badjak
Senior Member
Depends what they look like.
Sometimes I use as is, sometimes I use tissue paper to wipe them
Sometimes I use as is, sometimes I use tissue paper to wipe them
SandwichShortOfAPicnic
Veteran
I'm an 'other' vote.
I find a brush takes too long and often being a soft brush doesn't get an offending well stuck clod off.
So I have a bit of kitchen towel and wipe off any large pieces.
Small pieces I don't concern myself with because I don't tend to eat raw mushrooms, as they tend to be cooked to high temps I'm not concerned with eating a bit of dirt.
I'm only interested from the pov that I don't want dirt flavoured seasoning in there
I find a brush takes too long and often being a soft brush doesn't get an offending well stuck clod off.
So I have a bit of kitchen towel and wipe off any large pieces.
Small pieces I don't concern myself with because I don't tend to eat raw mushrooms, as they tend to be cooked to high temps I'm not concerned with eating a bit of dirt.
I'm only interested from the pov that I don't want dirt flavoured seasoning in there
karadekoolaid
Legendary Member
I haven't got a soft brush, so I just wipe them with a damp tea towel, or some kitchen roll
medtran49
Forum GOD!
I wash them quickly under running water, then on paper towels, gills down, to drain. Alton Brown did a show on this years ago. There was virtually no difference in weight of mushrooms brushed off versus quickly washed under water and drained. The only big difference was if they were left in water, soaking, for a long period of time.
badjak
Senior Member
I think I have now voted for "brush off" which I count as cleaning with tissue, and "other".
Oyster mushrooms gets used as they are, button depends on looks (but I said that already)
Oyster mushrooms gets used as they are, button depends on looks (but I said that already)
detroitdad
Legendary Member
This
They get a short soak (maybe 3 minutes) and roughly swished around by hand, then spun dry in my salad spinner, and then used immediately.
karadekoolaid
Legendary Member
The reason I don't wash them is that mushrooms are sponges; they soak up liquid fast. When you fry them up , they're going to take a whole lot longer to brown. Yep, they'll brown, no worries, eventually.
Second thing is that mushrooms used to be grown in horse, or cow dung.
("Mushrooms on toast, darling"?
"MOOOOOOOHHH")
These days, the medium is totally sterile, so no health issues.
I don't buy mushrooms over here any more, because they're $22 a kilo. Yes, a small 400gm packet costs $9. In the UK, the same size costs $1.50 - $2, and if you are lucky, they're reduced to half price.
When I cook them, I start with garlic, olive oil, and nothing else. Once the mushrooms start leaching liquid, that's when I add salt.
That was the myth that Alton Brown dispelled with on his show Good Eats. You have to soak them a long time for them to soak up a noticeable amount. Allowed to soak for up to 30 minutes at 10 minute intervals, all the mushrooms absorbed about the same amount of water…0.2 oz, or about a teaspoon (for 4 oz of mushrooms), and even those that were just rinsed held onto the same amount of water.
karadekoolaid
Legendary Member
Ok - but were these button - type mushrooms, or oyster/ portabella mushrooms? I'm assuming the former, but I don't see any benefit in soaking them for 3 minutes. Maybe there is, I don't know.
It’s just to get all the dirt off. Sometimes, they’re absolutely caked in dirt.
My favorite mushroom-washing instruction comes from Jacques Pepin (paraphrasing, and imagine his gentle accent):
“People ask me about do you wash the mushroom, do you wipe it off…if the thing is dirty, then it’s common sense, no?…you wash the thing!”
badjak
Senior Member
Like karadekoolaid , I hardly buy button mushrooms due to the price
Oyster mushrooms are still OK.
And then of coarse there are dried mushrooms...
Oyster mushrooms are still OK.
And then of coarse there are dried mushrooms...
SandwichShortOfAPicnic
Veteran
Mushrooms in the uk may have a few specks on them but that's usually about it, you might see one clump of dirt but it's unusual.
I don't wash them because they just don't seem to need it, if they did I would.
I wouldn't wash any mushrooms I was roasting though, I wouldn't want water in the gills where I want the flavour.
A little extract from an American site 'Taste of Home' about the dirt-
“That ‘dirt’ you see on mushrooms purchased at the grocery store is actually growing medium—not soil,” explains Josh. “The growing medium is inoculated and ‘cooked’ to kill mold and bacteria so it is not unsafe.” You’ll see this same growing medium or peat in mushroom growing kits"
I don't wash them because they just don't seem to need it, if they did I would.
I wouldn't wash any mushrooms I was roasting though, I wouldn't want water in the gills where I want the flavour.
A little extract from an American site 'Taste of Home' about the dirt-
“That ‘dirt’ you see on mushrooms purchased at the grocery store is actually growing medium—not soil,” explains Josh. “The growing medium is inoculated and ‘cooked’ to kill mold and bacteria so it is not unsafe.” You’ll see this same growing medium or peat in mushroom growing kits"
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I don't wash them. Typically if they need anything, I'll just tap the compost off them. Mushrooms are grown in such strict and sterile conditions that they are not normally a problem. Regulations around supermarket mushrooms are very strict.
But I also try to grow my own as often as I can because the selection of mushrooms here in Australia is bad. White cup, brown cup and portobello are typically it. If I want oyster (of any colour) or anything else, I have to go elsewhere to buy them.
But I also try to grow my own as often as I can because the selection of mushrooms here in Australia is bad. White cup, brown cup and portobello are typically it. If I want oyster (of any colour) or anything else, I have to go elsewhere to buy them.