Nicki's Culinary Journal

March 5, 2012

Mushrooms with Chris Douglass! Today we prepped for a mushroom tasting event at Boston University. Not only did we learn how to cook mushrooms but we also learned invaluable information about them. I love mushrooms and did not know that so many varieties that I enjoy are in New England backyards and that there are so many fungi enthusiasts!

I am just going to jump right in and give you some insight into what I learned about mushrooms.

Key Points
-Always cook mushrooms - there are toxins in mushrooms that are only inactivated by heat
-mushrooms in grocery stores are probably domesticated and the toxins bred out, but still cook your mushrooms even before putting them on your spinach salad.
-some raw mushrooms are known to produce toxins that can cause cancer
-But, cooked mushrooms - some studies in mice - show that they can help fight cancer
-having trouble cleaning mushrooms?
-you can either wash them in very salty water, they will float and the soil will sink, but do this quickly and don't agitate them to much in the water
-take a damp cloth and wipe them down
- use a straw and blow the dirt off
-never eat a mushroom that you picked without identifying it
-never store mushrooms in plastic bags - only brown or wax
-clean the mushrooms before storing them in the bag
-Always cook mushrooms before freezing
-Don't throw away the stems of mushrooms, you can make a stock or chop them up for stuffing...some stems are more fibrous and cannot be eaten but give off great flavor
-when preparing for a large event, think about what can be prepared before hand
-think about organizing in a way that allows you to count easily - line sheet trays in rows not in geometric diagrams

There are an unlimited way to cook mushrooms, but certain species tastes better prepared in specific ways.
-Pickled, steamed, sauteed and stuffed are all great used for mushrooms.