushrooms if you pay
attention to the growing conditions — or you're lucky enough to buy from a
local grower who will tell you. The trick is knowing which mushrooms you're buying.
Mushrooms are a nutritious food item thanks to their many naturally occurring minerals,
antioxidants, and vitamins. Fortunately, dried mushrooms can offer even more health benefits than
fresh ones. SFGate reports that dried mushrooms have a higher nutrient content and more flavor,
which means they're shelf-stable and ideal for adding to your meal. Mushroom varieties also
grow across the globe with shiitake, maitake, and reishi considered as the healthiest mushrooms rich
in nutrients. You can also buy mushroom supplements if you don't like the taste.
Dried storage also allows mushrooms to last longer, up to one year whether bought at a
store or dehydrated at home. Food blogger Miss Vickie finds dried mushrooms are convenient to
add to soups and hearty stews thanks to the intense flavor. Keep in mind,
even if you soak dehydrated mushrooms, they won't return to the full plumpness of a fresh
mushroom. But they are still excellent in pastas, sauces, and gravy even if a little shriveled.
Poisonous mushrooms are a huge risk because they're so common. Or are they? Turns out,
it's a myth that most wild mushrooms are dangerous. While there are many
more mushrooms than humans are able to eat, there isn't as much of a risk as many of us
have believed. The Cleveland Clinic reports only 3% of mushrooms are poisonous — however,
mushroom toxins can cause liver failure or death. So while there isn't an abundance of
poisonous mushrooms in the wild, it's true that the stakes are high. The site explains
the most common toxic mushroom is called a "death cap" for its white "umbrella-shaped
tops and a cup at the base of their stem." They look similar to a variety you might find at the
grocery store, so if you have any doubts when foraging in the wild, don't eat it.
Foragers in the U.S. might have even better odds than others worldwide.
Food & Wine reports there are 10,000 different fungi found in North America,
but only 100 are considered "dangerously poisonous" to humans,
according to the North American Mycological Association. Despite only a small percentage
of mushrooms being potentially fatal, the risks still mean you'll want to do your homework.
"Not just any mushroom."
Foraging for food has become a major trend in the culinary world. Sourcing seasonal vegetables,
herbs, and honey is commonplace for people living in rural and urban areas all over the country.
Foraging for mushrooms is one of the major trends that isn't as simple as
doing some research online. People who are uneducated when foraging
for mushrooms could be hospitalized or worse if they wind up eating a poisonous variety.
The reality is that due to the multitude of mushroom species, there are multiple visual
characteristics that need to be identified and compared to a guide book to know if a specific
mushroom is toxic or not — although there is a chemical test strip that is becoming available.
One pervasive myth is simply touching a toxic mushroom could land you in trouble. This is
not true — the toxins must be ingested to sicken you. Treehugger recommends examining the mushrooms
to better identify the characteristics, and even bringing two baskets for dividing any
uncertain mushrooms for a closer inspection before cooking. Leave your dog at home,
though. Accidents are more common with pets that eat the wrong mushroom and get sick as a result.
Morel mushrooms are one of the sought-after varieties out in the wild. Due to their
popularity — and the sport of hunting them in the spring — myths around foraging have also
propagated. Successful Farming explains that some mushroom hunters believe morel mushrooms
will grow overnight into full-size caps. In reality, morels take a couple weeks to mature,
although sizes vary greatly, helping to encourage the myth. Another foraging misconception
is that morels need to be harvested in the soil to avoid damaging the larger underground
system. Edible mushrooms are considered the fruit of the plant, so mushroom caps are similar
to an apple in that the underground organism isn't harmed by removing one visible area. We
encourage everyone to forage responsibly, but mushrooms are heartier than you might think.
The stem of the morel is a simple way to identify the fungi from its false copycats.
Cutting the mushroom in half will reveal a true morel to be hollow. False morels,
which is what the toxic variety is called, will be solid from stem to cap.
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