Scrumptious, medicinal, psychedelic, or typically lethal, mushrooms are equal elements fascinating and mysterious. Mushrooms and their mycelium nonetheless elude us, however we’ve change into common mycophiles in all features. The times of solely discovering white button, cremini, and portabello mushrooms on the grocery retailer are over. It’s common to seek out contemporary shiitakes or oyster mushrooms amongst them and the farmers’ market brings much more varieties.
Must you wash mushrooms?
In the event you’ve ever learn a recipe that makes use of mushrooms, you might need come throughout recommendation that it is best to by no means wash them as a result of they take in water. As an alternative, many cookbooks advise you to wash them with a humid fabric. However, the cooking journal Cooks Illustrated advises washing them with water. Whereas there’s some absorption, the quantity is negligible.
Methods to use various kinds of mushrooms
There are simply over 2,000 species of edible mushroom species. This information doesn’t cowl all of them, however we chosen among the most typical varieties that you just’ll discover within the grocery retailer or farmers’ market.
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1 White button mushrooms
In the event you’re accustomed to just one form of mushroom, it’s most likely white button, or Agaricus bisporus. White button mushrooms are a kind of gilled mushroom and they’re truly the identical as creminis and portabellas—which we’ll get to under—however they’re harvested at an earlier stage throughout their progress cycle.
White button mushrooms are virtually flavorless of their uncooked state, however they shine after they’re used as an addition to a dish. Slice them up for a hearty vegan stew or cube them up and add them to a plant-based bolognese for a meaty texture. They’re additionally a great addition to tofu scrambles. If you wish to get pleasure from white button mushrooms in a purer type, slice them, then sauté them in oil or dairy-free butter with minced garlic and contemporary, chopped parsley.
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2 Cremini mushrooms
Also called child bella mushrooms, cremini mushrooms are Agaricus bisporus harvested later of their progress cycle. Attributable to this, they’ve a deeper, extra savory taste than white button mushrooms and are higher suited to consuming uncooked in salads. However, for those who’re an umami fiend, then prepare dinner them the identical method that you’d prepare dinner white button mushrooms. They can be full of quite a lot of fillings, equivalent to vegan crab and dairy-free cream cheese.
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3 Portabello mushrooms
Noticeably larger than the youthful Agaricus bisporus, portabello mushrooms have a heartiness to their taste that may make ’shroom-haters shirk. It’s widespread to take away their stems and simply prepare dinner the caps, both marinated or plain. They’re versatile, so if a recipe requires white buttons or creminis, you should use portabellos.
Portabellos are nice stuffed, like in these spinach and mashed potato-stuffed mushrooms. However, they’re additionally a basic veggie burger ingredient—both utilizing the entire cap or dicing and mixing it with different components equivalent to legumes and grains to type a patty.
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4 Shiitake mushrooms
Shiitake mushrooms—Lentinula edodes—are small brown mushrooms native to East Asia which might be historically cultivated on logs. Now accessible worldwide, fashionable shiitake mushrooms are normally grown in managed situations, both on logs or in a synthetic substrate.
These mushrooms, which can be found contemporary or dried, have a deep umami taste and can be utilized in all kinds of dishes, from sizzling pots and stir-frys to pasta sauces and vegan BLT sandwiches. Their woody stems are sometimes eliminated earlier than they’re cooked. In the event you’re utilizing dried shiitake mushrooms, save the cooking liquid as a soup inventory—you are able to do the identical with the uncooked stems. At all times make sure that shiitake mushrooms are cooked completely. They’re recognized to trigger a rash when eaten uncooked or undercooked.
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5 Maitake mushrooms
Also called hen of the woods or Grifola frondosa, maitake mushrooms—which is Japanese for “dancing mushrooms”—have a golden brown coloration and develop in delicate, ruffled conks. They’re polypore mushrooms, that means they inhabit dwell or useless bushes. Polypores assist the wooden rot and play a important position in forest ecosystems.
Maitake is finest when younger, because it turns into powerful and woody when left to age. It may be baked, battered and fried, sautéed, grilled, or cooked and used as toppings, both on pizza or on a buttery crostini for a cocktail party or an evening in with family members.
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6 Oyster mushrooms
A staple of farmers’ markets, oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) are distinct from king oysters, which we’ll get to under. These gilled mushrooms are normally white or gentle tan and the cabinets develop in overlapping, spherical clusters. Within the wild, these mushrooms develop on decaying bushes in temperate and subtropical forests. They’ll even decompose plastic! Oyster mushrooms are generally foraged, however many of the ones you’ll discover are cultivated.
Oyster mushrooms flip slimy when cooked in a whole lot of liquid, in order that they’re not fitted to soup or stew, however in any other case, they are often grilled, sautéed, or fried—particularly when coated with a crispy batter. They make an particularly nice substitute for seafood, both in a buttery linguine dish with contemporary parsley or in a sandwich, like this oyster mushroom po’boy.
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7 Enoki mushrooms
Flammulina velutipes, or enoki mushrooms, develop in clusters with lengthy, slender white stems and a small pin-cushion tip. Their taste is delicate and never notably noteworthy, however they’ve a pleasantly chewy texture that makes them suited to sauteing, grilling, braising, and including to sizzling pots, noodle soups, and sundubu jjigae (Korean tender spicy tender tofu stew). They’re additionally implausible in heat, blended mushroom salads.
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8 King oyster mushrooms
Wildly different-looking from oyster mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms—also called king trumpet, French horn mushrooms, or Pleurotus eryngii—have skinny brown caps and thick white stalks that give them a tree-like silhouette. They’ve a meaty, chewy texture that makes them the go-to ’shroom when changing meat or seafood. The mushrooms could be reduce vertically into skinny slices to make vegan bacon or the stalks could be reduce into cash to make an alternative choice to scallops. However, king oysters may take sautéing, frying, braising, grilling, in addition to being cooked in soups, stews, and sauces.
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9 Porcini mushrooms
Porcini—Italian for “piglet”—mushrooms have spherical brown caps and thick white stalks that develop on the base of bushes. The earthy, nutty Boletus edulis is prized in Italian and French delicacies, so they’re particularly good in each cuisines, be it pasta, risottos, hearty soups like minestrone, and mushroom gravies. They’re normally accessible in contemporary or dried varieties. As with shiitakes, dried porcini mushrooms are sometimes used to raise the flavour of stews.
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10 Morel mushrooms
One of many holy grails of mushroom foraging, the morel mushroom, or Morchella, is gentle tan in coloration with a conical, honeycomb-like cap. It’s truly extra intently associated to truffles than they’re to mushrooms. This charismatic fungi sprouts from moist soil in forests between the months of March and Might. This brief harvesting interval signifies that they are often pretty costly at $20 per pound after they’re in season.
These luxurious mushrooms have a savory taste when cooked they usually add depth to any dish. They’re suited to most types of cooking however as a result of they’re so dear and distinctive, you may wish to use them in a method that showcases the entire fungus.
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11 Chanterelle mushrooms
The stunning chanterelle, genus Cantharellus, is the golden youngster of the mushroom-foraging world. These funnel-shaped woodland mushrooms are generally discovered close to hardwood bushes, with which they share a robust mycorrhizal (symbiotic) relationship. They’re additionally actually scrumptious. Chanterelles emit a fruity aroma and have a peppery chunk to them with notes of apricot, some say.
Chanterelles are finest in easy dishes the place their taste gained’t be outshined. Strive cooking them with gnocchi in a dairy-free garlic butter sauce with salt, pepper, contemporary parsley, or thyme, and a squeeze of lemon. Whenever you prepare dinner them, the mushrooms change into tender, however keep some firmness.
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12 Shimeji mushrooms
Also called Hypsizygus tessellatus, or beech mushrooms resulting from how they develop from useless or dying beech bushes, shimeji mushrooms are native to East Asia. These edible fungi have lengthy, skinny stems and small caps. They arrive in white or brown varieties. As with the mushrooms from the Agaricus bisporus household, the latter has a extra apparent taste.
These mushrooms have a considerably crunchy texture with a gentle, nutty taste when cooked. They’re good in sizzling pots, rice bowls, soups, and stir-frys.
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13 Lion’s mane mushrooms
Hericium erinaceus, the lion’s mane mushroom, is a giant, white mushroom made up of lengthy, skinny strands that resemble the eponymous large cat’s title. Practitioners of Chinese language conventional medication have used this tree-borne fungus for hundreds of years. Lion’s mane mushrooms include substances that stimulate the expansion of mind cells, and research present they might enhance cognitive perform and scale back signs of tension and melancholy.
When cooked, this mushroom is claimed to style much like crab or lobster meat. So, it’s finest browned in somewhat little bit of olive oil with salt, pepper, and minimal seasoning.
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14 Wooden ear mushrooms
Wooden ear mushrooms, additionally recognized by their scientific classification, Auricularia heimuer, are a crinkly sort of fungus with a coloration that ranges from gentle to darkish brown. The wild selection grows on deciduous bushes, however can be cultivated for business functions on sawdust logs.
In style in Chinese language delicacies, they’ve a gelatinous texture and delicate taste. Sometimes, they’re bought dried and have to be rehydrated earlier than cooking. Use wooden ear mushrooms in sizzling pots, soups, and stir-frys.
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15 Hen of the woods mushroom
The coveted rooster of the woods mushroom (Laetiporus sulphureus) is definitely noticed by its overlapping goldenrod-colored cabinets, ruffled edges, and enormous dimension. Foragers can discover these saprotrophic (feeds on useless bushes), parasitic mushrooms on the base of useless or dying hardwood bushes. They develop in North America and Europe and there are seven varieties within the former.
Hen of the woods will get its title from its taste, which individuals say is paying homage to rooster meat and lemon. In vegan cooking, you can use it to switch rooster in rooster piccata or sauté it in olive oil and add it to a pasta dish, like this angel hair pasta with dairy-free feta, kale, and lemon.
This record is only a snippet of the flavors and textures of the edible fungus world. You’re prone to discover uncommon varieties on the farmers’ market. In the event you do, ask the vendor how finest to prepare dinner them.
For extra on vegan cooking, learn:
Kat Smith is a Queens, NY-based freelance author and editor who loves cooking and discovering native vegan hidden gems.
