That time the farmer's market guy told me I was washing my mushrooms wrong

I was at the Union Square Greenmarket in October, buying shiitake from this old Italian mushroom grower. He watched me pick out a bag and said "you're gonna wash those under the sink and ruin them, aren't you?" Then he showed me how to brush them dry with a pastry brush instead. Has anyone else gotten produce advice from a vendor that totally changed how you prep something?

3 comments

3 Comments

murphy.aaron11d agoTop Commenter

yeah I used to be the guy who would just blast mushrooms under the faucet and call it a day. thought it was fine since you cook them anyway right? then I tried the dry brush method after hearing someone similar at a farmers market and it actually makes a huge difference. now I just use a mushroom brush I picked up for like five bucks and my shiitake come out way better, they actually brown instead of just steaming in the pan.

kimmurphy11d ago

Can't believe you were just blasting them under the faucet @murphy.aaron... my mom used to do that and they always came out soggy. totally makes sense why yours brown better now though.

oliverhernandez11d ago

oh man, I gotta respectfully disagree a bit. @kimmurphy I used to be all about the dry brush method too but I've actually gone back to rinsing them. not like soaking them or anything but a quick rinse and then I spin them dry in a salad spinner. the key is making sure they're not wet when they hit the pan, so I pat them dry with a towel too. I swear my criminis still brown up nice and they don't have that gritty dirt taste I sometimes got with just brushing. idk maybe it's just my grocery store mushrooms being extra dirty though.