Mushroom stalks

Hi kali2, it also helps to know the ground too. By which I mean I generally foraged in fields I knew and knew where each crop might spring up. Mycology is fascinating and a wee bit scary at times. If in doubt don’t eat it. I don’t think I’d want to rely on and simple rules of thumb when it comes to foraging. There was one patch where penny buns would pop up but I was never quite brave enough to taste them I’m sure I missed many a treat but at least they were there to spawn the next crop. ?

Grandmagrim

Kali2 the peeling process gave me time to really check them over just making sure they were actually edible. Mostly a confidence thing. I remember, when we husband and I were courting, my mil to be making rice and mushroom on toast one night. Just as I was about to take a bite I noticed the rice had eyes. ?

Thanks- I am fascinated by wild fungi and a lifetime forager, having learnt by my dad's side. But recently, during Covid, I have tried to learn much more about them in a more 'scientific' way. The Yellow Stainer agaric looks almost identical to the field mushroom- the differences are minute- and they both peel the same. The only difference is that the cap is slightly square and flat, and it stains yellow if you scratch it- mainly it smells 'wrong'. Not deadly, but can make you very ill indeed. The Horse Mushroom also stains yellow, but smells of aniseed and is bigger. Beginners mistake all 3 very easily. For us 'oldies' instinct is strong.

I've never peeled, washed or wiped a mushroom and always eaten the stalks. My Mum used to peel them but then she always peeled cucumber and apples. I think it was because she had a full set of false teeth and skins got caught.

She also use to boil a pork joint before roasting it because she thought it was safer, I always wondered why roast pork was always dry and tasteless at home. to be fair it was the only joint that was.

My mother always peeled mushrooms - and I had to when prepping with her. Nowadays, they seem harder to peel - maybe because of the way they're grown these days?
Haven't peeled a mushroom in years. Stalks get chopped up with the rest.

I love all of the mushroom but the stalks seem to be the tastiest to me. DH always used to throw them away before he met me - now I have re-educated him and he eats the lot as well. I also love cauliflower and broccoli stalks as well.

Peeling mushrooms - no way, discarding stalks has never entered my head . Why on earth would that happen? Love mushrooms stalks and all !

Kali2 the peeling process gave me time to really check them over just making sure they were actually edible. Mostly a confidence thing. I remember, when we husband and I were courting, my mil to be making rice and mushroom on toast one night. Just as I was about to take a bite I noticed the rice had eyes. ?

When I was still working, Friday lunch was always soup and cheese. The chef used dried mushrooms to make the soup and added chopped fresh mushrooms at the end. One of the best soups I have ever had.

We eat the whole mushroom. I need a good soup recipe though. I’ve tried several, but nothing matches some I had in a cafe in Edinburgh.

What a pity- yes, I would really miss mushrooms- especially wild foraged ones.

But I am truly curious, how would peeling 'field' mushrooms reassure you that they are one of the edible forms of agaricus- and not another. They all peel well.

I only ever peeled field mushrooms just to reassure myself they really were the edible ones I thought they were.
Mushroom soup made with a splash of sherry was one of the first dishes I learnt to make in an hotel kitchen. Yummy. Sadly I dare not eat any mushrooms now not even mushroom cuppa soups as something about them sets off my diverticulitis I do miss mushrooms.

SueDonim

You can get a mushroom brush to clean them. I bought one. Used it twice and now I think it’s lying at the back of a drawer. ]]

One thing I’ve never mastered is mushroom soup. My neighbour used to make a fab, creamy-coloured mushroom soup but I always ended up with a grey washing-up water liquid, using the same recipe.

that's the one I've got, I call it a mush brush. I didn't buy it though I won it with a bundle of other stuff in a competition a few years back. I use it all the time for my mushrooms, when I first got it I thought it might be fiddly and irritating but it's not.

You can get a mushroom brush to clean them. I bought one. Used it twice and now I think it’s lying at the back of a drawer. www.amazon.co.uk/KitchenCraft-Wooden-Handled-Mushroom-Plastic/dp/B0001IWXPG?tag=gransnetforum-21

One thing I’ve never mastered is mushroom soup. My neighbour used to make a fab, creamy-coloured mushroom soup but I always ended up with a grey washing-up water liquid, using the same recipe.

If mushrooms are washed, they absorb water like a sponge. Just wipe them with a piece of damp kitchen paper.

I was told not to wash mushrooms but don’t know why! If they have dirt on, I just use a damp kitchen towel to wipe them clean. I love mushrooms and use them a lot but my children call the “ food of the devil” and refuse to eat them.

I always peel them. I'm more worried about what might be between the gills but I don't wash them as that ruins the taste.

A few recipes I've tried with mushrooms often produce a grey sludge, so I have started cooking them separately and adding them at the end. For a stew or casserole, or as a vegetable on their own, they are nice simmered in a bit of white wine. They keep their colour and shape and don't discolour the rest of the dish.

I leave the stalks on.

Learning so much today - and I've mushrooms in the fridge!
Duxelles and freezing mushrooms happy days ?

Oh Millie22, I wish I lived near enough to forage your left over mushroom stalks.

Like a previous poster, I expose my mushrooms. I wouldn’t peel them. UtDH is incredibly fussy and insists on them being peeled. He thinks they still are grown on horse manure!!!!
Did you know that if you put them in sunlight, they make Vit. D? A good source!

At one point, when I was a child, we lived near a mushroom farm. They sold mushrooms at 1 shilling a quarter and mushroom stalks for 6d a quarter.

All five of us loved mushrooms, so every few weeks my father would go and buy half a pound of mushroom stalks for Sunday breakfast. We preferred the stalks as they had more flavour and were much 'meatier'

I always remove the stalks as I don't like them. I actually thought most people did this but obvs not. Love mushrooms and they are such a versatile ingredient.

I was brought up waste not want not and I still don't. I make as much use out of ingredients as I can.

Ladyleftfieldlover

There is a mushroom dish made with just the minced stalks and seasoning - duxelles.

Wow I didn't know that. I often make Duxelle for Beef Wellington, but use the whole mushrooms, diced very small.

At my local market they sometimes sell a whole box of mushrooms for £1. At that price I buy two. I then cook them with just the end of the stalk removed (whole if they are tiny or cut into fork size pieces) until golden then freeze in portions which are later used in stews, stir fries or soups. At one time OH dehydrated boxes of cheap mushrooms which we were supposed to use as I did the frozen ones but frankly I didn't like the result and they ended up on the compost heap.
Anyone want to buy a dehydrator?

Celery seems indestructible in the fridge! It’s easily revived, too, by standing in a jug of water.

I can report back that three+ year old dried mushrooms are still flavoursome but are also a little chewy.