The fungus among us

Well, this has been a very busy week, with very little cooking going on. And what I have been doing has been things that I've already written about for the most part. But the advent of spring (sort of a contradictory phrase, isn't it? Advent happens in the fall), has brought a few things to the table that are inspiring. One of those is the first morels of the season. And in thinking about morels, I was thinking of mushrooms generally. I had cooked some portabellos for a pizza earlier in the week, and I have three pounds of those wonderfully crinkly funghi to work with, and my thoughts have turned to these critters, which I will admit are not to everyone's taste. This being my blog, however, you'll just have to deal with it.

When I was very young - yes THAT long ago - mushrooms came one way: in a can, as "buttons" that were preserved in some ghastly butter flavored "juice". No wonder it took me a while to get to like them. Now, the variety that you can get is absolutely staggering. And the seasonality of mushrooms has pretty much disappeared. We always used to consider mushrooms fall produce, except for some of the more delicate and elusive spring time guys, like morels and chanterelles. Well, advances in science now allow cultivation of mushrooms, year round, and while there are mushrooms that have defied the science - like morels and chanterelles- the fact that there is a "season" for them somewhere, all the time, and people are willing to pay enormous prices for them has eliminated that bit of seasonality as well. Still, I do not find myself looking for wild mushrooms out of their normal season. We don't eat morels past mid summer, and don't eat chanterelles before that. The others, however, I treat as kitchen staples. (Please note that I'm leaving out talk of dried mushrooms here. That's a whole 'nother essay).

You can spend a fortune on mushrooms. The morels I have cost me about 30 bucks a pound. Chanterelles are a little less, but there are other varieties that will make you shriek when you see the numbers. Are they worth it? That's a decision you have to make yourself. I don't really find things like matsutakes (pine mushrooms, that go for about 100 a pound) to be worth it. But I DO love my morels and my chanterelles. And I cook them, and all mushrooms just about the same way. I'm gonna discuss that here.

First, let's start with debunking a "mushroom myth" In many cookbooks, you'll see instructions to get "fresh crisp tightly closed mushrooms." They're talking about the head meeting the stem, and they want you to use mushrooms that show no spores.

That's because they want the good ones for themselves. See, mushrooms are LOADED with water, as you'll find when you cook them. If the cap is tight to the stem, the water is still in there. If they've opened, the water has begun to evaporate, and you get more "mushroom" for your money. Of course, you don't want mushrooms that are leathery and dry feeling, but don't turn away a portobello or a cremini (which is a teenage portobello, by the way), because the cap is open. With morels, which look like little sponges, or chanterelles, which look like, well, chanterelles, you have to go more on texture and "heft."

Sometimes a mushroom needs to be cleaned. You need to take a look and see if it's dirty. Try to brush the dirt off, because the last thing you want to do is add more water to the guys. If you can't brush them off, well, time to improve your surgical skills and cut away as little as possible. You paid a lot for them, so take the time. I find that normally, about an eighth of an inch at the base of a chanterelle, a porcini, or one of the exotics, is all you need to do. Farmed crops, like portobellos and creminis probably won't need cleaning at all.

The way I cook mushrooms has evolved over the years. What that means, to me, is that my technique has gotten simpler. I don't use herbs anymore, or garlic, and I don't get too fancy. Essentially, I cut the mushrooms to a size where they can be eaten in one mouthful. For a big mushroom, like a portobello, that's a lot of cutting. Morels get halved, and so on, and so forth. I cook them in half butter and half oil. Butter is the best friend a mushroom can have, but it burns. So cut it with oil. I'm going out on a limb here and telling you to use vegetable oil, because I really like olive oil, but it can mask the delicate flavor of these guys.

Here's the most important thing you need to know about cooking mushrooms. You can't load your pan too much. If you do, the water they generate will cause them to steam, and that's not what you want. So put a tablespoon or two of each of your fats into a pan. Melt the butter, and when it's just about soft, put in mushrooms to cover the bottom of the pan. NO MORE THAN THAT. If your pan is hot enough, you'll hear a sizzle. Sprinkle in some salt, and lower the heat to medium.

Your hearing is your best sense with mushrooms. As they cook and the water disappears, the sizzle will turn to a decided CRACKLE. That's when you stir them. And when you do, you'll see how much they've shrunk. If you're confident that you can keep things cooking evenly, you can add more raw ones here. If not, do a couple of batches. After stirring, when you hear the crackle again, you're done. All in all, it will probably take you about fifteen minutes to cook a pound of mushrooms of any variety using this technique.

Generally, "that is that" for me when I cook em. Sometimes, with morels, I add a spoon or two of heavy cream, and with portobellos, a few of balsamic vinegar (the cheap stuff). You can also add a little white wine to any mushroom prep. I actually prefer vermouth, because the herbal quality seems to compliment the mushrooms, but again, this is all optional.

How much per person? Oh, that's a good question. I can put away half a pound of the guys at a sitting, other people can't. You have to measure appetites.

OH. One last thing. You'll see a lot of recipes that call on you to use "a variety of mushrooms, mixed " DONT DO THAT. If you want to make a mix of mushrooms for your meal, cook them separately and then combine them. But try them, variety by variety on their own first. You're going to learn which ones you like better, and which ones you don't

I think you'll find a new friend. That's never a bad thing