# Shrooms



## Snow. (Dec 28, 2012)

I don't know where to post this. You don't have a mushroom forum. Fungi are fungi though, not vegetables or animals. But they're kind of like vegetables so here's this.

So... I was looking to expand on my mushroom knowledge and ability to cook them. So far I've had portabella, white (giorgio?), shiitake, oyster, and some weird little ones that look like ones growing in my yard that I know are poisonous as hell, but I guess they're not.

The only one I don't care for that much is shiitake. The rubbery stem is annoying. 

Are there any books I should get about edible mushrooms or any mushroom kits that I should buy to grow my own <x> mushrooms? Where do I start?


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## Andy M. (Dec 28, 2012)

Welcome to DC.  

First thing you should know is that you're not supposed to eat the stems of shiitakes.


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## Snow. (Dec 28, 2012)

I knew that, but what I meant to convey is that it's annoying to have to take the stem off of them before I cook them or before I eat them.

You have a lot of posts...


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## Andy M. (Dec 28, 2012)

Snow. said:


> I knew that, but what I meant to convey is that it's annoying to have to take the stem off of them before I cook them or before I eat them.
> 
> You have a lot of posts...




Been around for a while and have no life...


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## Snow. (Dec 28, 2012)

I didn't mean...
you just...
I...

I'm actually growing an oyster mushroom kit I got right now. It's pretty cool looking but I just know I'm either going to burn my house down by misting it bi-daily somehow, or it will just rot the box it's in. I usually can't do much right.


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## Addie (Dec 28, 2012)

Andy M. said:


> Been around for a while and have no life...


 
No life, but a grandson that you adore.


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## Andy M. (Dec 28, 2012)

Addie said:


> No life, but a grandson that you adore.



You should have seen his face Christmas morning when he was opening his gifts.


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## giggler (Dec 28, 2012)

@ "Snow",. You really want to grow your own!?

I think I remember a good Mushroom Kit sold in one of those Underground Magazines, many years ago! Ha Ha Ha..

Eric, Austin Tx.


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## pacanis (Dec 28, 2012)

I think I remember a member discussing growing their own on a piece of oak or something where the shrooms were already started.


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## Snow. (Dec 28, 2012)

giggler said:


> @ "Snow",. You really want to grow your own!?
> 
> I think I remember a good Mushroom Kit sold in one of those Underground Magazines, many years ago! Ha Ha Ha..
> 
> Eric, Austin Tx.



You know what I mean.

I'm planning on working my way up to morels.


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## kadesma (Dec 28, 2012)

Snow. said:


> You know what I mean.
> 
> I'm planning on working my way up to morels.


 I tried one of those kits and got no place, What a dissapointment. I plan to try again but not from this place I don't mind 20.00 but this is a trial. Good luck and I do hope you didn't shop at Home Depot!!!
kadesma


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## taxlady (Dec 28, 2012)

Snow. said:


> You know what I mean.
> 
> I'm planning on working my way up to morels.


I wouldn't get my hopes up too much about growing morels. They are very hard to grow. According to Morchella - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, "Efforts to grow morels are rarely successful and the commercial morel industry is based on harvest of wild mushrooms."

But, I can understand a desire to grow morels. Those are some tasty mushrooms.


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## Addie (Dec 28, 2012)

Andy M. said:


> You should have seen his face Christmas morning when he was opening his gifts.


 
When I was at my son's house, his son got a medical kit. The stethoscope made a clicking sound when you pressed it against the person. It sounded like a heart beat. He wanted my son to get his so they could check every ones heart together. Like father, like son. He is three y.o.


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## Snow. (Dec 28, 2012)

taxlady said:


> I wouldn't get my hopes up too much about growing morels. They are very hard to grow. According to [URL=" - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/URL], "Efforts to grow morels are rarely successful and the commercial morel industry is based on harvest of wild mushrooms."
> 
> But, I can understand a desire to grow morels. Those are some tasty mushrooms.



Yeah I wasn't planning on becoming rich any time soon. I thought I might as well try.


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## kadesma (Dec 28, 2012)

Andy M. said:


> You should have seen his face Christmas morning when he was opening his gifts.


 I can just imagine Andy, several of my grandkids had that look as well
kades


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## sparrowgrass (Dec 28, 2012)

My brother gave me a mushroom kit from Whole Foods.  Not many mushrooms for the price, but they did grow, and it was kinda fun.  

Mushroom books--I have them all, I think.  Audubon has a good one, and the Peterson field guide was my go-to for a long time.  I recently purchased Missouri's Wild Mushrooms (from MO Dept of Conservation) and Mushrooms of Illinois.  I live in MO, but those books would be good for anybody in the eastern US.  They both have big photographs and some recipes.  

Just remember, there are old mushroom hunters and there are bold mushroom hunters, but there are no old AND bold mushroom hunters.


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## larry_stewart (Dec 28, 2012)

Ive tried white buttons, cremini, shitaki, oyster and morels.
The white buttons and cremini i was most successful with, still didnt get my moneys worth when looking at price vs amount of mushrooms harvested, but it was a great experience.

The shitaki logs, got a few , but nothing worth bragging about.

And the morels were a complete failure.

With all the fallen oak trees as a result of sandy, I plan on innoculating them with shitaki spores ( and a few other spores) from a Fungi magazine that i receive.  Always loved gardening, so why not have a mushroom garden.


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## Dawgluver (Dec 28, 2012)

Many moons ago I ordered a shitake log from Gardens Alive.  Got about 8 mushrooms from it.  They said it would repeat, it didn't.

We get wild Hen of the Woods here, and I freeze 'em, dry 'em, and cook 'em.  They're great in soups, stews, etc.

I also have the Wild Mushrooms of Illinois book, has great pics, advice, and recipes.  The only mushrooms I trust myself to identify for certain are morels and Hen of the Woods.


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## no mayonnaise (Dec 29, 2012)

I came into this thread for an entirely different reason.
*turns around and leaves*


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## larry_stewart (Dec 29, 2012)

Dawgluver said:


> The only mushrooms I trust myself to identify for certain are morels and Hen of the Woods.



Recently, I went to a local " Mycological Club"  meet up / walk ( mushroom pickers),  Thinking to myself I could learn how to Identify the edible vs poisonous.  I didnt realize how many Inedible mushrooms there were in my area.  After the walk, i totally lost my confidence in my ability to identify edible vs inedible.  In many cases, long time members and leaders of the club couldnt  make %100 for sure, identifications.  All that being said, I agree that if not morel or hen of the woods mushrooms,  i wouldnt even risk it.  Just dont think i have the knowledge or confidence to make the right Identification.  I leave that to the experts.


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## medtran49 (Dec 29, 2012)

We ordered the pink flamingo (i think that was the name) oyster mushroom kit from fungiperfecti.com several years ago. It was the only one that would grow where we live (S Florida) as it could tolerate higher temps. It produced for us really well the first go round and then gave us an okay harvest second time and I think it even gave us a few after that before it quit growing. 

As far as fresh mushrooms, we've had morels, chanterelles, various kinds of oysters, one of the trumpets (blue I think), italian and domestic porcini, black truffles on rare occasions, and of course the old standbys of white and crimini/portabello. We have to order most of them on-line as other than the oysters and the old standbys we can't get locally as a regular consumer. 

We've had shitakes but they are not my personal favorite, just don't like the taste. 

I'd like to try Hen of the Woods but apparently they have caused allergies in a good number of people (they come with a warning on the Fungi Perfecti site). So, since I have a number of food/environmental allergies, don't want to pay $18+ a pound plus overnight shipping and then find out it's something I can't eat.


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## Snow. (Dec 29, 2012)

I got some dried porcini mushrooms today. Never had them. They sound good. $5 isn't horrible for an ounce of dried shrooms... I think? Not for an online grocery service probably.

I can't tell if my oyster shroom kit is doing much. I'm bad at watering it. But now it's sitting next to my computer monitor so I have to look at it.


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## sparrowgrass (Dec 29, 2012)

Wild oysters are one of my favorites to collect--easy, unmistakable, and so delicious.

They grow on wood, they are soft, meaty and smell very slightly of anise, and here in MO, you can find them any time the temp is above freezing.

Pleurotus ostreatus, the Oyster mushroom, Tom Volk's Fungus of the Month for October 1998


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## Snow. (Dec 29, 2012)

sparrowgrass said:


> Wild oysters are one of my favorites to collect--easy, unmistakable, and so delicious.
> 
> They grow on wood, they are soft, meaty and smell very slightly of anise, and here in MO, you can find them any time the temp is above freezing.
> 
> ostreatus, the Oyster mushroom, Tom Volk's Fungus of the Month for October 1998[/url




I live in Minnesota. I don't believe they grow here. Dunno. Some kind grow on my deck though. And there was this REALLY WEIRD one in this little drainage ditch (for rainwater, not sewage or anything obviously. also it's rural so probably not much pollution) this past year by my house. It was between the size of a softball and a soccer ball and it looked like [URL="http://www.microfiberwholesale.com/images/D/Microfiber%20Car%20Wash%20Sponge%20Underside.jpg"]these things kinda except more gray-green, but it definitely was a fungus. I so wish I knew what that thing was but I was afraid it was going to eat me every time I went out there.


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## taxlady (Dec 29, 2012)

larry_stewart said:


> Recently, I went to a local " Mycological Club"  meet up / walk ( mushroom pickers),  Thinking to myself I could learn how to Identify the edible vs poisonous.  I didnt realize how many Inedible mushrooms there were in my area.  After the walk, i totally lost my confidence in my ability to identify edible vs inedible.  In many cases, long time members and leaders of the club couldnt  make %100 for sure, identifications.  All that being said, I agree that if not morel or hen of the woods mushrooms,  i wouldnt even risk it.  Just dont think i have the knowledge or confidence to make the right Identification.  I leave that to the experts.


Some mushrooms can only be identified with certainty using a spore test. A good mushroom identifying book will tell you what colour the spores are. It will tell you if there is another mushroom with which it could be confused and how certain their list of things to check is.

I had white and black paper just for mushroom identifying when I lived in the country. You leave the 'shrooms on the paper overnight and in the morning you can see the spores on the paper and determine the colour.

I have to admit that just about everything I collected turned out to something poisonous after checking in the book and with the spore test.


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## Addie (Dec 29, 2012)

kadesma said:


> I can just imagine Andy, several of my grandkids had that look as well
> kades


 
And that is why I still say, Christmas and Christmas trees are for children. The adults who love the holiday get their joy of the holiday from watching the expressions on the children's faces. Adults first see all the work that goes into the holiday. Then they get the rewards of all that work by looking at the faces of children.


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## Snow. (Dec 29, 2012)

taxlady said:


> Some mushrooms can only be identified with certainty using a spore test. A good mushroom identifying book will tell you what colour the spores are. It will tell you if there is another mushroom with which it could be confused and how certain their list of things to check is.
> 
> I had white and black paper just for mushroom identifying when I lived in the country. You leave the 'shrooms on the paper overnight and in the morning you can see the spores on the paper and determine the colour.
> 
> I have to admit that just about everything I collected turned out to something poisonous after checking in the book and with the spore test.



You know a lot about spores. Is there any way I can take some of the spores from my oyster shroom kit and stick it in my own substrate later to continue growing? Or do you not know?


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## Steve Kroll (Dec 29, 2012)

Snow. said:


> I live in Minnesota. I don't believe they grow here. Dunno.


I saw that you live in Edina (although it changed to Jupiter today). If you're interested in growing mushrooms, there's a guy that you should talk to at the Mill City Winter Farm Market. It's held one weekend a month in the Mill City Museum in downtown Mpls. This guy grows edible mushrooms in his basement using logs and sawdust, and sells them at the market. I don't know all the specifics, but he's a pretty interesting guy and might be able to give you some tips.


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## taxlady (Dec 29, 2012)

Snow. said:


> You know a lot about spores. Is there any way I can take some of the spores from my oyster shroom kit and stick it in my own substrate later to continue growing? Or do you not know?


Nope, don't really know.

But, since the spores fall out onto the paper overnight, maybe you could just lay your oyster mushrooms (gill side down) on the substrate overnight. Maybe try on black and on white paper first to see if you get anything.


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## Snow. (Dec 29, 2012)

Will try, thanks.


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## Snow. (Dec 29, 2012)

I can't edit my post :/

http://goo.gl/So17g 
made that
best food I've had in months.


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## Addie (Dec 29, 2012)

Snow. said:


> I can't edit my post :/
> 
> http://goo.gl/So17g
> made that
> best food I've had in months.


 
You have a small window in which to edit. then the Edit button disappears.


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## Snow. (Dec 29, 2012)

my shrooms smelled incredibly good. it was like smoked bacon


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## sparrowgrass (Dec 30, 2012)

Snow, oyster mushrooms do grow in Minnesota--I lived in Ely and found them often, generally in the spring.  (Which, in Ely, is May or June, as you know.)


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## no mayonnaise (Dec 30, 2012)

Snow. said:


> my shrooms smelled incredibly good. it was like smoked bacon



King Oyster Mushroom "Bacon"


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## Snow. (Dec 30, 2012)

no mayonnaise said:


> Oyster Mushroom "Bacon"



Call it "shroomin'" 



o wait


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## CharlieD (Dec 30, 2012)

I love wild mushrooms. This past summer my father was too busy so he did not go mushroom picking, otherwise he always in the woods during summer and brings a lots of mushrooms. I love them all. I especially like marinaded mushrooms.


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## Snow. (Jan 1, 2013)

I wish I knew a real mycologist. I'm sure many of the fungi growing in my back yard (woods with lotsa rotten stuff) are edible and some might even taste pretty good. Not going to be overly optimistic and say I think there are morels back there, but there has to be something.


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## CharlieD (Jan 1, 2013)

Most back yard mushrooms are poison.


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## Snow. (Jan 1, 2013)

Well I know that, but I'm sure there's SOMETHING.

What are some other mushrooms that are worth looking for while I'm looking for morels this spring? (cooking ability/flavor wise)


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## CharlieD (Jan 1, 2013)

For sure


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## Snow. (Jan 1, 2013)

For sure what? that there have to be a few good shrooms around here?


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## Snow. (Jan 1, 2013)

I hate double posting but I know for a fact that my property grows about four metric tonnes of puffball mushrooms. I think those are about on the level of button/portabella as far as flavor and uniqueness (i.e. none) but that could be a major source of some free shrooms this summer.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jan 1, 2013)

Unless I could look at a fungus and reference my books, then I would still feel unsure about anything I found.  Are you asking us to give you our blessing on the puffballs? Sight unseen?


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## Snow. (Jan 1, 2013)

I don't mean this in the way it will probably sound, but I don't understand what you mean.

I'm not just going to go pluck any shiny mushroom that looks like the picture book and stick it in my mouth. However, there are NO look-alikes for puffballs that anyone but a 2-year-old could mistake them for. They're all covered in wart-looking things, where puffballs are just like big, smooth, white button mushrooms. It's also fairly easy to tell if you have a fake morel, which I expect to find even less often than real ones around here (so less than never somehow). 

However, I'm not asking for advice or anything about finding them, but a few people have contributed their short experiences with finding mushrooms in their yard or something. But I'm here for recipes. I've got the pizza, and saute thing down, but I know there's more out there. Sauces, soups, maybe some completely unique thing I've never even heard of?


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jan 1, 2013)

Okay, now I understand, you are looking for recipes not 'shrooming advice.  

I typed "mushroom"into the site search engine and came up with over 15 pages of references to mushrooms: https://www.google.com/search?q=mus...c8db76974e7f67&bpcl=40096503&biw=1262&bih=619

We even ran a mushroom challenge a while ago and got several fun and great recipes out of it. Those are the links that say "GCC - Mushroom"


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## Snow. (Jan 1, 2013)

Thanks for the reference, I'll bookmark that search for now.


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## Addie (Jan 1, 2013)

About fifty years ago I was working at Revere Memorial Hospital. We had a family come into the ER. They had mushrooms with their lunch. The husband was deathly sick. He ended up with severely damaged kidneys and had to go on dialysis. He became a very sick patient for about ten days. I have never forgotten him. He was a young father of two babies. 

Wild mushrooms? NO THANKS!


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## buckytom (Jan 2, 2013)

if you think portabellas, creminis, or white button shrooms are a bit boring, try this:

the next time you are going to fire up your grill, prepare some portabella caps beforehand by removing the stem and any dirt, rub the cap with evoo and turn them gill side up, drizzling a balsamic vinegar dressing into them. let marinade for an hour or two, then pour out any excess marinade and put them onto the grill over medium low heat still with the gills up.

after they've grilled for a little while and are getting soft (when you can see some liquid forming in the cap), crumble some gorgonzola, fontina, locatelli, or cheese of your choice into the gills and cover with a deep pot lid or something to help melt the cheese.

once the cheese has melted in, remove from the grill and slice into quarters and serve with crusty italian bread slices for and appy.



for the creminis:

slice the mushrooms and saute for a few minutes in evoo. a lot of liquid will come out of the mushrooms. using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the mushroom slices and set aside. reduce the liquid left in the pan a little, then add butter and some fresh herbs like thyme, marjoram, or sage. return the sliced mushrooms to the pan, toss to coat, add some salt and pepper to taste. 

this goes really well over steak, or as a side dish with roast chicken. 



for white buttons:

this is similar to the creminis, but i like to halve the mushrooms instead and saute in grapeseed oil for a few minutes, then just add a good splash or three of whatever red wine you are drinking with (or before ) dinner. simmer on high heat until the mushroom liquid and red wine reduces enough to almost be a sauce, and add butter to round it out. again, salt and pepper to taste, and serve as a side.



i know you said that you don't like shiitakes, but i love them as well as my family, so we put them in everything from stir fries, to soups, to wherever we can add them, lol. and yes, you have to remove the stems.

one of my favourite ways of making shiitakes is sort of a stir fry/steaming technique that also includes baby bok choy.


start by heating up a wok and stir frying some ginger and garlic in peanut oil, then add a bunch of cleaned/rinsed whole baby bok choy and small shiitake caps. stir fry for just a minute or two, add a good couple of splashes of soy sauce, and a tbsp or so of fish sauce. stir fry for another minute, then add a half cup of chicken stock and allow the mushrooms and bok choy to simmer for another minute. when the bok choy are softened enough, add a little cornstarch slurry to thicken the liquid into a sauce, then ladle everything into a serving bowl.

i like to serve this with thinly sliced london broil and a side of white rice.




hope this helps.


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## Snow. (Jan 2, 2013)

The thing was I don't like the lack of edible parts of the shiitake, I mean, the stem is more than half of it. They taste fine to me, I'm just lazy and don't want to buy a pound of mushrooms and end up only get 4 ounces of edible parts.

Thanks for the ideas.


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## Addie (Jan 2, 2013)

Good Morning. BT, I love the portabello idea one. I will often use them in place of meat.


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## buckytom (Jan 2, 2013)

g'mornin' addie.

i got the portabella recipe from a restaurant on captiva island, fla. years ago. the bubble room, or bubble house, or something like that.



Snow. said:


> The thing was I don't like the lack of edible parts of the shiitake, I mean, the stem is more than half of it. They taste fine to me, I'm just lazy and don't want to buy a pound of mushrooms and end up only get 4 ounces of edible parts.
> 
> Thanks for the ideas.



snow, you might be able to find a farmer's  or asian market that sells shiitakes loose in bins rather than in packages (that way you can pick off the stems when no one is looking   ).


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## taxlady (Jan 2, 2013)

buckytom said:


> if you think portabellas, creminis, or white button shrooms are a bit boring, try this:
> 
> the next time you are going to fire up your grill, prepare some portabella caps beforehand by removing the stem and any dirt, rub the cap with evoo and turn them gill side up, drizzling a balsamic vinegar dressing into them. let marinade for an hour or two, then pour out any excess marinade and put them onto the grill over medium low heat still with the gills up.
> 
> ...


Nice recipes BT. Gonna have to try that one with the shitakes. I'll probably use cabbage, since it won't be cooked long and I find bok choy bitter.


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## Snow. (Jan 2, 2013)

I know this is off topic but it's my thread so deal with it .

Has anyone ever made microwave potato chips? No oil at all, and your choice on the amount of salt or whatever. But they are insanely amazing. They're better than any bagged chips I've ever had. Only reason I'm mentioning it is because I just made some.

As for on topic, I'll try to find a market, but I've looked around farmer markets here and the shroom choice is quite limited.


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## Gravy Queen (Jan 2, 2013)

I like the sound of the microwave crisps. I think I saw a tray thing for sale for cooking them on. Do you have to add lots of seasoning and are they good and crispy?


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## Gravy Queen (Jan 2, 2013)

I'm English so we call chips crisps and fries chips. I know its different on Jupiter.


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## taxlady (Jan 2, 2013)

Gravy Queen said:


> I'm English so we call chips crisps and fries chips. I know its different on Jupiter.


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## Snow. (Jan 2, 2013)

Gravy Queen said:


> I like the sound of the microwave crisps. I think I saw a tray thing for sale for cooking them on. Do you have to add lots of seasoning and are they good and crispy?



The tray things just melt down (according to most reviews), and are just about useless. I actually put them on a skewer like a quarter of an inch apart and set the skewer on any old ceramic plate. Once they get the less-shiny kind of bubbly look, I take them off of the skewer and set them on the plate (I've skipped the skewer before, they still work fine). Then I put them in on high again until about a third of the chip turns brown. If you cut them by hand they will all finish at different times. They don't feel crispy until they sit for a minute outside of the 'wave though.

I don't know if it makes a difference but I put salt on them before the cooking, hoping it will suck some of the moisture out.

They need very little salt and no oil. I've gotten the best result by spraying them with just a tiny bit of PAM spray on each one. Don't know what it does but they taste great either way. They taste good with just about anything, too, because they don't have that greasiness or crumbiness of store-bought chips.

Translated for the English:


> The tray things just melt down (according to most reviews), and are just about useless. I actually put them on a skewer like a quarter of an inch apart and set the skewer on any old ceramic plate. Once they get the less-shiny kind of bubbly look, I take them off of the skewer and set them on the plate (I've skipped the skewer before, they still work fine). Then I put them in on high again until about a third of the crisp turns brown. If you cut them by hand they will all finish at different times. They don't feel crispy until they sit for a minute outside of the 'wave though.
> 
> I don't know if it makes a difference but I put salt on them before the cooking, hoping it will suck some of the moisture out.
> 
> They need very little salt and no oil. I've gotten the best result by spraying them with just a tiny bit of PAM spray on each one. Don't know what it does but they taste great either way. They taste good with just about anything, too, because they don't have that greasiness or crumbiness of store-bought crisps.


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## Gravy Queen (Jan 2, 2013)

Hmmm I might just try this!! I could use my mandolin for slicing so they would be thin and similar sizes.  It certainly sounds like a healthier option. Worth experimenting.

Whats a PAM spray please, its it like a low cal oil spray ?


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## CharlieD (Jan 2, 2013)

I don't know about low cal, but it is a popular breand of oil spray here in the States. There are all kinds of oil now available.


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## Gravy Queen (Jan 2, 2013)

Oh right, a spray oil in a can. Ta.


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## Snow. (Jan 2, 2013)

Edit: see you got your answer.

Try them whenever you can. They're great. I throw out my slices if they're more than 2mm thick. Or save them for cooking later. I don't think they'd cook well, but I haven't tried.


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## CharlieD (Jan 2, 2013)

Snow, I just remembered, somebody here pointed me to this site: Home, Pistol River Mushroom Farm, Gold Beach, Oregon. Growing Gourmet Mushrooms on the Oregon Coast
 it is not about mushrooms, but they do have mushrooms.


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## Snow. (Jan 2, 2013)

CharlieD said:


> Snow, I just remembered, somebody here pointed me to this site:
> it is not about mushrooms, but they do have mushrooms.




Thank you.

Also to anyone wondering why all the links are gone from my quotes. I have no idea. I think it's adblock or something.

I got some fresh shiitake mushrooms and made a sandwich like I would with portabella (since I didn't have a portabella). Tasted pretty good.


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## Snow. (Jan 6, 2013)

Hey does anyone know how to make those wedge potatoes you can get fresh at some grocery stores where they have all the fresh food like drumsticks and stuff? If you don't know what I'm talking about, they're just regular wedge potatoes, but the "crust" or whatever you'd call it is like.... Seasoned and flaky and dark golden/brownish. That's the one part I can't get. They appear to be baked but I'm not sure.


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## Addie (Jan 6, 2013)

Snow. said:


> Hey does anyone know how to make those wedge potatoes you can get fresh at some grocery stores where they have all the fresh food like drumsticks and stuff? If you don't know what I'm talking about, they're just regular wedge potatoes, but the "crust" or whatever you'd call it is like.... Seasoned and flaky and dark golden/brownish. That's the one part I can't get. They appear to be baked but I'm not sure.


 
Is the crust possibly grated cheese? 

Italian Fries - Martha Stewart Recipes

Martha Stewart has a recipe similar to what you are looking for. You just have to cut them bigger than hers are. BTW they are delicious.


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## Snow. (Jan 6, 2013)

Addie said:


> Is the crust possibly grated cheese?
> 
> Italian Fries - Martha Stewart Recipes
> 
> Martha Stewart has a recipe similar to what you are looking for. You just have to cut them bigger than hers are. BTW they are delicious.



That looks like a good idea, but I believe the crust is just salt/seasoning that they somehow made flaky. Don't really know. If I knew more about cooking I'm sure I'd know.


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## Addie (Jan 6, 2013)

Can you purchase a few and tell that way? Or you could ask their kitchen.


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## Snow. (Jan 6, 2013)

Addie said:


> Can you purchase a few and tell that way? Or you could ask their kitchen.



Sometimes they have people working there that hate themselves and everyone else, but sometimes they have nice people. I'll try to ask when they seem happy. If they can't say I'll buy some and upload pics and describe them more.


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## puffin3 (Jan 6, 2013)

This is a good little 'starter book' on mushrooms. I've been foraging wild mushrooms for decades and still there are only about five that I will eat.
I started the first commercial shitake 'mushroom farm' on one of the Gulf Islands. We started with 500 four foot long green alder logs each inoculated with spore plugs.
This how I cook any mushroom store bought or wild harvested:
Wash off any dirt under warm running water using a soft brush. Don't think the mushroom will absorb any water doing it this way. The washing happens so fast the mushroom has no chance to take in any water. Pat dry between paper towels.
With fresh shitakes just break off the stems. Save them to soak over night in the fridge then pour off the 'liquid gold' and use it in a soup/stock/whatever.
Now cover the bottom of a sauté pan with the mushrooms. Don't overcrowd it. You may have to repeat this part. DO NOT put ANYTHING other than the mushrooms in the pan. No butter. No oil. NOTHING. (This is the point where some people don't follow the instructions and end up with a mess.) Heat up the pan to a low to medium heat. Watch the mushrooms. You will see that whatever moisture is in the mushrooms will be gathering in the pan. Carefully with a paper towel blot up this water. In time virtually all the water will be gone leaving dry mushrooms. Remove the mushrooms to a paper towel. Repeat if necessary. When you have all the mushrooms dried out this way wipe out the pan and add a bit of butter and a little pinch of nutmeg. Bring the butter up to medium and add a few mushrooms at a time. Don't overcrowd the pan. Now you have mushrooms that are dying to soak up the butter and nutmeg. Watch the butter disappear and the mushrooms turn a nice golden brown. Repeat. Cooking them without allowing them to release their moisture always results in a dirty looking mushy mess.


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## puffin3 (Jan 6, 2013)

Sorry, trouble with upload.
Name of the book is 'All that the rain promises and more by David Arora.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jan 6, 2013)

Jojo Potatoes.  They are dredged in the same coating that goes on the fried chicken and then deep fried. At least that is how we did them in the several places I worked.


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## Snow. (Jan 8, 2013)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Jojo Potatoes.  They are dredged in the same coating that goes on the fried chicken and then deep fried. At least that is how we did them in the several places I worked.



Yes yes yes yes


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jan 8, 2013)

I would wedge cut the potatoes, dredge in plain flour, then buttermilk and then in the same coating that went on the chicken. That was a proprietary blend.  Then pressure fry for about 10 minutes.   I haven't used a pressure fryer since.  But, I think it would work well if you microwaved the potato wedges first until tender, then coat and deep fry you can get a similar result.


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## puffin3 (Jan 8, 2013)

So when the thread basically evaporates for lack of interest we then post about potatoes? OK Whatever.


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## Skittle68 (Jan 8, 2013)

puffin3 said:


> So when the thread basically evaporates for lack of interest we then post about potatoes? OK Whatever.



::shrug:: we go off on tangents sometimes. Sometimes it goes back to the original topic, sometimes not. You don't like potatoes?! 

I'm going to try breading my jojos next time I think. That sounds great! I usually just coat them in oil, put them in a cage between two wire racks and grill them, flipping once. It's tricky to get them crispy without burning them tho


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## Snow. (Jan 8, 2013)

Skittle68 said:


> ::shrug:: we go off on tangents sometimes. Sometimes it goes back to the original topic, sometimes not. You don't like potatoes?!
> 
> I'm going to try breading my jojos next time I think. That sounds great! I usually just coat them in oil, put them in a cage between two wire racks and grill them, flipping once. It's tricky to get them crispy without burning them tho



Yes. It's a lot nicer to just post semi-related questions in one thread rather than making 2 or more threads I feel.


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## puffin3 (Jan 9, 2013)

Snow. said:


> Yes. It's a lot nicer to just post semi-related questions in one thread rather than making 2 or more threads I feel.


 True. People do eat both ;-D


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## buckytom (Jan 9, 2013)

puffin3 said:


> So when the thread basically evaporates for lack of interest we then post about potatoes? OK Whatever.



there's a lot of water in mushrooms, so evaporation is considerable.


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## Skittle68 (Jan 9, 2013)

buckytom said:


> there's a lot of water in mushrooms, so evaporation is considerable.



True! I'm interested in trying the technique where you dry the mushrooms in the pan for a little while before adding butter. Sounds divine!! Also thinking about finding some morel  hunters this spring. Supposedly you can find them around the area. Tons of oak trees around here. 

(See? Back on track


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## CharlieD (Jan 9, 2013)

Back in Russia I have never, ever, heard of people eating row mushrooms. They were always boiled untill completely cooked and only then they would be fried, pickled, marinaded, etc. Interesting why? I am talking about only wild mushrooms.


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## Snow. (Jan 9, 2013)

Raw white button (giorgio) mushrooms are excellent raw, like on a salad, or even alone. I haven't ever tried another mushroom raw though.


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## Snow. (Jan 11, 2013)

I got some dehydrated morels. Anyone got recipes? Or should I just saute them as is customary with many mushrooms?


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## Snow. (Jan 18, 2013)

Anyone?


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## purple.alien.giraffe (Jan 19, 2013)

I haven't done much with morels and it's always been with dried ones. I like to soak them in a little water until they soften, then cook them with garlic and add a little heavy cream toward the end. I scrape up all the brownings from the pan and make sure they mix in with the cream. It goes great over mashed potaoes.

Also, I saw multiple references to not liking that shitake stems are a waste. You can cut them off and store them in a container in the freazer until you have roughly two or three cups of them. Then boil them to make a broth. Remove the stems from the broth. If you cut them in thin strips you can return some of them to the broth and they are an interesting chewy bit in the soup. Add some ginger, noodles and shitake caps and it is really good. Fresh chives or green onion is also good in it.


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## Snow. (Jan 19, 2013)

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I haven't done much with morels and it's always been with dried ones. I like to soak them in a little water until they soften, then cook them with garlic and add a little heavy cream toward the end. I scrape up all the brownings from the pan and make sure they mix in with the cream. It goes great over mashed potaoes.
> 
> Also, I saw multiple references to not liking that shitake stems are a waste. You can cut them off and store them in a container in the freazer until you have roughly two or three cups of them. Then boil them to make a broth. Remove the stems from the broth. If you cut them in thin strips you can return some of them to the broth and they are an interesting chewy bit in the soup. Add some ginger, noodles and shitake caps and it is really good. Fresh chives or green onion is also good in it.



Will try. Thanks!


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## taxlady (Jan 19, 2013)

I buy Kirkland brand frozen stir fry mix and it has shitakes. But, they don't get fried enough before the other vegis are overcooked, so I take them out and keep them in a bag in the freezer.

I wanted to use some of them, so I thawed them in a sieve. After they had been draining for several hours, they were still full of water, so I squeeze them in a clean tea towel. Still far too wet. I heated them on a dry skillet on low to dry them out.

Any other suggestions? Should I put them in the dehydrator? I'm not trying for dry mushrooms, just something closer to fresh.


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## Snow. (Jan 19, 2013)

taxlady said:


> I buy Kirkland brand frozen stir fry mix and it has shitakes. But, they don't get fried enough before the other vegis are overcooked, so I take them out and keep them in a bag in the freezer.
> 
> I wanted to use some of them, so I thawed them in a sieve. After they had been draining for several hours, they were still full of water, so I squeeze them in a clean tea towel. Still far too wet. I heated them on a dry skillet on low to dry them out.
> 
> Any other suggestions? Should I put them in the dehydrator? I'm not trying for dry mushrooms, just something closer to fresh.



This is probably going to sound hostile but why not just buy fresh ones? I can imagine that there's a lot of structural damge from the ice crystals from it being frozen. 

Just take them out and cook them a few minutes before the other vegetables


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## taxlady (Jan 19, 2013)

Snow. said:


> This is probably going to sound hostile but why not just buy fresh ones? I can imagine that there's a lot of structural damge from the ice crystals from it being frozen.
> 
> Just take them out and cook them a few minutes before the other vegetables


It wasn't so much that I wanted shitake mushrooms, as I don't want to throw them away.

Taking them out and cooking them for a few minutes first isn't adequate and even if it was, I might be in a hurry or I might be steaming the vegis, so I will still have the leftover shitakes.


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## CWS4322 (Jan 19, 2013)

Snow. said:


> Raw white button (giorgio) mushrooms are excellent raw, like on a salad, or even alone. I haven't ever tried another mushroom raw though.


Sorry, I miissed this. If the Morels are dehydrated, you need to rehydrate them in warm water for about 30 minutes (save the liquid to add to stocks, gravys, etc.)  I have only panfried fresh ones, never tried it with the dehydrated-reconstituted ones. 

Morels should NEVER be eaten raw nor should you eat dehydrated ones without cooking them. If I don't soak them, I toss dried ones into turkey soup, beef stock, spaghetti sauce, and the water when I am cooking wild rice. I only get Morels when I go raid my dad's pantry in MN, so I am somewhat stingy about how I dole them out. And, if the Morel season wasn't a good year, I'm even more stingy.


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## Skittle68 (Jan 20, 2013)

CWS4322 said:


> Sorry, I miissed this. If the Morels are dehydrated, you need to rehydrate them in warm water for about 30 minutes (save the liquid to add to stocks, gravys, etc.)  I have only panfried fresh ones, never tried it with the dehydrated-reconstituted ones.
> 
> Morels should NEVER be eaten raw nor should you eat dehydrated ones without cooking them. If I don't soak them, I toss dried ones into turkey soup, beef stock, spaghetti sauce, and the water when I am cooking wild rice. I only get Morels when I go raid my dad's pantry in MN, so I am somewhat stingy about how I dole them out. And, if the Morel season wasn't a good year, I'm even more stingy.



I'm thinking about doing some morel hunting this year if I can make time. Any tips?? I wish I knew someone in the area to get together and hunt with...


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## taxlady (Jan 20, 2013)

Skittle68 said:


> I'm thinking about doing some morel hunting this year if I can make time. Any tips?? I wish I knew someone in the area to get together and hunt with...


I thought I remembered this, so I Googled. Look for morels near elm trees that have Dutch elm disease: Elm Trees for Giant Morels (MushroomExpert.Com)


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## Snow. (Jan 20, 2013)

Alright I got a 1.5oz package of dried porcini, oyster, and shitake mushrooms. Someone needs to give me a soup recipe.


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## taxlady (Jan 20, 2013)

Snow. said:


> Alright I got a 1.5oz package of dried porcini, oyster, and shitake mushrooms. Someone needs to give me a soup recipe.


Discuss Cooking - Cooking Forums - Search Results


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