Washing/soaking mushrooms...what do you think

[Frank]

Here is a link to an Alton Brown video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAsJCMlh_Uc&feature=feedrec_grec_index) on you tube.

He soaks store bought white mushroom various times and drains for 10 min and then weighs them to see how much water they have soaked up.


My belief is that some mushroom may not be affected much with washing or soaking, such a chants and the hardier ones like hens. But if I wash or soak Black Morels, they seem to lose some of their earthy flavor and become...well... just another mushroom.

To me, it's not about how much water they soak up, it about how much flavor may be lost.

What is your experience and opinion on this?

[Justapickin]

I give fresh ones a quick couple rinses and then spin them in a salad spinner then paper towel them to get as much water off as possible.I really can't tell any difference.I've heard people say to soak dehydrated ones over night but I don't,just long enough to rehydrate and then give then the salad spinner.The rehydrated ones may loose a little flavor but (imo) not enough to make them just another mushroom...

[Bachflock]

I agree with you Frank. I've seen that same segment from Alton. However, I still usually either soak or give them a good rinse. Unless I am very certain they are bug or dirt free they get at least a rinse.

[miker]

More on this from my view point soon ,mike

[Frank]

Yeah, Gary, with dried ones we haven't got much choice but to put them into water. But then we can use that flavored water, so all is not lost. LOL

And yes, I am one of those 24 hrs soakers Gary.
My theory is if it takes 24 hours to dry them, it should take close to that long to properly rehydrate them. I know that when I do a quick rehydrate with warm water I seem to have many more 'flat' morels, than I do if I put them in just a little bit of water, and leave in fridge overnight. I seem to have more rounded morels, rather than flat. I doubt it needs to be a full 24 hours, but I would guess that 8 to 12 hours of cool, & slow hydrating would do it.

I've always tried not to rinse or soak if not absolutely necessary. One of the reasons I was against it was that I always thought it water logged them. But according to Alton, it isn't that much, so I may have to revise my thinking. Maybe. LOL My fry pan says different.

Here is another thing I have tried with morels & it seems to work to help them keep their shape and texture.

Just mist them with a spray bottle of water. When they have soaked that up, then turn over and mist again. Then wet a paper towel and lay them in it and put into a Lock Tite container and leave in fridge overnight. No standing water, just wet towel. They seem to come out almost fresh as new that way.

I don't always do it this way, But it's fun to see how close I can get them as close to fresh as I can. And yes. I also will do a quick soak in warm water in a hurry, but very seldom.

But when it's all said and done, unless they are burnt rock hard, or sandy/gritty morels, I'll eat them no matter a persons method. :lol:

[miker]

With morels, I've heard a dozen different ways to rehydrate, and its probably to each his own for personal taste preference, but 1 thing I do is remove the morels from the soak water and place them in a pasta colander for frying, whatever moisture still on or in the morel goes into the frying pan which seems to intensify their flavor in my opinion, the residue left over from the water really picks up in the butter they fry in.
I really don't have a clue what Alton was trying to prove on that episode, but I have all the respect in the world for an excellent chef like himself, but with agaric's and chants I usually just use a wet paper towel to clean them off, but these 2 shrooms usually will always take a full night to rehydrate, chants aymore I just can or saute slightly and freeze in a food saver bag.
Now if I am adding any shroom to gravy, I will soak them in the similar broth (beef broth to a beef gravy for example) it actually seems to intensify the flavor, mike

[MisterNatural]

Mr. Brown should have performed his test on more than one type of mushroom, giving it more validity. Some mushrooms absorb a whole lot of water, up to twice their weight or more, morels are a good example. The texture and flavor of some mushrooms changes when washed as well, chanterelles and Hen of the Woods come to mind as good examples. Unopened button mushrooms likely absorb the least of all mushrooms, they're sealed up watertight.

He would have got much different results if those buttons were opened up, or if he did the test using morels.

Not a very good test IMO, he should stick to cooking and leave science to the scientists.

Every valid recorded verifiable authoritive source I know states to not wash mushrooms which are to be dehydrated. If a mushroom is too dirty to dry fresh off the vine I don't pick it.

[Bachflock]

Regarding rehydrating I play it by the density of the flesh - generally dependent upon the type of mushroom of course. My favorite is rehydrating hens. I will either soak them overnight in cool water or hot water if I'm in more of a hurry. I save the water, use a cone shaped paper coffee filters to filter the resulting water. I have made some unbelievable sauces and gravies using that water.