Roger White of Somerset Local Food Direct knows his mushrooms – we asked him to tell us more about these fantastic seasonal ingredients.
Mushrooms must be one of the strangest foods we eat. They grow in the dark, mysteriously crop up overnight and have no roots or seeds. As a fungus they produce spores which, for cultivation purposes, are incorporated into the growing compost where they form a network of fine white filaments from which the mushrooms grow, if the temperature and humidity are right.
White and brown mushrooms are the most popular, though the brown or ‘chestnut’ has a better flavour. The terms ‘button’, ‘closed cup’, ‘open cup’, ‘flats’ and ‘portobello’ just refer to the size and stage in its growth at which it is harvested.
They are used in a wide variety of dishes such as risottos, stir-fries and omelettes. But they are delicious on their own and eaten raw in a salad or fried in a little salted butter with or without garlic according to your taste. Settle the whole lot on to a slice of granary toast and that’s all you need for a good supper.
They contain useful amounts of protein, fibre and vitamins but virtually no fat, cholesterol, carbs or sugars, so they’re excellent for the calorie conscious if you avoid putting them in the frying pan.
Cultivated mushrooms are best stored in a paper bag in the fridge. Chestnut mushrooms keep longer that the white ones at around 10 days. There is no need to peel or wash them, just knock off any bits of stray compost and trim the stalks with a knife.