Myth Smashers Episode

[BerryBaby]

Originally Posted by Clove

You guys have some of the best culinary mushrooms in the US growing in the PNW. It's the only source of wild / cultivated porcini (other than Italy) of which I'm aware.
Eastern PA comes in a close second and probably grows more mushrooms, but alas, no porcini here.

I know, we are really fortunate. The grocery stores carry all of them in open bins so you can pick out the ones you want. They are all locally grown and it is a cook's delight!

Can't wait for all the local farms to open in June. Now, that is really a treasure!

[Food Network Fan]

Bobby Flay is doing Pacific Northwest cooking right now on Boy meets Grill.

[BerryBaby]

Tyler is here quite a bit as well. He is friends with a few restaurant owners in Portland.

Thanks, Clove, for all the info, but one last comment on the mushrooms. I have always washed them, not soaked, and they are perfect. Doesn't seem to make them tough, mushy or anything negative. Hasn't hurt the outcome. Whatever works, right?

[bluejeanz]

Originally Posted by Clove

Just to add some more confusion to this debate:

"According to two unimpeachable sources, Larousse Gastronimique (a culinary encyclopedia) and Owen Rice, proprieter of MycoLogical Natural Products Ltd. (purveyor of fresh and dried wild and gourmet mushrooms), it is among the deadliest of sins to scrub those fungi. The way Larousse puts it, one suspects you'd be laughed right out of Cordon Bleu for even thinking of it.

"In order to retain the full flavour of mushrooms, it is best not to peel or wash them, but simply to wipe them with a damp cloth and then dry them. If the stalks are tough, stringy, or maggoty, they are removed. Otherwise, the base of the stalk is sliced off. Only the mushrooms that become sticky in damp weather (including certain boletus mushrooms) and those with a bitter outer skin (cortinae and pholiotae) are peeled. The fleshy tubes of boletus mushrooms are removed if they are too spongy, and the gills of certain other mushrooms are trimmed if they are too ripe. If absolutely necessary, the mushrooms may be washed very quickly, but never allowed to soak. Varieties such as morels, which have a cap that is pitted like a honeycomb, are cleaned with a small brush."

I happen to own that encyclopedia (Larrousse). If maggots were involved, it makes you wonder just what they were being grown in and/or how they were being stored. In food, as in other aspects of life, nothing ever stays the same; processing, cooking, storage and growing methods change as the years go by. What was once considered 'gospel' in one era/decade doesn't necessarily stand true in today's world. I think if you wanna wash your mushrooms, then wash your mushrooms. Alton gave everyone a get-out-of-jail-free card. Besides, no one's being graded, LOL.

[Clove]

Originally Posted by bluejeanz

I happen to own that encyclopedia (Larrousse). If maggots were involved, it makes you wonder just what they were being grown in and/or how they were being stored. In food, as in other aspects of life, nothing ever stays the same; processing, cooking, storage and growing methods change as the years go by. What was once considered 'gospel' in one era/decade doesn't necessarily stand true in today's world. I think if you wanna wash your mushrooms, then wash your mushrooms. Alton gave everyone a get-out-of-jail-free card. Besides, no one's being graded, LOL.

BJ,

You are right!
Today we grow most of our mushrooms in controlled, sanitized environments.
The ones we see for sale in the stores are not foraged.
I don't think we should get too overwhelmed with the "maggots" comments as we are not growning these fungi in the wild.

I don't think that the cellular quality of the mushroom has changed since Larousse Gastronimique was published and so they still teach these techniques in the top cooking schools, so I wouldn't take one opinion over all others.

That said, as I've said before, there are no food police and if anyone wants to wash, soak, or in any way clean their mushrooms - have at it and be happy.

[BerryBaby]

This is probably an Alton Brown question but here goes.

The mushrooms that grown 'wild' in the PNW are subjected to a lot of rain.

Why then, wouldn't you be able to wash them without any problems? They are always getting wet before they are picked.

Ok, that's the last of mushroom inquiries/comments.

[Clove]

Originally Posted by BerryBaby

This is probably an Alton Brown question but here goes.

The mushrooms that grown 'wild' in the PNW are subjected to a lot of rain.

Why then, wouldn't you be able to wash them without any problems? They are always getting wet before they are picked.

Ok, that's the last of mushroom inquiries/comments.

BB,

Because they are alive and growing.
They convert the moisture and the soil into nutrients and grown bigger.

But, on the other side, mushrooms "hold" a lot of their moisture, even after they are picked. As evidenced by the pool that occurs in the pan when you sauté them after salting them.

[BerryBaby]

Thanks, Clove!

[Food Network Fan]

I guess they would want to avoid harvesting on a day where there is a lot of rain and they are still wet when picked then.