All the Mushrooms! Which are your favorites and your favorite recipes / uses for them?

There’s NOTHING in SF (or any easy drive nearby) like Berkeley Bowl and Monterey Market. I can’t face traffic from hell; from where I live near the ocean, it takes me 45 minutes just to get near the beginning of the bridge. Oh well, I just need to appreciate other things about living in the City!

Lucky! Gorgeous array and what a wonderful way to be able to shop.

I used to have some of this variety at a couple of markets near me, but not of late.

(When I see the giant bins of chanterelles etc, though, I do wonder how much of that gets damaged / goes bad vs sold.)

Part of me is thinking wow! Another part is thinking that’s a bit of overkill, because it’s hard to so proper justice to the morel or the truffle in combination because each is so intense :confused:

I enjoy portobellos but buy them least of all. Good reminder on the freezer bag – I try to save scraps for stock, but don’t always remember when I’m in a rush :frowning:

Never enough maitake :star_struck:

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I think they’re usually in a smaller bin, but I imagine they’re moving well given the bargain price.

They are the best for filled mushrooms

Not sure where you live but for very good produce, not on the “other” side of the bridge, you can go to Sigona’s in RWC

Doesn’t compare to those places in Berkeley and it would take me at least 45 minutes one way to drive there.

Hardly anything compares to Berkeley Bowl in the US :wink:

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Cauliflower and Lion’s Mane … for culinary purposes

Yartsa Gunbu (Caterpillar Fungus) … for therapeutic purposes.

Don’t they all kinda taste the same, the “different varieties” of buttons? I guess baby bellas have slightly more flavor than white or brown buttons as they are older (with portobellos being the most mature), but they’re all the same species at different developmental stages.

Gimme porcini, maitake, chanterelles, king oysters, shiitake… :drooling_face:

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Yes, I noticed the signs say small white mushrooms, medium white, etc. Not a flavor difference, just size.
I don’t at all mind the buttons though–they’re definitely what I grew up eating. Usually (always) the freshest and most affordable in my limited realm too. I’ve had luck with soaking some dried fancier, have learned to get rid of the chewy stems! I also use porcini powder in some things – works well.

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I grew up with button mushrooms (some of them canned :scream:), too. I think I was in my teens when I first had an amazing fresh porcini pasta at an Italian place in my hometown. They kinda started my love for shrooms.

I still have fond memories of the first Italian restaurant in East Berlin, where my PIC and I would dine regularly. During truffle season, you’d enter the place and be immersed in the intoxicating perfume emanating from the fresh shaved truffles on plates of pasta.

Chanterelles usually show up at the German markets just when we are about to leave the country, which is a major bummer. I try to make them as often as I can while still around.
Thankfully, two of my gal pals are avid foragers & have gifted me chanterelles from PA in the past.

I even cut off the stems of fresh shiitake, as I find them unpleasant to chew.

I only use dried / reconstituted morels after having had a rather traumatic experience with fresh ones I got at the local FM. I find that they have much more flavor, and don’t really get the fuss made over fresh morels. :woman_shrugging:

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LOVE this thread. I need it too as I get 500g of locally grown oyster mushrooms every week. Always looking for new recipes. Here’s a few of my faves:

Love the dressing on this salad !

https://www.101cookbooks.com/baked-mushrooms/

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Most of those I have not encountered - thanks for sharing!

Re Mushroom Masala – a favorite is Mushroom Masala on Toast: aromatics (onion, ginger, garlic), something spicy (fresh green chilli or red chilli powder), and just a bit of tomato, plus sliced mushrooms, sauteed till the flavors meld, and then piled onto buttered toast. Delicious even with the simplest of mushrooms!

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I’m craving spaetzle with mushrooms

an Americanized version.

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I splurged on a lot of those chanterelles! Ready to cook:


And sauteed in a STOB:

And plated with a slow-roasted rib, mashed potatoes, and haricots:

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Be still, my chanterelle-loving heart!

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I was just looking at mushroom recipes in Kachka for thanksgiving and was reminded of a couple for chanterelles that look wonderful – one preserves them with salt when they’re plentiful, the other braises them with potatoes and cream. I’ve had the second one made with other wild mushrooms, just delicious.

I actually started out looking for a favorite Ukrainian / Russian prep of sauteed mushrooms with caramelized onions and potatoes, like this one:

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