Infusing Milk or Cream with Mushroom Flavor

[FeChef]

If it worked to your liking then great. But you would not have had to use so much mushrooms if you ground them up and used water. You could have gone as far as adding powdered milk to the liquid after straining.

[Shel_B]

If it worked to your liking then great. But you would not have had to use so much mushrooms if you ground them up and used water. You could have gone as far as adding powdered milk to the liquid after straining.

 

But ground up mushrooms soaked in water have no further use.  The remaining mushroom pieces can be used for other dishes. And I did not want to use water ... I think my original question made that clear.  I've made plenty of infusions using water and mushrooms, such as the 2 quarts of mushroom stock in my freezer (http://forums.egullet.org/topic/146256-mushroom-stock-ideas-wanted/?hl=%2Bmushroom+%2Bstock), which I could have used had I wanted to use water.

 

While you, and others, jump on my case for not doing this your way, and for my not wanting to follow your sage advice, I know, and thought I was clear about, what I wanted to do.  I said, "One idea that I want to play with is infusing the milk or cream with mushroom flavor from dried mushrooms.  Might that work by simply heating the dairy and adding dried mushroom pieces and letting them steep?"  IOW, I wanted to try and experiment with that technique. In fact, at least one person here, Deryn, suggested I experiment with the idea.  She said "In addition, I also suggest that you take a few of the dried mushrooms you say you have already and try the infusion 'experiment'.  So I did ...

 

In my searches for ideas about this technique, I also discovered a cold infusion, where the mushroom pieces are soaked in the milk or cream overnight in the refrigerator.  That would probably have a lot less intense flavor than your water technique, but it is something I shall try at some point.

 

Not everything has to be intensely flavored.  There is a decided lack of subtlety in many recipes and ideas that are floating around.  More is not always better.

 

Finally, if I don't experiment and play around with ideas that don't conform to someone else's concept of what is right, or commonplace, I don't learn.  And maybe even others won't learn from my experiences, whether successful or night.

[FeChef]

All im saying is you used more then was needed. 2oz of ground mushrooms would have gave you the same amount of flavor as the 10oz you used. Also, looking at the sides of your pot, you burned the milk.

[Shel_B]

All im saying is you used more then was needed. 2oz of ground mushrooms would have gave you the same amount of flavor as the 10oz you used. Also, looking at the sides of your pot, you burned the milk.

 

I used "about 50-grams of dried mushrooms," not 10-ounces.  50 grams = 1.76-ounces.  Actually, I rounded off.  The exact amount was 48.5 grams, in either case less than the 2-oz you suggest.  You can see the porcinis at 40-grams on the scale, and can probably interpolate to some degree the weight of the shiitakes.  Read my post again. 

 

The milk didn't burn.  I just went back an looked at the pot again to be sure. 

[FeChef]

I used "about 50-grams of dried mushrooms," not 10-ounces.  50 grams = 1.76-ounces.  Actually, I rounded off.  The exact amount was 48.5 grams, in either case less than the 2-oz you suggest.  You can see the porcinis at 40-grams on the scale, and can probably interpolate to some degree the weight of the shiitakes.  Read my post again. 

 

The milk didn't burn.  I just went back an looked at the pot again to be sure. 

Ah ok my bad, i read 10oz of half and half as mushrooms. Must have some dyslexia going on or sumtin.

[Duvel]

I regularly soak mushroom in hot cream (just boiled and removed from the heat, soaking around 30 min) to prepare the base for mushroom croquettes. A mixture of ceps and trumpets of the dead give me best results. The latter imparts a truffle-like note that I find very pleasant. After soaking the rehydrated mushrooms are chopped up and mixed with a duxelles of fried fresh mushrooms (oyster, shiitake, whatever is cheap) and garlic confit and the strained cream before briefly simmered together and then turned into a thick bechamel for the croquettes. Plenty of aroma and body ...

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I hesitate to touch this thread with a ten foot pole but I would use a sauce allemande.

[btbyrd]

More Than Gourmet makes a concentrated mushroom stock. I'd much rather use that than anything else that's been mentioned.

[ElsieD]

Btbyrd, thanks for the info. I'll skip that boullion stuff. Thanks too for the link to More Than Gourmet. They sure have a lot of good sounding things. I am about to place an order for some of their items including their concentrated mushroom stock. Thanks again.

[btbyrd]

Another great way to create a flavorful mushroom broth is to pulse fresh mushrooms in the food processor until they're finely chopped, vacuum seal them with a small amount of salt, and cook them sous vide at 90C for two hours or so. This produces an intense "mushroom water" that you can use however you'd like.

[Shalmanese]

Another great way to create a flavorful mushroom broth is to pulse fresh mushrooms in the food processor until they're finely chopped, vacuum seal them with a small amount of salt, and cook them sous vide at 90C for two hours or so. This produces an intense "mushroom water" that you can use however you'd like.

Even easier: Cook whole mushrooms in the microwave covered for 10 minutes, pour off the resulting liquid, squeezing the whole mushrooms against a sieve to get more juice out. If you want even more of an intense mushroom flavor, cook quartered mushrooms in the microwave as before, squeeze out the liquid and then saute in butter for a good 20 - 30 minutes until very well browned. Add back the mushroom juice and let simmer for another 30 minutes, then strain. Even using ordinary button mushrooms, you get an intense mushroom jus that's phenomenally tasty.

If you puree the jus with some roasted garlic, you have a ready made sauce that's a great vegetarian substitute for demi-glace.

Edited February 23, 2015 by Shalmanese (log)

[BKEats]

I would take a bunch button mushrooms and cook that liquid down to almost a syrup. Then I would add the mushroom syrup to milk/cream and cook that together for 20 minutes or so. Salt, sugar, a shot of lemon, then I would give the mixture a day to hangout in the fridge.

Edited February 23, 2015 by BKEats (log)

[MetsFan5]

We have some potlucks coming up in the next couple of months, and the Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup that we prefer is not available, so I decided to make my own. One idea that I want to play with is infusing the milk or cream with mushroom flavor from dried mushrooms. Might that work by simply heating the dairy and adding dried mushroom pieces and letting them steep? Is there more to it than that? And just to be clear, the infusion would only be one step in the preparation ... Thanks!

Why so secretive? Why not reveal your potluck recipe? I hardly think any of us would try to steal anything from you. The best way to get workable answers is giving full disclosure. Isn't sharing the point of this forum? That said I learned a ton from this thread so thanks!

Edited February 25, 2015 by MetsFan5 (log)