Cleaning mushroom

[cooking_guy]

Hello,

I was wondering what is the best way to clean mushrooms considerin the fact that they always have a bit of soil sticking to the top and sometimes to the gills.

I bought a food brush but it seems to corase to use on the mushrooms, i tend to boil the mushrooms to clean the dirt off, but some one said that it remoevs quite a bit of the flavour.

 

[miniman]

Personally I would give them a quick rinse undera running tap, or you could peel the top - takes a while if you have lots of mushrooms.

 

[VeraBlue]

Fill the sink with water and a bit of salt. Toss the mushrooms in and agitate quickly. Remove them just as quickly, before they have a chance to absorb the water.

You could also simply wipe them with a dish cloth.

 

[pdswife]

I just wipe them off with a moist paper towel.

 

[Andy M.]

I put them in a collander and shake them around under a water spray. (Faucet or hand held) then I turn them out onto a couple of paper towwels and pat them dry.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Alton Brown, of Food Network fame, once did a show on "kitchen myths", & one of the myths he abolished scientifically was the old wive's tale about never using water to clean mushrooms.

He exactly measured/weighed several groups of mushrooms & dry-brushed one group, soaked another in water, & rinsed another under running water. While yes, the soaked ones did absorb some liquid (albeit a very small amount), the ones rinsed under running water had absorbed such an unbelievably infinitesimal amount of liquid that it was laughable.

Rinse away!!!

 

[cooking_guy]

thanks for the replies,

can i use hot water or does it have to be cold running water. if one peels the top, the gills are still unclean, correct?

how does adding a bit of salt to the cleaning water help?

i guess boiling mushrooms will definitely remove some of the flavour. what about a quick rinse in a pot full of warm water?

 

[BreezyCooking]

Cold running water. No peeling. Rinse entire mushroom, gills included. No salt. No boiling.

Cleaning mushrooms is really really really no more complicated than cleaning any other vegetable. Really.

 

[Jeekinz]

I put them in a collander and shake them around under a water spray. (Faucet or hand held) then I turn them out onto a couple of paper towwels and pat them dry.

Ditto. I did the whole damp towel thing until I saw AB's experiment.

 

[kitchenelf]

thanks for the replies,

can i use hot water or does it have to be cold running water. if one peels the top, the gills are still unclean, correct?

how does adding a bit of salt to the cleaning water help?

i guess boiling mushrooms will definitely remove some of the flavour. what about a quick rinse in a pot full of warm water?

No need to use hot water. The salt just acts as an abrasive I feel sure. Warm water or cold water you still might have to rub with a paper towel and I wouldn't waste my time heating up water.

So...Just throw them in a sink full (or bowl full) of water and swish or just hose down with the sprayer in a colander - the easiest thing of all to do. Wipe off any obvious dirt with a wet paper towel. They make mushroom brushes but I've never used one. No need to peel - you are just peeling away part of the mushroom!!!

As in button mushrooms, the gills are probably not exposed. If they are exposed the dirt should rinse out the same way as above. As far as portobellos go, I usually scrape out the gills with a spoon as I do not like the brown liquid that seeps out of them after cooked.

 

[auntdot]

For years we were told that one does not wash mushrooms or else. Or else seemed to be that the shrooms would act like sponges and one would wind up with a gosh awful mess.

Well, never believed that and always ran them under some water, or tossed in a bowl of water for a bit, and never seemed to find the predicted dire consequences.

And knew a lot of people who just did the same thing. We knew the shrooms were fine cleaned that way but there were always folks who would give the 'don't ever wash a mushroom' party line.

Will always be grateful to AB for freeing us shroom washers from a charge of unconscionable fungus molestation.

Would not use hot water, am not sure it would hurt but it would blanch them a bit I suppose. But if you try it and like it, go for it.

Have no problem with the simple cold water wash though.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Completely agree with you AuntDot.

My grandparents washed their mushrooms, my parents washed their mushroom, & I've always washed my mushrooms.

No mamby-pamby little "mushroom brushes" or damp paper towels for me, thank you. Who has that kind of time?

 

[cooking_guy]

thanks for the replies and insights

will wash them under the tap.

 

[VeraBlue]

thanks for the replies,

can i use hot water or does it have to be cold running water. if one peels the top, the gills are still unclean, correct?

how does adding a bit of salt to the cleaning water help?

i guess boiling mushrooms will definitely remove some of the flavour. what about a quick rinse in a pot full of warm water?

When I was apprenticing I was taught to use either salt or flour in the water to help move the dirt off. I don't care for the idea of pasty water going down my pipes so I always use the salt..

I wouldn't use hot water because that could begin cooking the mushroom.

 

[Robo410]

for most applications I rinse quickly, but if I'm using them in a salad or going to saute them and want them browned, then I will brush them ... I have a nice set of vegetable brushes ... hardware store ... paint aisle ... some soft some stiff ... couple bucks.

 

[fireweaver]

oh my lord i'm going to get shot here...but...i never wash the mushrooms {ducks head}

it's a constant battle with the bf (who's an utterly amazing cook)...so we don't wash the mushrooms here, and we do over at his house, and neither complains either way.

yes, i saw the alton brown show about it too. but i'm all obstinate.

 

[Bilby]

I either wipe with a dry paper towel or peel. Depends on the state of the mushie. Sometimes they look nicer when they have been peeled. Never used water but not because of any bias against the practice, just never seen the need. Now that I think about it, I don't know anyone that does wash mushrooms!

 

[kitchenelf]

I don't mind the not washing mushrooms - I guess - I'd like to get forest floor stuff off of them though. What I don't understand is peeling a mushroom - that's a phrase I have NEVER heard before!

 

[Bilby]

Don't get many mushrooms in the shops that are grown in the open here. Any damage is in the skin or a bit of dirt at the very base of the stalk. Peeling the top skin off the mushrooms is pretty common here, even though we know how many nutrients we lose but it makes them look really much more attractive.