Mushroom Taste Test

When Jim's parents came for a visit, we cooked steak, which is a rare occasion, for Jim's dad because we forced Vietnamese spring rolls on him the night before. We don't think that he was ready for them, but they are just too fresh, healthy, quick and tasty not to do!

Anyway, the mushrooms that we tested were bought by Sean of London, but we didn't have time or stomach to do a tasting when he was here. Perhaps he'll comment on the exact types that he bought, but we believe that we cooked: chanterelles, porcini (not sure if they were king or queen boletes), oysters, shiitakes and cremini.

We sautéed them all in butter in the same pan for comparison. They didn't release much liquid, so there wasn't much flavor overlap. The oysters and shiitakes were too chewy for Jim cooked in this manner, but Peta liked them, and the cremini lent their vague mushroom-like quality to the palate. The flavor of the chanterelle is, of course, unmistakable. It's worth the eight hour detour that Jim takes after deer hunting to go to his patch near Mt. Hood and pick many pounds worth ($20/lb at the store). They are drying on the kitchen table as we write!

However, the show stopper of the taste test was the porcini. Known as "cepes" in France, they are the ur-mushroom. The look, the flavor, the rarity... Jim had never eaten them whole before, due to the fact that they are $40 /lb, just dried and crushed in Page's excellent Meatloaf with Porcini Gravy. Perhaps he'll put up the recipe in the comments section. Not holding our breath!

We are definitely going to figure out a way to forage for these 'shrooms.

Jim and Peta.