How do I properly wash a wild mushroom...

[big brown horse]

I'm ready to eat these puppies! They have all of these nooks and crannys full of pete and soil. Is there a good way to get them clean without soaking them or damaging them? (I don't have any special tools like mushroom cleaners etc, just regular old kitchen utencils.)

(BTW, they are big, but soft, not woody at all.)

If you need to see a photo of them check out my other thread on "how to properly pick wild mushrooms".



(HiDelight, my PNW mushroom guru, where are ya?)

P.S. I am going to post a wild mushroom recipe thread on the recipes section too...although I think I know what I am going to with these tonight, I would love other recipes too.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

You don't wash them . . . you brush off the debris.

What kind did you find?

 

[patandchickens]

My feeling has always been, use a damp paper towel to brush off any surface yutz, and a careful knife to cut out any spots that are funky or have grown around debris like twigs, and after that, just rely on cooking and don't think too much about little chewy bits you may bite down on Really cruddy messed-up specimens I don't even pick, or if accidentally picked I don't eat, so sue me.

I know that some people who are squeamish about bugs will either cut the larger mushrooms up (so you can find bugs and remove them) or soak certain kinds of mushrooms in salt water for a little while, like you'd do broccoli from the garden. Never done that myself, so I cannot comment on the results.

Good luck, have fun, bon appetit,

Pat

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Yeah . . . you don't want to eat any rotting mushroom pieces.

With chanterelles, you don't have to worry too much about the little bugs . . . although for some reason the white chanterelle I picked last week had a bunch of little bugs on one part of it.

 

[big brown horse]

Thanks!