Button Mushrooms
Culinary Use, Storage, & Benefits
Mushroom Profile: Button mushroom, portabella, cremini, and/or white mushroom (Agaricus bisporus spp.)
DESCRIPTION
By far, the most widely consumed mushroom throughout the world is the domesticated Agaricus. It goes by all the common names listed above, and was selected from the wild field Agaricus mushrooms growing all across the world since prehistoric times. Usually, all 3 of the mushroom options you will see at any grocery store with a produce section are actually the very same mushroom, but harvested at different states of maturity. The white buttons are the youngest, then the creminis that take on a carmel brown color on the cap, and finally, the portabella. If left to grow, a white button would turn into a portabella, with its large, deep chestnut hued cap and exposed gills.
NUTRITION
Mushrooms are generally a cooling food that is low in calories, but high in B vitamins. A fun fact about mushrooms is that they, like us, produce vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. Therefore, mushrooms grown outside are a food source for vitamin D!
STORAGE
Mushrooms give off carbon dioxide and intake oxygen, just like animals. Therefore, putting them in a breathable paper bag is generally recommended. However, once that bag is in the fridge, they can dry out fairly easily so I suggest putting them in the crisper drawer in the paper bag. Use within 5 days.
USE
Never eat mushrooms raw. I repeat, NEVER eat raw mushrooms!
There have been times people are stunned to hear that because yes, raw mushrooms are served on salad bars across America every day. However, the rest of the world knows that mushrooms were never intended to be eaten this way. And for good reason: the material of the cell wall of fungi is made of chitin, a very rigid substance that actually makes up the exoskeleton of insects as well. This amazing design adapted as a protection mechanism against being eaten - filling up on this hard-to-digest chitin will give you a tummy ache, and it may prevent you from coming back for more. However, humans have been consuming edible mushrooms for as long as we have had fire to cook them by, and that’s how the nutrients and medical actions are unlocked from within the cell. I would argue they taste immeasurably better too, as they are a natural source of glutamic acid that acts as a flavor enhancer of savory foods they are cooked with. Make sure to use a good source of fat like butter, olive oil, or lard, some salt, and some soy sauce or balsamic vinegar and they will have your mouth watering.
One more thing: Don’t buy them pre-sliced. Mushrooms have a lot in common with the animal kingdom, as you may have noticed, and many of the same bacteria that putrefy meat will also attack a dead mushroom. The whole mushrooms are generally still pretty alive, and will last much longer, taste better, and soak up whatever flavors you cook them in better than pre-cut mushrooms.
Sources:
The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia by Rebecca Wood
Asparagus to Zucchini by Fairshare Coalition
SpecialtyProduce.com
Radical Mycology by Peter McCoy
Moonwise Herbs
Our own experience!
