Cream of mushroom Soup, enhanced

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I was working, using an underground cable locator to allow me to paint a trail over buried cable, when I happend upon two perfect field mushrooms, with the pink gills. I immediatley picked them and stuck them in my shirt pocket.

Today's lunch is a can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup. I added the washed and broken mushrooms I picked. Wow did that ever intensify the mushroom flavor, and give me a decent bunch of mushroom chunks to enjoy in my soup. I love finds like that.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

[Dawgluver]

I love adding extra mushrooms to Campbell's COM soup. I've used Hen of the Woods in it too.

[CWS4322]

Sorry, Chief, but canned soup is not my thing. However, when I'm at my parents, and they want CMS, I add some dried morel mushrooms (soaked for 20-30 minutes) from my dad's stock, some Worcestershire sauce, and saute some fresh mushrooms, chop them, add the mushroom "juice" from the morels, homemade beef stock for at least 1/2 of the milk (I prefer cream), top with a dollop of cottage cheese that I've "whipped" using the hand blender to which I've added fresh chives at the end. It works--makes the canned soup taste a bit better. I just can't figure out how to reduce the sodium.

[Zhizara]

CWS, you would already be reducing the sodium by adding unsalted ingredients like the mushrooms and mushroom water. Using the cream would also help.

I make broth/stock without salt and only add it (or not) when preparing another dish.

Of course, the Worcestershire sauce is against you, but it sure sounds tasty.

[CWS4322]

Originally Posted by Zhizara

CWS, you would already be reducing the sodium by adding unsalted ingredients like the mushrooms and mushroom water. Using the cream would also help.

I make broth/stock without salt and only add it (or not) when preparing another dish.

Of course, the Worcestershire sauce is against you, but it sure sounds tasty.

The soup has so much sodium in it to start--can't get away from that. My parents LOVE salt. .... I just try to make it taste like something other than canned soup. Oh, and if I can, I sneak some sherry in it.

[Dawgluver]

Originally Posted by CWS4322

The soup has so much sodium in it to start--can't get away from that. My parents LOVE salt. ....

I get the reduced sodium, Healthy Request.

[CWS4322]

Originally Posted by Dawgluver

I get the reduced sodium, Healthy Request.

My dad only buys that if it is the same price on special...sigh. 17 cans of CMS were in the pantry last time I was there...only 2 were low sodium. Old dogs, new tricks.

[Aunt Bea]

I gave up on the cream of mushroom soup that I grew up with.

Now I start with fresh or dried mushrooms, a little of this and a little of that. It seems like the less canned/prepared food I have on hand the better I eat and the cheaper it is, go figure.

Creamed mushrooms is another great way to enjoy them. Sliced mushrooms fried in butter or bacon fat, a sprinkle of flour, S&P, cream, whole milk or stock. Serve over biscuits, toast or mashed potatoes with something green on the side!

[CWS4322]

I too make homemade cream of mushroom soup when I have a craving. I don't have any canned soups, boxed foods (the "blue" box), or instant flavourings (spaghetti sauce, taco sauce) in my cupboards. I try not to eat processed / prepared food. And yes, you save money avoiding those products. I try to eat real food as often as possible.

[Mad Cook]

How do you make mushroom soup which doesn't turn out grey and unappetising looking? Whenever I've tried to make it it's turned out a very tasty but a horrible sludge colour. The only time it didn't was when I used small tightly closed button mushrooms and then it didn't taste of much.

[Aunt Bea]

Originally Posted by Mad Cook

How do you make mushroom soup which doesn't turn out grey and unappetising looking? Whenever I've tried to make it it's turned out a very tasty but a horrible sludge colour. The only time it didn't was when I used small tightly closed button mushrooms and then it didn't taste of much.

I think the color is a fact of life. You can reduce the discoloration by taking a spoon and removing the gills from the underside of the mushrooms when you clean them.

[Kayelle]

Originally Posted by Mad Cook

How do you make mushroom soup which doesn't turn out grey and unappetising looking? Whenever I've tried to make it it's turned out a very tasty but a horrible sludge colour. The only time it didn't was when I used small tightly closed button mushrooms and then it didn't taste of much.

Try a little "Kitchen Bouquet" that's used to darken gravy. Hopefully you have the equivalent in the UK.

[Dawgluver]

Originally Posted by Kayelle

Try a little "Kitchen Bouquet" that's used to darken gravy. Hopefully you have the equivalent in the UK.

Or a couple drops of Worchestershire sauce and some sherry or port!

[Kayelle]

Originally Posted by Dawgluver

Or a couple drops of Worchestershire sauce and some sherry or port!

Oh yeahhhh....I gotta have a little splash of sherry in my CMS.

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Originally Posted by Mad Cook

How do you make mushroom soup which doesn't turn out grey and unappetising looking? Whenever I've tried to make it it's turned out a very tasty but a horrible sludge colour. The only time it didn't was when I used small tightly closed button mushrooms and then it didn't taste of much.

To keep it white, you have to remove the gills before chopping the mushroom. You can use the gills with dirty rice, or mixed into smashed spuds, , or added to a brothy soup, etc.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

[menumaker]

I know what you mean MC so this is how I get around it.I saute my chopped mushrooms in a little butter, drain off any juice and put this aside. I use about a pound of mushrooms for 4-6 servings. Then I add chicken stock as I find this gives a better flavor as well as a lighter and more attractive colour. Then I blitz to the consistency I want and add cream, nutmeg and black pepper which now makes it look pale, rich and pinky. ( I have found that Milk seems to make the soup look dowdy for some reason.) Then I fold in a bit of sherry. I always sprinkle chopped parsley on the top of the portions which looks good and adds to the flavor as well, with an extra swirl of cream and some croutons. By the time everyone has gone 'WoW! they don't notice the pinky-grey tinge underneath.
Ps. The set aside juice which can make the soup a funny brown colour gets used in another stock

[Roll_Bones]

Originally Posted by Chief Longwind Of The North

I was working, using an underground cable locator to allow me to paint a trail over buried cable, when I happend upon two perfect field mushrooms, with the pink gills. I immediatley picked them and stuck them in my shirt pocket.

Today's lunch is a can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup. I added the washed and broken mushrooms I picked. Wow did that ever intensify the mushroom flavor, and give me a decent bunch of mushroom chunks to enjoy in my soup. I love finds like that.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

Chief. How does one know the safe mushrooms from the ones that will kill you?
I run across shrooms many times in the woods, but for fear they might be poisonous, I leave them alone.
Experience? Or do you carry a mushroom hand book along in your pocket protector? LOL kidding about the pocket protector.

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Originally Posted by Roll_Bones

Chief. How does one know the safe mushrooms from the ones that will kill you?
I run across shrooms many times in the woods, but for fear they might be poisonous, I leave them alone.
Experience? Or do you carry a mushroom hand book along in your pocket protector? LOL kidding about the pocket protector.

There is a bunch of information about safe and poisonous mushrooms both on line, and at your local library. I only am familiar with 6 varieties that have no poisonous look alikes. These are inky caps (shaggy mains), pink gilled field mushrooms, puff balls, white, and black morrels (and the poisonous false morrels), and yellow sulpher mushrooms (Chicken of the Woods).

You need to put in the time to study, and learn about mushroom safety, how to take a spore print, and the mushrooms that are the safest to pick. Get a field guide from the library, or purchase one. There are usually mushroom hunting groups with expert mycologists in most areas. Find one, and go mushroom hunting with experienced mushroom hunters. And remember this saying; "There are educated mushroom hunters, and there are adventurous mushroom hunters. But there are no long lived adventurous mushroom hunters."

There are so many delicious edible mushrooms out there. But you need to know what is safe in the area in which you live. As I said, the pink gilled mushrooms that I pick, and that are found in North America, have no poisonous look alikes, at least none with pink gills. But if you were in Australia, there is a pink gilled mushroom, that when pinched, develops a blue bruise. It is deadly. Asian Imigrants, especially Chinese immigrants, suffered mushroom poisoning by picking LBM's in America (little brown mushrooms). They look like the edible straw mushrooms that the immigrants had picked in their home land, but here, are very poisonous. No picking LBM's.

Also, though all puffballs are edible, the Death Cap, and the angel of death (both members of the amanita family) when just popping out of the ground, look very similar. It is important to get the whole fruiting body. The amanita will have an underground stem, and a cap that has not yet turned into the familiar parasol shape. As it grows, it will develop a skirt on the stem, but otherwise look like button mushrooms you purchase in the store. Also, the amanitas have white gills.

Do the research, and go with experienced mycologists, and use a field guide.

That's how you know how to be safe.

Oh, another mushroom family that's worth studying, as the mushrooms are choice, is the bolete family, another easily identified mushroom. King Boletes are a real prize.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North