Comments on:

By: Rachel

Rachel — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:13:47 +0000

I have two food issues: mushrooms and French cheeses. And as luck would have it, here in the Netherlands, the vegetarian menus usually include one of the above.
To my great dismay!

By: rickfle

rickfle — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 02:24:30 +0000

The deal is you gotta cook the mushrooms. I can’t stand raw mushrooms at all, but what’s better than a saute with butter or good olive oil and garlic?

By: Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 13:21:47 +0000

I used to hate prawn and shrimp for 25 years of my life! Now I love them so much I have them at least 3 times a week!
My wife used to love lamb and now she does not even touch it. Yes, indeed we box ourselves. But I think tastes change as we grow older or depending on our exposure and experience in this world.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:35:18 +0000

I have the hardest getting my friends to let me add mushrooms to the pizza toppings. Anchovies are vastly underrated too.

By: Billee D.

Billee D. — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 02:50:53 +0000

Great news, Dan! Mushrooms are almost like wine; different varieties have different characteristics that compliment different foods.
I may have missed this in the comments above, but some of the best mushrooms are:
Chanterelles: light, golden color with a subtle nutty, almost anise-like flavor. Great for sauces and risotto!
Morels: These are regarded by some as the king of mushrooms. Their flavor is quite delicious and complex. These are great stuffing mushrooms.
Oysters: These come in many varieties and are often given seafood-like flavor descriptions. Oysters lend themselves to egg and seafood dishes quite well and also go great in soups and stews.
Enoki: These little delights are best eaten raw and crunchy in salads to help highlight their distinct flavors.
Maitake: Commonly called “hen of the woods,” these furry-looking fungi have a light flavor similar to oyster mushrooms, but with more characteristics. Delicious in stir fry and other dishes where you cook them fast and high to help lock in the flavor and benefits.
Shiitake: You already know about these guys. Trouble is that most commercially grown US varieties lack the true flavor notes of the imported Japanese varieties. This mushroom is as versatile as our domestic “button” varieties and can be used in their place for many recipes. One of my favorites: shiitake mushroom gravy over homemade biscuits or rolls. Great breakfast and full of vitamins!
I hope you enjoy more mushrooming!

By: Ken Allan

Ken Allan — Sat, 31 May 2008 12:10:25 +0000

Mmm. Mushrooms!
Kia Ora Dan.
I hated mushrooms as a child. But I loved to gather them from the fields. As a child, I lived for a number of years in Nyasaland (now Malawi). I used to collect mushrooms with my father on a Saturday morning. We found them growing in ‘fairy rings’ which were the natural way the mushrooms grow in the wild.
But now, I live in the city and buy the mushrooms at a price.
Mmm. Mushrooms!.
Ka kite
from Middle-earth

By: Isaiah

Isaiah — Sat, 31 May 2008 08:26:06 +0000

Always say yes. Even when you think you’ll hate it. Even if you know you do actually hate it.
Why?
If other people are enjoying this stuff, then you probably can to. It’s just matter of learning how to enjoy it.
There’s a lot of weird, ugly, and disturbing stuff out there that is just crazy crazy great. But your brain is endlessly trying to dupe you into not even trying it. Don’t let your brain fool you. You can learn to enjoy stuff that other people are enjoying, it’s not as hard as your brain is telling you. You can do it!
And life is way too short. If you don’t start learning how to enjoy all the enjoyable things, you’re definitely going to miss out on some of the most enjoyable things. This takes determination people. You have to start right now!
By the way, this works with mushrooms, music, people, art, and just about everything.
OK, maybe not TV. Most TV just sucks. Just turn that shit off.
Isaiah

By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 30 May 2008 21:16:40 +0000

In France, there is a Mushroom Museum – Le musee du Champignon – http://www.musee-du-champignon.com. The guide takes his job very seriously. He threatened to kick someone off the tour who called the place where the mushrooms were growing “a cave” when it was really a man-made tunnel. Anyway, there are better tourist attractions in France for mushrooms – such as a four star restaurant.

By: Dorian

Dorian — Thu, 29 May 2008 22:29:15 +0000

I used to eat mushrooms when I was really young, and at about the age of six I decided I didn’t like them any more after looking at them too closely.
Then like you, I suddenly started eating them again about 4-5 years ago (roughly 30 too!). I now love them and fry up button mushrooms all the time to put in my food!
I eat a lot more kinds of fish and seafood as well now, which is a good thing as I don’t eat meat!

By: Jambe

Jambe — Thu, 29 May 2008 21:52:38 +0000

Neat! I have wild white morels growing on my property. I've consumed many of them (over 50) already. I've a photoset over at flickr that documents my mushroom hunting adventures. They're right good dipped in buttermilk, rolled in flour and sauteed in butter. Definitely bad for the health, but mmm, who cares! My tastes are always changing. Some days the shrooms hit the spot and others they don't seem appetizing at all. I will tell you, though, that eating a cheese and mushroom pizza is being about as close to taste bud bliss as I can imagine!