TicTac

It might come from both the stem and via the cap - I have noted soaked stems as well in the past. But I have also noted mushrooms growing seemingly hanging under (attached to) a fallen tree totally protected by the rain, and dry when other exposed ones are soaked.

I have found (and it may be unique to this variety which is extremely thick fleshed for an oyster) that even one good rainfall will saturate the exposed ones. The nice thing is with the Elm Oysters is they only grow on trees, which makes drying time that much faster. At the end of the day, 9/10 times my desired preparation of a mushroom will entail high heat searing with salt to remove water content and concentrate flavours. Thus I choose to introduce as little water to the beasts as possible. Every chef I have worked with and known would never expose their prized fungi to water. Any tiny bit of dirt that my brush might miss gets incinerated by the heat and turns into roughage, and who cant use more roughage...!

Perhaps you might pause to offer thought as to the nature of my inquiry. In this case it is related to the absorption of water comparing farmed/store bought mushrooms vs. wild varieties. I am also not sure what you are washing off your (what I am assuming are store bought) mushrooms... I barely brush mine and they have all sorts of tiny bits of dirt, etc. Some even have worms (I save those for stock though, my wife gets creep-ed out at the thought, regardless the additional protein). Regardless, it all gets annihilated once it hits the smoking hot pan.

To each his/her own. No water will come in contact with my beauties! I am not a fan of button/cremini mushrooms, nor portobello's for that matter - when I do buy in stores it's Oyster/Shitake and if available Chanterelles and Morels. I do have a client who is a mushroom farmer, I will inquire more about this next I see him. I can assure you all however, the absorption ability of wild mushrooms is tremendous.

I can assure you that the water was fully saturated in the meat of the mushroom. If the opportunity presents itself I will document for you all the differences. They are most easily noticeable. Perhaps given the variety of mushrooms I eat are grown in the wild and not mass produced they behave differently. Who knows. What I do know is that it is counter intuitive to introduce something you wish to get rid of (and have a little as possible to begin with) in the cooking process. No reason why a simple small painters brush wouldn't suffice in any cleaning endeavors. Of the many chefs I have known none wash their mushrooms.

Myth? Not so. Allow me to substantiate my claim. As some of you might be aware, I love foraging for mushrooms. The best time to do so is right after it rains (actually a day or two after, to be exact). The reasoning behind this is twofold; primarily, mushrooms thrive in damp conditions hence the rain sends them into periods of rapid growth spurts, however; if there is a fair bit of rain or the mushroom is exposed; guess what? It becomes SATURATED in water. As in, a mushroom in the same rain storm exposed to the rain vs. one not, will be 3-5x heavier due to the absorption of water. I have also cooked mushrooms both 'protected from the elements' and others not as lucky and the cooking time is exponentially longer for those saturated fungi and the end result is never as good. The same would be re-created if washed - to a certain extent, but especially soaked, in water. Books and people on the internet can tell you all they want, but until you have seen these beauties in their natural environment and see how the react under different conditions, all that is is hot air!

Mushrooms don't absorb water?? What?!?! Mushroom's are nature's sponges. You never wash a mushroom! Take a brush and remove any dirt cut the stems, but do NOT wash your mushrooms (unless you like soggy, mushy, watery nonsense; of course).

It could very well be an age thing, I am in my mid 30's. blue_dolphin, that is correct - never. I am not a minimalist at all, though I do like things tidy! At age 7 I was being taught how to cook risotto, for me, cooking is in my blood - cooking, unlike baking however; is not an exact science, therefor the need for books is minimal (for me, at least). Who needs cookbooks for inspiration when we have fantastic cooks among us who spur on creative food flowing ideas on a daily basis.

Clearly it was a hyperbole, I am sure there are others - but I wonder how many.

Am I the only one who doesn't own a cookbook that I bought for myself? I mean I have 2-3 sitting far away on a shelf somewhere that I looked at once or twice, but besides baking; I suppose I rarely if ever use an actual recipe.

Looks great - would love to hear the recipe for the dumplings.

Great ideas Nancy. If only I could find chanterelles, morels and the like. I did find some mushrooms now (fall) which appear to be chanterelle 'esque, but was not certain so left them alone. I had in one course planned to do a smokey component. I was thinking some speck perhaps, or good old thick cut bacon...

I have heard rumors of porcini's in southern Ontario...lucky you! I too am giving them away by the pound, we are only nearly caught up on frozen mushrooms (in a variety of forms) from last season.

Having briefly searched I could not find any threads on the topic. Not sure if there are any other foragers on EG, I do gather there are many mushroom fans among us. Typical mushrooms seasons appear in Spring time and in Fall in southern Ontario (Canada). Now is the season, at least in my area, for Elm Oyster's and Puffballs (among others which I am still learning about!). Luckily (aka hours of hiking - I have lovingly dubbed it treasure hunting - in the woods) I have an overabundance of Oysters (think much larger, meatier and more flavourful than what you get at the store!) so we are doing a mushroom dinner, and while I have many ideas, I was wondering if anyone has any special preparations for their favourite shrooms. So far I am doing a mushroom saute with a olive oil poached yolk to mix - mushrooms w/herbs on toast - and mushroom risotto with many forms of fungi! Also considering a grilled variation (as some of these beasts are the size of a dinner plate!). Curious to hear if anyone else picks their own and what you all like to do with them!

Looks tasty - but I think you meant 'Instead of pancetta'!

I cannot imagine eating an entire habanero. The immediate experience itself aside, the day(s) to follow would be hellish!

Are you implying that you would eat a - whole - roasted - habanero!?

Love the wooden barrels. Living on a ravine/forest limits our ability to grow produce which requires a ton of sun (unless I do it in the front, which I have started testing this year and will expand next!). However, the flip side, besides the beautiful setting, is the bounties that mother nature offers. It's mushroom season - and the Elm Oysters are absolutely booming - today's pickage (yay, I get to participate in the pickage verbage!) - lime for scale:

Stupidity knows no bounds.

It was a fun night and it reminded me why I detest going downtown (traffic, traffic, and a bit more traffic)! The Foie dish came in a bowl with a very small concave center. A few pieces among a very rich chicken jus, a sunchoke puree and some seared hedgehogs. The Pork was a slice from the rack (my wife had this one so my details are hazy - or was that thanks to the wine pairing...?) The cabbage was thinly sliced with a bit of a vinegar note, walnuts and mustard I believe were part of the sauce. Hope this helps, if you have any other questions don't hesitate. If you are ever planning on being in Toronto, I highly recommend it, though do note they require reservations nearly 2 months in advance.

Thanks dj - appreciate the time you took. I contacted Richters (per Kerry's suggestion) and already heard back - they have both plants (only purple) and seeds (purple and green) available now. I will probably pick up a pack of each seeds, curious as to whether they would grow indoors in the winter time....

Thanks Kerry - that's great, will give them a shout.

No, Holy Basil. Been cooking a lot of Pud Kra Prao at home and Italian basil while nice, just doesn't cut it! Not to mention I want to try to make tea's with it as well.

I have been searching for a while to find some to grow (Toronto, ON) - not much luck. May have to resort to an online source....

Now if only your cooking would influence the food that hospitals serve to their patients! Love this thread already.