Mushrooms 101: Everything You Need to Know

“Once you are ready to use them, you can either brush the dirt off or give them a quick rinse, but try to avoid fully submerging in water,’ says Bedwell.

When preparing mushrooms, don’t cut off and discard the stem, it’s edible, she says. If the bottom of the stem is dry, go ahead and trim that off. Then, chop, slice, or dice as the recipe directs.

Not sure what to whip up? The good news about mushrooms is that they are entirely versatile. They can both hold their own in a salad or disguise themselves as meat.

Bedwell recommends blending mushrooms, which means chopping them up really small and mixing with ground meat in recipes for burgers and meatballs. The umami flavor of mushrooms pumps up the flavor in these recipes even more.

Go back to basics and pop mushrooms in the oven and roast them, suggests Bedwell. Toss in olive oil, salt and pepper, and thinly sliced garlic and roast for 20 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Toss them in wherever you can. That means slicing to put on top of a salad, stirring into a soup while cooking, or chopping to add into a frittata, says Brooking.

Make them the star of the show. Because mushrooms have that meaty quality, they can hold their own. Turn mushroom caps over and fill with tomato sauce, sprinkle with mozzarella and dried oregano, and broil for pizza mushrooms. Slice for a mushroom stroganoff. Or grill portobello caps. Then, dig in.

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