In defense of mushrooms

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I'm inspired by the okra thread. I have tried okra once, didn't like it, but don't care - it's not as if it crops up in every dish on the menu.

Mushrooms though, they are everywhere - Italian, Chinese, Indian......... Brewers Fayre. I dislike mushrooms. I don't know anyone else who doesn't like them.

I trained myself to like peanuts - it took me 24 years. Asda Chilli Peanuts were my saviour.

Are there any types of mushroom or particular mushroom recipes that you could defy a mushroom hater not to like? Or am I doomed to pick mushrooms out of my food and leave them lying at the side of my plate forever?

― Rumpie, Tuesday, 12 April 2005 16:06 (twenty years ago)

Psilocibin.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 16:09 (twenty years ago)

as far as psychoactive mushrooms go i realize now that i have alot more fun if i just eat a few at a time and not a whole 1/8th. this would be a good thread for i love cooking

― charleston charge (chaki), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 16:11 (twenty years ago)

I used to not be fond of mushrooms (nothing compared to my dislike of onions, though). Porta bella mushrooms, specifically big, fresh porta bella mushrooms on sandwiches, won me over and I found that I liked their smaller brethren as well.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 16:11 (twenty years ago)

The only mushrooms I ate without gagging were ones in Amsterdam. That was more medicinal though. I last tried garlic breaded mushrooms - but they squeaked. And I still didn't like them.

Does the taste vary greatly between varieties?

Mushroom sandwiches Jordan? I've never heard of this!

― Rumpie, Tuesday, 12 April 2005 16:16 (twenty years ago)

i like them in a croissant, with cheese on top

― $V£N! (blueski), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 16:19 (twenty years ago)

Mushrooms are fucking gross. I have had portabello mushrooms that were prepared in such a way that I actually enjoyed them, but most of the time, eccch.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 16:19 (twenty years ago)

Mushrooms are great, but I highly doubt whether they have any nutritional value whatsoever.

Fresh morelle's are the bee's knees, but they're like $80/lb.

― andy --, Tuesday, 12 April 2005 16:21 (twenty years ago)

The prob w/most mushroom preps for me is that they lard on too much oil/butter, which the mushies just soak up like the little sponges they are, and you're left with this slick, rubbery disgusting thing.. I defy anyone, though to toss some mushrooms with a bit of nice olive oil and kosher salt and grill them and not enjoy it.. jesus christ this is one of my favorite things in the world and I can't wait til the weather gets dependably nice enough to do this on a regular basis, outside.. oh and DON'T WASH THEM, it ruins the texture and makes them nasty.. don't worry about germs, the entire thing is a fungus!!

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 16:23 (twenty years ago)

Mushrooms occur in so many different contexts and can take on so many different flavors and textures that I am suspicious of the statement "I don't like mushrooms." It sounds like a prejudice instead of a preference. Of course, IMO, most food "preferences" fall into that category.

― happy fun ball (kenan), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 16:25 (twenty years ago)

they never worked for me

― ---- (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 16:26 (twenty years ago)

They just make you worse, etc.

― Leon WK (Ex Leon), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 16:30 (twenty years ago)

I have had portabello mushrooms that were prepared in such a way that I actually enjoyed them, but most of the time, eccch.

I understand that, actually -- cf. my rant about "Chinese" food. But see, even Picky Nick understands that mushrooms are not across-the-board bad.

― happy fun ball (kenan), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 16:31 (twenty years ago)

Sometimes I wonder if I really like shitake mushrooms that much, or I just like to say their name.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 16:33 (twenty years ago)

I LURVE mushrooms. I was talking about how much I love them to my main freelance client, and for Christmas she sent me a couple of grow-your-own kits, one oyster mushroom and one shiitake. I never could get the shiitake kit to grow, but I got three good batches of oyster mushrooms before it conked out.

― Curious George (1/6 Scale Model) (Rock Hardy), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 16:44 (twenty years ago)

Hurrah for the humble mushroom in many a fine dish.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 16:45 (twenty years ago)

Chanterelles are great too, tho not so humble at $30/pound the last time I bought any. They taste unlike any other mushroom I've had.

― nickn (nickn), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 16:59 (twenty years ago)

quantumkaballlllahhhh nuts to thread

― Sébastien Chikara (Sébastien Chikara), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 17:03 (twenty years ago)

Mushroom sandwiches Jordan? I've never heard of this!

Portabellas are big-ass mushrooms, they can be near steak-like when grilled and put on sandwiches.

http://aged.ces.uga.edu/2004cds/cd1/Hot_Potatoes/Produce_Identification/portabella%20mushroom%2070H.jpg

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 17:05 (twenty years ago)

Raw mushrooms are not my thing, but grilled garlic mushrooms are heavenly.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 17:08 (twenty years ago)

For like a week and a half I got to put together a lunch menu at this restaurant I worked at. Our #2 best selling thing was a grilled portabella sandwich served on focaccia with spinach (wilted with hot bacon balsamic dressing) for that span of time. #1 was the ostrich burger.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 17:09 (twenty years ago)

Stop making me hungry.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 17:09 (twenty years ago)

portabella mushrooms are better than veggie burgers. i mean, i don't know about nutritionally, but they taste better.

― Maria (Maria), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 17:21 (twenty years ago)

Stop making me hungry.

Especially half an hour before lunch.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 17:22 (twenty years ago)

Cepes
Porcini
Shitake
Portobello
Oyster

I love me some mushrooms.

― M. White (Miguelito), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 17:23 (twenty years ago)

Kenan, thanks for not calling me Picky Nicky.

The best mushroom I have had was actually when Sarah and I were on the cruise with my family and at dinner they served this marinated portabello thing and it tasted almost like steak.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 17:27 (twenty years ago)

I love mushrooms, it's hard for me to understand how anyone could dislike them.

― Leon WK (Ex Leon), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 17:33 (twenty years ago)

Ha, you're a vegetarian who only likes mushrooms when they taste like meat, I love it. You're right though, that's the mushroom at its finest.

xpost

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 17:37 (twenty years ago)

I just fed some to my iguana for the first time. curious as to his take.

― Miss Misery (thatgirl), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 17:38 (twenty years ago)

i love mushrooms. i have to admit, i havent had any of the weirder ones, but straw, shitake, the long thing black ones, portabellas, and baby bells are all awesome.

― AaronK (AaronK), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 17:47 (twenty years ago)

chingy does not like the mushrooms. granted they were just plain white ones but still. . .they are tossed into a little negelected pile on the side of his plate whle the collard greens and carrots were all but gobbled up.

― Miss Misery (thatgirl), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 17:50 (twenty years ago)

Morels
Shiitake
Cremini
Chanterelles
Cepes

I think I understand mushroom dislike, but I feel sorry for those who do not partake.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 18:34 (twenty years ago)

I forgot Morels!! I love Morels.

― M. White (Miguelito), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 18:38 (twenty years ago)

I always hated mushrooms, right from childhood. Horrible little grey rubbery things. This all changed a few years ago, though, when someone I knew served up a delicious sauce which was mostly made of mushrooms which had been simmered for so long in their own juices - with onion and garlic too - that they had practically dissolved. Yum.

― caitlin (caitlin), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 18:46 (twenty years ago)

I have a bag of wild mushroom ravioli in the freezer right now. I might make it tonight.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 18:49 (twenty years ago)

I have a feeling that they are a food that can potentially be good but are almost always prepared in a way that they are disgusting.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 18:50 (twenty years ago)

I harbored an intense hatred of mushrooms for like 25 years, and I was always kinda pleased with myself to have an excuse for not eating them (they're not even plants! they're a fungus! they feed on death!); then, weirdly and suddenly, I started liking them okay, fancy meaty-tasting mushrooms in particular.

― nabisco (nabisco), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 18:53 (twenty years ago)

i you make sure your pan is uber hot then melt a bit of butter and some oil (this will prevent the butter from burning) then they should fry nice (almost crispy) and won't soak up so much oil etc. A bit of garlic is good too

alternatively, light up the grill, drizzle a wee bit of oil on and whack it on the barbecue - lovely

― ceebee, Tuesday, 12 April 2005 18:55 (twenty years ago)

I have yet to meet a mushroom (food or psychoactive) I don't like. When I cooked at Figlio (Italian place in Minneapolis), I worked pantry--salads, sandwiches, desserts--and made grilled porotbello sandwiches all the time. they're GREAT, esp. (as on the sandwich) w/pesto mayo and grilled peppers. just grill the mushroom to taste and you're on.

I think I need to investigate a multi-shroom gravy.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 18:56 (twenty years ago)

(I should note that the sandwiches were on the menu, though I made them for myself a lot of the time, too.)

also, HEDGEHOGS are the absolute fucking BOMB, the meatiest-tasting 'shroom I've ever had. they serve them as part of the regular tasting menu at Babbo in NYC (thanks again to Tricia for taking me on my 30th birthday!) and were one of the highlights of a pretty all-around incredible meal.

I wish Andy B still posted here. he knows a lot about food and would probably have interesting things to say about this topic.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 18:58 (twenty years ago)

Now that it's grillin' weather I think I'll get some portobellos tomorrow.

― Curious George (1/6 Scale Model) (Rock Hardy), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 18:59 (twenty years ago)

first mushrooms i had were the "magic" kind in high school. then a portabella sandwich sealed the deal, they are great food (when prepared correctly).

― Amon (eman), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 19:35 (twenty years ago)

This is the thread where you post the weird cosmic associations you made while on psychoactive drugs

― Open your eyes; you can fly! (ex machina), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 20:39 (twenty years ago)

http://saucymag.com/images/P1020184.jpg

― happy fun ball (kenan), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 20:48 (twenty years ago)

http://www.smithymushrooms.co.uk/Assets/Mushroom%20Man%20Whitened.jpg http://www.smithymushrooms.co.uk/Assets/Mushroom%20Man%20Whitened.jpg http://www.smithymushrooms.co.uk/Assets/Mushroom%20Man%20Whitened.jpg
http://www.coolkids.co.nz/gif%20grow/Fruit%20and%20Vegetable%20Characters,%20colour%20me/Morgan%20Mushroom,%20colour%20me.gif

― Amon (eman), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 20:54 (twenty years ago)

There'd be no "Badger Badger Badger" without them!

― Ian Riese-Moraine. To Hell with you and your gradual evolution! (Eastern Mantra), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 23:50 (twenty years ago)

Psilocibin.

This might be a joke but it's actually OTM. Once you try those, the whole mushroom kingdom opens up to you.

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 23:57 (twenty years ago)

seven months pass...

God, I love mushrooms. And this seems to be the only thread about the edible kind. I just discovered oyster mushrooms at the weekend, and now I want to learn all about all the others. I always thought they'd be hard to cook so I stuck to button mushrooms and chestnut mushrooms and let the experts stick to the shitake and the straw mushrooms and stuff.

But oh my lord, mushroom joy. I shall try some of these others.

― Lady Totteringby-Gently (kate), Monday, 14 November 2005 11:59 (twenty years ago)

Oyster mushrooms are GREAT. Somehow I rarely prepare'em. :-( I also like shitake and button mushrooms. Hmmmmmmmmmm.

― Nathalie is in Da Base II Dark (stevie nixed), Monday, 14 November 2005 12:11 (twenty years ago)

I think I'm going to give cooking shitake a try next weekend. They kind of scare me but the oysters were OK when the sauce didn't overwhelm them.

― Lady Totteringby-Gently (kate), Monday, 14 November 2005 12:13 (twenty years ago)

Skipping 80 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

nearly everyone who has eaten raw mushrooms has died, some quite painfully. not recommended.

― Adding ease. Adding wonder. Adding (contenderizer), Sunday, 17 August 2014 11:20 (eleven years ago)

I'm planning to buck that trend.

― the joke should be over once the kid is eaten. (chap), Sunday, 17 August 2014 15:38 (eleven years ago)

five years pass...

just fried some onions with chestnut mushrooms and a splash of soy, that was one top notch late night snack that didn't take much work.

― calzino, Tuesday, 12 May 2020 22:43 (five years ago)

had four portobellos with garlic for lunch, what more could you want

― The Cognitive Peasant (ogmor), Tuesday, 12 May 2020 22:46 (five years ago)

Appalled that mushrooms needed defending in the first place.

https://patxikuperretxiku.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/john_cage_mushroom.jpg

― pomenitul, Tuesday, 12 May 2020 22:48 (five years ago)

I feel like the old art of foraging could become important again in the west. Teach me to survive Antonio Carluccio!

― calzino, Tuesday, 12 May 2020 22:57 (five years ago)

mushrooms are the most advanced foraging tho, so many types and can go so extremely wrong

― The Cognitive Peasant (ogmor), Tuesday, 12 May 2020 23:04 (five years ago)

yeah some of them death caps look well tasty and I don't even want an accidental dose of psilocybin these days!

― calzino, Tuesday, 12 May 2020 23:08 (five years ago)

https://www.ted.com/talks/paul_stamets_6_ways_mushrooms_can_save_the_world

― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Tuesday, 12 May 2020 23:09 (five years ago)

So much ergothioneine. Especially in oyster/trumpet mushrooms. See also emerging epidemiology on MCI.

― speaking moistly (Sanpaku), Tuesday, 12 May 2020 23:10 (five years ago)

psilocybin is the best high calz cmon

― The Cognitive Peasant (ogmor), Tuesday, 12 May 2020 23:12 (five years ago)

I've rarely enjoyed it tbh, I think my psychological make-up is just totally wrong for psychedelic drugs. My older brother was a trip monster but I often felt completely squeezed and panicky on them or on much stronger acid, but did have some good experiences.

― calzino, Tuesday, 12 May 2020 23:19 (five years ago)

Death-Cap Mushrooms Are Spreading Across North America

― Life is a banquet and my invitation was lost in the mail (j.lu), Tuesday, 12 May 2020 23:26 (five years ago)

“Long and slow is a frightening aspect of this type of poisoning,” Kroeger said.

didn't realise death via mushroom poisoning could actually take more than a week, that is very unreasonable!

― calzino, Tuesday, 12 May 2020 23:44 (five years ago)

thanks, j.lu, that was a good read. “Enough here to kill an entire Catholic school.”

― by the light of the burning Citroën, Wednesday, 13 May 2020 04:25 (five years ago)

I loved the detail of Kroeger pausing to wash his hands - not with a towelette! alcohol can help the toxins seep through the skin! - before rolling himself a cigarette. Risk management, it's a thing.

― El Tomboto, Wednesday, 13 May 2020 04:53 (five years ago)

four months pass...

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/v7ga4j/this-living-coffin-uses-mushrooms-to-compost-dead-bodies

― pomenitul, Monday, 21 September 2020 14:02 (five years ago)

This is amazing and 100% how I want to go out.

Feed me to the mushrooms. Let the fungus consume me. Compost me and let me become part of the Mycelium.

― Masonic Lockdown (Branwell with an N), Monday, 21 September 2020 15:12 (five years ago)

https://i.imgur.com/KAGa2ou.png

― rip van wanko, Monday, 21 September 2020 15:23 (five years ago)

(no corpses were consumed in the staging of this scene from the wildly overrated-on-ILX television series Hannibal)

― rip van wanko, Monday, 21 September 2020 15:25 (five years ago)

three years pass...

I don't know where to put this so I'm putting it here

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/04/science/fungus-robot-mushroom-biohybrid/index.html

― go polish your nose ring (sleeve), Sunday, 8 September 2024 19:24 (one year ago)

eight months pass...

https://www.wthr.com/article/news/nation-world/tripping-hikers-mistakenly-report-companions-death/507-335f672f-2adf-482e-b456-4d7821901a55

― sleeve, Thursday, 29 May 2025 21:14 (ten months ago)

i was too lazy to chop this carton of crimini mushrooms i had for a sautee so i just dumped em whole into a pan with some oo and salt. i'm now convinced this is the way forward with mushrooms.

― five six seven, eight nine ten, begin (map), Friday, 6 June 2025 17:29 (nine months ago)

was sure this revive would be about the Australian mushroom woman

― LocalGarda, Friday, 6 June 2025 17:32 (nine months ago)

I think that is what they call chestnut mushrooms in the UK. I tend to just chop them into halves, but yeah that sounds like a plan as well.

― vodkaitamin effrtvescent (calzino), Friday, 6 June 2025 17:37 (nine months ago)

and the Australian mushroom woman sounds like a plan as well!

― vodkaitamin effrtvescent (calzino), Friday, 6 June 2025 17:38 (nine months ago)

i was always overchopping them for no good reason!

― five six seven, eight nine ten, begin (map), Friday, 6 June 2025 17:38 (nine months ago)

sounds like australian mushroom woman was too fussy with hers as well - don't go taking photos of your lethal mushrooms on a weighing scale, just throw em in there!

― five six seven, eight nine ten, begin (map), Friday, 6 June 2025 17:42 (nine months ago)

It's true you don't really need to chop them fine

My big revelation with sauteeing mushrooms is you really gotta go for it, almost like caramelizing onions - almost all the water needs to get squeezed out so you're just left with the mushrooms and the oil/butter/grease/salt

― Tracer Hand, Friday, 6 June 2025 17:44 (nine months ago)

yeah totally. they should be very brown.

― five six seven, eight nine ten, begin (map), Friday, 6 June 2025 17:47 (nine months ago)

god they hoover up oil though. i'm always worried the pan is too dry but they never seem to burn afaict.

― five six seven, eight nine ten, begin (map), Friday, 6 June 2025 17:48 (nine months ago)

when i get worried about that i just add more butter lol

― Tracer Hand, Friday, 6 June 2025 17:49 (nine months ago)

iirc they go through a "release water" and a "suck up water" phase when cooking, in that order (or so my mom told me as a kid)

― sleeve, Friday, 6 June 2025 17:50 (nine months ago)

I spent decades thinking mushrooms were different to onions in that respect, and in lots of recipes they are. But yeah that raw definition of cooking them to their essence of flavour, without burning them. That is stuff I like to pursue these days.

― vodkaitamin effrtvescent (calzino), Friday, 6 June 2025 17:52 (nine months ago)

in Italian cooking they are more used in the water absorption mode iirc

― vodkaitamin effrtvescent (calzino), Friday, 6 June 2025 17:53 (nine months ago)

I am FASCINATED by Australian mushroom woman, how poorly planned and badly-executed can a murder cover-up be?

― boxedjoy, Friday, 6 June 2025 18:30 (nine months ago)

yeah lol!

― vodkaitamin effrtvescent (calzino), Friday, 6 June 2025 18:31 (nine months ago)

No Miss Marple required, it's a fucking lock!

― vodkaitamin effrtvescent (calzino), Friday, 6 June 2025 18:32 (nine months ago)

not a lock on her husband though

― five six seven, eight nine ten, begin (map), Friday, 6 June 2025 18:48 (nine months ago)

the guardian have been pushing that story so hard I turned it into a pointless badge of honour to not learn anything about it

I'm intrigued by your whole mushroom sauté approach map as I love roasting whole cremini mushrooms

― rob, Friday, 6 June 2025 18:59 (nine months ago)

roasting! yes, yes, i like the sound of that.

― five six seven, eight nine ten, begin (map), Friday, 6 June 2025 19:05 (nine months ago)

For awhile now I've been cooking shrooms in a dry cast iron with a pinch of salt then add fat and garlic after they're seared. Cuts down on a lot of unnecessary butter/oil use

― fight for the right to remain silent (outdoor_miner), Friday, 6 June 2025 19:22 (nine months ago)

I thought this revive was gonna be the Aus murder trial

― assert (matttkkkk), Friday, 6 June 2025 19:34 (nine months ago)

brilliant xp

― five six seven, eight nine ten, begin (map), Friday, 6 June 2025 19:44 (nine months ago)

ATK suggests either use a dry pan (i.e. no oil) or just a bit of water to dry to zap the mushroom's water out, it works pretty well IME, it takes 5-7 minutes.

― Krustacean the Clown (Leee), Friday, 6 June 2025 19:59 (nine months ago)

I had some memorably great mushrooms at my friends house many years ago. re: my enthusiastic approval he said "well, the secret is as much butter and wine as they'll soak up"

By the way, if anyone wants to listen to a 3cd set of the bioelectrical impulses of mushrooms, this one comes with a 44 page booklet including an essay by Merlin Sheldrake:

https://boomkat.com/products/bioelectrical-music

― doe on a hill (Deflatormouse), Saturday, 7 June 2025 05:23 (nine months ago)

Mushroom cookery kind of fascinates me. I think it's the chitin that gives them the quality- mushrooms can't be overcooked. Of course they can burn or get scorched

― fight for the right to remain silent (outdoor_miner), Saturday, 7 June 2025 13:37 (nine months ago)

re: mushroom Aus trial - today has been particularly wild with the prosecution really pulling apart the accused and asking "are you making this up as you go along?"

― boxedjoy, Tuesday, 10 June 2025 21:24 (nine months ago)

half the people i know here are into mushrooms. when somebody tells me they like mushrooms, i can't tell if they mean it in the same way that a lot of people out here are into cryptids, or if they mean it in the drugs way. i don't want to ask, because whatever the answer, if i ask, they'll spend the next 45 minutes talking about it. i'm totally fine hearing someone talking about their special interest for 45 minutes! i just wanna know what i'm getting into beforehand.

(people who are into mushrooms in a culinary sense typically won't go on about it for 45 minutes unless prompted.)

― Kate (rushomancy), Wednesday, 11 June 2025 14:19 (nine months ago)

six months pass...

Watched the first episode of the Netflix documentary about mushroom death cap poisoner Erin Paterson. For a case so fascinating and bizarre they really did a terrible job of showing why true crime enthusiasts were so gripped by it.

― boxedjoy, Thursday, 18 December 2025 15:10 (three months ago)

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