Cleaning mushrooms poll

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I have alot of respect for him too.Have you read his biography?Great read!

He has more credentials than just about anyone and still found time and respect for Julia Child.I have his video series on techniques and it is good.His book and series with Julia is one of my faves.A real class act there and a greast artist to boot!

My favorite, too. I don't know anything about him except that he exudes a generosity that is decidedly missing from most celebrity chefs. His daughter was a guest one time on one of M. Batalli's shows, and she SLAMMED him for stereotyping her French mother as a fussy chef. The true legacy is the character of your children.
 
My favorite, too. I don't know anything about him except that he exudes a generosity that is decidedly missing from most celebrity chefs. His daughter was a guest one time on one of M. Batalli's shows, and she SLAMMED him for stereotyping her French mother as a fussy chef. The true legacy is the character of your children.

I sure agree with the the first two sentences Spork, but I'm scratching my head at the rest. Can you explain further?
 
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I wash mine under running water right before use. I have always done it this way and have never had a problem. Mushrooms are not as delicate as a lot of people think they are.

I loved the episode of Good Eats when Alton Brown proved that mushrooms don't quickly soak up a lot of liquid, as many people think. He started with a few batches of mushrooms, equal in weight. He brushed some, soaked some, and quickly washed some. I can't remember if there were any other cleaning methods used--I saw it a couple years ago. I can't remember the exact amounts, but if there was any weight difference, it was negligible.

:)Barbara

I do the same. I never felt like all the dirt was off by just brushing them. I use a collander and wipe them dry. I also wash the pre-washed greens too. If you've ever put them in a bowl of water and washed them before moving to the salad spinner, you'll see there are several things in there that you wouldn't want in your salad.
 
I sure agree with the the first two sentences Spork, but I'm scratching my head at the rest. Can you explain further?
Sure, Kay. :) I like Chef Pepin, whom you rarely see nowadays on the Food Network and are more likely to see sometimes on a PBS channel. I like him because he offers to his tv audience, whereas most of the celebrity chefs on tv today, I think, force us to accept. But, I don't know anything about him.

He has a daughter. I don't know much about her either. When Mario Batali started at the Food Network, he had a good show cooking two or three Italian dishes for 3 guest diners. One of Batali's schticks was to highlight the rustic nature of Italian cooking by insulting French cooking as fussy and pretentious. She was once a guest on his show. When he made his comment that Italian mothers carve up their root vegetables assertively upright, without cutting board, into irregular pieces, unlike a French mother who slouches into a board to meticulously cut one into a perfect football tourne, she interrupted him, "Wait just a second! My mother is French, and she doesn't cook like that!" It flustered Mario; I don't recall whether he apologized, probably not.

I don't know anything about Jacques Pepin, haven't read his biography. I've seen a few tv episodes with him and Julia Childs. But, my sense of him is re-affirmed by the character of his daughter, who on national tv, calls out a celebrity for his offensive schtick and defends her mother.
 
I put mine in a large holed collander and jostle them around under running water. The holes and bumping up against each other does an excellent job at washing them. Then if they are destined for the frying pan I roll them onto a towel and jostle them there before slicing.
 
Well after reading all this about Alton Brown busting the whole thing, I will definitely be rinsing mine before using them from now on. I missed that episode! Darn it.
 
An older Irish gentleman ordered whiskey in a Scottish bar in Newfoundland. The bar tender asked if he wanted water on the side.

"Water, never touch the stuff. Fish _______ in it."

True story.

Shrek has mentioned that in polite company, too!
 
Only at the DC Forums will you hear that we shouldn't drink water because H20 is an alien fish conspiracy to take over the planet.

Back to mushrooms, I like mine dried, reconstituted in water. No washing issues, keeps forever in my frig/pantry.
 
First of all, what mushrooms are you talking about. If it is a store bought chopped one then they are clean, if it is a store bought whole one then it is a different story, as I never buy them. And the most important, if you are talking about the wild one, freshly picked from the forest thhen it is all together a different story. Wash them and rince them.
 
i rinse under cold water, gently scrubbing any dark bits off as i go with my fingers.

then i shake them out to remove any water between the gills. the other side of the caps are well known to be waterproof, as demonstrated by leprechauns over the millenia. :lucky:
 
t really depends on how I'm using them. Sauteed? I want them very dry so I just brush them. Going in a stew? rinse them. Raw in a salad? damp towel. DOes it really make a difference? Seems to.
Don't eat them "raw in a salad"...they have no nutritive value that way. Cook them really well and they will be bursting with nutrition.
 
Me: wipe them with a damp paper towel

No point washing them under the tap. Mushrooms already throw out enough water in the pan as it is.
 
An older Irish gentleman ordered whiskey in a Scottish bar in Newfoundland. The bar tender asked if he wanted water on the side.

"Water, never touch the stuff. Fish _______ in it."

True story.

The original line was taken from a W.C. Fields movie, who, when asked if would like some water, replied: "I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish do in it."

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
The original line was taken from a W.C. Fields movie, who, when asked if would like some water, replied: "I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish do in it."

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

Yeah, that's where I figure the Irishman got it from. I found out about the W.C. Fields line later.
 
I rinse the heck out of them and dry them on a paper towel. They are clean as a whistle when I'm finished with them. If they absorb water then so be it....has never bothered me nor hurt my recipe any.:chef:
 
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