A mushroom is an edible umbrella shaped fungus comprising of a fleshy cap set upon a stalk. Available in several differing verities and often having a deep earthy flavour. Mushrooms work well together with meat, game, poultry, rice, pastas and are especially good in soups, sauces and casseroles. ‘White cup’ and ‘button’ are common types of mushroom and are a good everyday verity, and are excellent at soaking up strong flavours such as garlic. ‘Chestnut’, ‘portabella’ ‘crimini’ and ‘portabellini’ are types of ‘brown mushroom’ having a firm meaty texture and rich flavour especially suited to casseroles. ‘Enoki’ are a long and slender mushroom with a sweet fruity flavour that work well in Japanese cookery. ‘Shiitake’ is a strong meaty mushroom commonly used in Oriental cookery, risottos and with game. ‘Maitake’ is an intensely flavoured Oriental mushroom used in stir-fries.
Some Common Edible Field Mushrooms
Amethyst Deceiver A distinctive grape coloured mushroom with a gentle and subtle flavour. Often used to add colour and interest to combined mushroom dishes. Latin name laccaria amethystea.
Bay Boletus A field mushroom which similar to the ‘cep’ in appearance and flavour, sometimes referred to as the ‘poor mans cep’. Rich in flavour and especially good eaten raw in salads. Latin name boletus badius.
Birch Bolete An attractive looking mushroom with a brown speckled stem and tawny orange cap. Softens when cooked and works well in soups and casseroles. Latin name leccinum versipelle.
Boletus A type of fungus with a rounded cap and pores rather than gills on the underside. Cep mushrooms are an example of boletus. Caesar’s Mushroom A field mushroom valued for its sweet chestnut like flavour and texture. They have a rich russet orange glow with young specimens especially good eaten raw in salads. Latin name calocybe gambosa.
Cep A edible woodland mushroom and a variety of boletus. It has a shiny brown velvety cap and a creamy coloured underside, with a rich nutty flavour. The cep develops a rich beefy odour and intense sweetness when dried. Derived from the Latin word cippus meaning ‘steak’. Also known as a ‘penny bun’ due to its colour and texture, which remembrance freshly baked bread. See under ‘mushrooms’. Latin name boletus edulis. Chanterelle A sweet flavoured edible woodland mushroom with a yellowy orange trumpet shaped cap. This mushroom have an apricot quality and become distinctively fruity flavoured when dried. Chanterelle are often preserved in vodka, which has a neural flavour well suited to this fruity mushroom. Derived from the Latin word cantharellus meaning ‘little cup’. See also under ‘mushroom’ and ‘winter chanterelle’. Latin name cantharellus cibarius. Chanterelle Vodka Chanterelle are often preserved in vodka, which has a neural flavour well suited to this fruity mushroom. Place fresh chanterelle mushrooms in a jar, pour over some vodka and store a room temperature for several days. The mixture is ready when the mushrooms sink to the bottom of the jar. Sometimes flavoured with red chilli, caraway seeds and lemon. Serve well chilled as an aperitif.
Chicken Of The Woods A fresh, moist and aromatic mushroom with the distinctive texture and flavour of chicken. This fungus can be prepared and used as if it were chicken, and may be used as a substitute in any chicken recipe. Latin name laetiporus sulphurous.
Enokitake A long stemmed pinhead mushroom found growing on the stumps of the enoki, or Chinese hackberry, tree. Delicate in flavour with distinct a remembrance to white pepper and lemon. Eaten raw in salads or lightly cooked in Oriental soups. Latin name flammulina velutipes.
Field Mushroom A dome shaped mushroom with a cap that’s 3-12cm in diameter, white or light brown in colour, and with a white tapering stem 3-10cm in length, pink gills and a crisp aroma Found in mature pastures with chalky soil from early June through to late September. No need to wash or peal field mushrooms, simply trim the stem to check for maggots. Fresh and young examples work well for breakfast, while older specimens are best used for soups, stews, sauces, etc. Giant Puffball A rounded football shaped mushroom with a meaty aroma and crisp white colouring. Only use fresh specimins, they discolour when old taking on a yellowish appearance. Similar in flavour to the cep. Latin name langermannia gigantean.
Hedgehog Fungus A common mushroom with a light peppery flavour similar to watercress. Best eaten young as the mature specimins may be a little bitter. Best cooked an served with a little herb butter. Also known as ‘pied de mouton’. Latin name hydnum repandum.
Helvella A conical shaped toxic mushroom similar to the morel, to which it is related. It must be boiled for at least five minuets prior to use and the water, which may be poisonous, discarded. It is then totally harmless and may be prepared as morels.
Honey Fungus A distinctive edible mushroom. Found growing in small tight clusters around the base of trees, it has a golden brown cap and black spreading filaments. Considered a fungal parasite, they can cause the death of coniferous trees. Also known as the ‘boot-lace fungus’. Latin name armillaria mellea.
Horn of Plenty A popular field mushroom with a sweet and earthy flavour. Its richness works well in stews and casseroles, and it is especially regarded because it does not loose its shape or colour even after lengthy cooking. Also referred to as ‘trompette des morts’. Latin name craterellus cornucopiodes.
Horse Mushroom A large mushroom with a meaty texture, distinctive flavour and the aroma of almonds. It has a domed or flat cap which is 10-25cm in diameter, white in colour with yellowish markings. The stem is 8-10cm in length. The gills are white when fresh, turning to pink then brown as they age. Found in especially in pastures and grassland frequented by horses and cattle, from mid summer to late autumn. Can be infested with maggots so trim before use, versatile and may be used for any dish, but older brown mushrooms will discolour any sauce or soup. Latin name agaricus arvensis. Maitake A large Japanese mushroom with an intense savoury flavour, commonly used in stir-fries. A Japanese word translating as ‘dancing mushroom’. Morel A firm and hollow bodied field mushroom with an elongated dome shape, 5-20cm in height and with a honeycomb appearance. Pale brown in colour when fresh, and a more yellowy colour when aged. A Spring mushroom found in open woodland, hedgerows, along pathways and old railway lines. Never eat raw and wash in cold water and dry before use. Works well with red meats, the hollow body can also be stuffed.
Mushroom Butter A method of preserving mushrooms that also produces a flavoured butter. Prepare the mushrooms and chop into fine dice. Sauté in a little butter until soft and cook of a few minuets over a low heat allowing the mixture to reduce. Cool . Add prepared black or white truffle. Combine with a quality unsalted butter and place the mixture onto a sheet of greaseproof paper. Roll into a cigar shape. Chill, slice, freeze and use as required as a garnish or flavouring.
Mushroom Essence The fond in which mushrooms have been poached and reduced.
Mushroom Extract Used to enrich winter soups, stews and game dishes this extract is best produced using a blend of differing varieties of mushroom, especially the older less elegant types. To produce take 405g/1lb of assorted field mushrooms, 300ml/½ pt of water, 200ml/7floz of red wine, 60ml/4 tsp of dark soy sauce, 5ml/1 tsp of salt and a sprig of thyme. Place all of the ingredients into a pan and bring to the boil, simmer for 45 minuets. Sieve, pressing as much of the liquid as possible from the pulp. Return to the pan and reduce by a half. Pour into a clean jar, allow to cool and seal. Store in a fridge for upto 3 months.
Mushroom Oil A method of preserving best used for quality mushrooms. To produce take 450g/1lb of assorted wild mushrooms, 250ml/8floz of white wine vinegar, 150ml/¼pt of water, 5ml/1tsp of salt, a sprig of thyme, a bay leaf , a red chilli. And 400ml/14floz of a quality olive oil. Place the vinegar and water into a pan, bring to the boil and add the salt, thyme, bay leaf and chilli. Simmer for 15 minuets. Add the mushrooms and simmer for a further 10 minuets. Drain and allow to cool completely. Place the cooked mushrooms into a clean jar and cover with the oil. Store and use as required. This flavoured oil is especially suited to salad dressings.
Mushroom Potato A type of garnish consisting of a potato pealed and cut into a rounded shape, an apple corer is then inserted into the base of the potato, and a knife used to cut into the potato removing the excess portion around the corer. The resulting potato resembles a button mushroom. Deep fried and used as a garnish with steaks or roasted meats.
Mushroom Powder Fresh mushrooms cut into slices and dried on newspaper in a warm cupboard, then pounded in a mortar until a fine powder, dried again and sieved. Lightly seasoned and kept in air tight jars, used for flavouring soups and sauces.
Mushroom Puree This is a ‘duxelle’ that has been further blended in a liquidizer until it becomes a fine puree. Used mainly for the enrichment of soups and sauces. May be frozen and used much later as required. Orange Birch Bolete An attractive looking mushroom with a brown speckled stem and tawny orange cap. Softens when cooked and works well in soups and casseroles. Latin name leccinum versipelle.
Penny Bun Another name for a ’cep’, an edible woodland mushroom and a variety of boletus. It has a shiny brown velvety cap and a creamy coloured underside, with a rich nutty flavour. Derived from the Latin word cippus meaning ‘steak’. Known as a ‘penny bun’ due to its colour and texture, which remembrance freshly baked bread. See under ‘mushrooms’. Latin name boletus edulis. Prince A variety of European field mushroom commonly found on rough ground and in compost.
‘mushroom’.
Saffron Milk-Cap A mushroom prized for its deep orange coloured cap and firm meaty texture. However these mushrooms have little flavour and mature specimins frequently contain insect larvae. Latin name lactarius delicious.
Shaggy Ink Cap A delicately flavoured field mushroom commonly used in smooth soups and sauces. Only fresh and young specimins should be used, with any that have begun to blacken around the edges being discarded. These will turn any dish jet black. The common ‘ink cap’ mushroom also contains a natural chemical that causes a violent reaction when consumed with alcohol. Also known as the ‘lawyer’s wig’.
St George’s Mushroom An especially early English field mushroom, so named because it always appears around April 23, St Georges Day. It is a white to cream in colour with a rounded cap 5-15cm across, a 2-4cm stem, soft flesh and a mealy odour. Found in grassy areas around woodland from the end of April to early May. A flavoursome mushroom that goes especially well with poultry and fish. Winter Chanterelle A wild mushroom similar to the ‘chanterelle’ but appearing later in the season, hence the name. Sweet flavoured and with a rich, deep brown colouring, camouflaged against the falling leaves of autumn. Found in acid soiled woodlands during late autumn early winter. A versatile mushroom that’s especially excellent with fish. See also under ‘chanterelle’ and ‘mushroom’.
Click here to download images of non poisonous mushrooms as a pdf file
Click here to download images of poisonous mushrooms as a pdf file