What a pity that fragrant forest mushrooms are a seasonal product. If you want to indulge yourself in a mushroom stew or a tender mashed soup, prepare champignons – mushrooms grown in a greenhouse.
Mushrooms are delicious but tricky creatures that must be taken very seriously when choosing and preparing them. Even experienced mushroom pickers are sometimes lost in doubts whether it is worth eating this or that mushroom, because mushroom dishes are very difficult to digest, and low-quality specimens can cause serious poisoning.
In this regard, it is customary to thoroughly clean the mushrooms before use: cut off the cap, remove the outer layer of the film from it, carefully scrape off the dirt from the stem, be sure to remove dubious dark places. Many mushrooms need pre-soaking for long hours and serious heat treatment.
The question of cleansing champignons is an acute one. On the one hand, the poorly studied nature of the fungus can carry a potential danger from humans, and even basic rules of culinary hygiene must be observed. On the other hand, the mushrooms that we find on the shelves are a product grown in greenhouse conditions, which means, under the supervision of specialists, and there can be no forest mud on it. Is it worth rinsing such a mushroom in a large amount of water, like forest mushrooms, because from moisture it will lose its unforgettable taste and aroma?
If you are unsure of your mushroom handling skills, buy frozen mushroom mixes. Already washed and sliced, they can be added directly to the dish
Mushroom preparation does not start in the kitchen, but in the store, where you choose the product you want. Pay attention to the appearance of the mushrooms: they should be clean and firm, without rot, cracks or dark spots. The freshness of the mushroom plays a special role, especially if you want to add it raw to the salad.
When starting to cleanse mushrooms, weigh the pros and cons. You are faced with a choice between the intensity of the taste and the risk of eating shop dust with the mushroom, or even the chemicals with which the growing mushroom may have been treated.
The duration of washing the mushrooms depends on the degree of their contamination. If the mushrooms have no visible contamination, you can simply rinse them with cold water, rubbing lightly against each other. Obvious dirt must of course be rinsed off thoroughly.
Whether to cut the film off the champignons is also a difficult question. Some housewives limit themselves to wet cleaning, while others, on the contrary, remove the top layer of the mushroom, thereby avoiding wet processing. In the second case, the film is cut from both the cap and the stem of the mushroom. It will not be superfluous to clean the inner surface of the cap.
Properly peeled mushrooms can be prepared for hot meals or marinades, or simply sliced and added raw to salads and snacks. The main thing is not to store such a product, but to eat it fresh.