Mushroom Culture Part 5

_Another Method._--In pickling mushrooms take the b.u.t.tons only and while they are quite close, cut the stem off even with the gills and rub them quite clean. Lay them in salt and water for forty-eight hours, and then add pepper, and vinegar in which black pepper and a little mace have been boiled. The vinegar must be applied cold. So pickled they will keep for years.

_Mushrooms en Ragot._--Put into a stew-pan a little stock, a small quant.i.ty of vinegar, parsley, and green onions chopped up, salt, and spices. When this is about to boil, the mushrooms being cleaned, put them in. When done remove them from the fire, and thicken with yolks of eggs.

_Mushrooms and Toast._--Peel the mushrooms, and take out the stems. Fry them over a quick fire. When the b.u.t.ter is melted take off the pan.

Squeeze the juice of a lemon into it. Let the mushrooms fry again for some minutes. Add salt, pepper, spices, and a spoonful of water, in which a clove of garlic, having been cut into pieces, has soaked for half an hour; let it stew. When the mushrooms are done, make a thickening of yolks of eggs. Pour the mushrooms on bread fried in b.u.t.ter, and laid in the dish ready for them.

_Mushrooms en Caisse._--Peel the mushrooms lightly, and cut them into pieces. Put them into cases of b.u.t.tered paper, with a bit of b.u.t.ter, parsley, green onions, and shalots chopped up, salt and pepper. Dress them on the gridiron over a gentle fire, and serve in the cases.

_Mushrooms a la Provencale._--Take mushrooms of good size. Remove the stems, and soak them in olive oil. Cut up the stems with a clove of garlic and some parsley. Add meat of sausages, and two yolks of eggs to unite them. Dish the mushrooms, and garnish them with the forcemeat.

Sprinkle them with fine oil, and dress them in an oven, or in a _four de campagne_.

_Baked Mushrooms._--Peel the tops of twenty mushrooms; cut off a portion of the stalks, and wipe them carefully with a piece of flannel dipped in salt. Lay the mushrooms in a tin dish, put a small piece of b.u.t.ter on the top of each, and season them with pepper and salt. Set the dish in the oven, and bake them from twenty minutes to half an hour. When done, arrange them high in the centre of a very hot dish, pour the sauce round them, and serve quickly, and as hot as you possibly can.

_Mushrooms au Gratin._--Take twelve large mushrooms about two inches in diameter, pare the stalks, wash, and drain the mushrooms on a cloth; cut off and chop the stalks. Put in a quart stew-pan an ounce of b.u.t.ter and half an ounce of flour; stir over the fire for two minutes; then add one pint of broth; stir till reduced to half the quant.i.ty. Drain the chopped stalks of the mushrooms thoroughly in a cloth; put them in the sauce with three table-spoonfuls of chopped and washed parsley, one table-spoonful of chopped and washed shalot, two pinches of salt, a small pinch of pepper; reduce on a brisk fire for eight minutes, put two table-spoonfuls of oil in a _saute_ pan; set the mushrooms in, the hollow part upwards; fill them with the fine herbs, and sprinkle over them lightly a table-spoonful of raspings; put in a brisk oven for ten minutes, and serve.

_Mushroom Soup._--Take a good quant.i.ty of mushrooms, cut off the earthy end, and pick and wash them. Stew them with some b.u.t.ter, pepper, and salt in a little good stock till tender; take them out, and chop them up quite small; prepare a good stock as for any other soup, and add it to the mushrooms and the liquor they have been stewed in. Boil all together, and serve. If white soup be desired, use the white b.u.t.ton mushrooms, and a good veal stock, adding a spoonful of cream or a little milk, as the colour may require.

The following "family receipts" have been communicated by a friend:

Clean a dozen or so of medium-size, place two or three ounces of nice clean beef-dripping in the frying-pan, and with it a table-spoonful or more of nice beef gravy. Set the pan on a gentle fire, and as the dripping melts place in the mushrooms, adding salt and pepper to taste.

In a few minutes they will be cooked, and being soaked in the gravy and served upon a hot plate, will form a capital dish. In the absence of gravy, a _soupcon_ of "extractum carnis" may be subst.i.tuted.

_Mushrooms with Bacon._--Take some full-grown mushrooms, and having cleaned them, procure a few rashers of nice streaky bacon, and fry it in the usual manner. When nearly done, add a dozen or so of mushrooms, and fry them slowly until they are cooked. In this process they will absorb all the fat of the bacon, and with the addition of a little salt and pepper, will form a most appetising breakfast relish.

_Mushroom Stems_, if young and fresh, make a capital dish for those who are not privileged to eat the mushrooms. Rub them quite clean, and after washing them in salt and water, slice them to the thickness of a shilling, then place them in a saucepan with sufficient milk to stew them tender; throw in a piece of b.u.t.ter and some flour for thickening, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve upon a toast of bread, in a hot dish, and add sippets of toasted bread. This makes a light and very delicate supper dish, and is not bad sauce to a boiled fowl.

CHAPTER XII.

SOME OF THE MOST COMMON AND USEFUL EDIBLE FUNGI.

"Whole hundredweights of rich, wholesome diet rotting under the trees; woods teeming with food, and not one hand to gather it; and this, perhaps, in the midst of potato-blight, poverty, and all manner of privations, and public prayers against imminent famine."

_Dr. Badham._

VALUABLE as is the common mushroom, it is indisputable that not a few other kinds are also capable of affording excellent food. Therefore, figures are given of the most prevalent, useful, and easily recognised kinds of edible fungi, as well as of the common mushrooms of our gardens and markets. These figures have been admirably drawn by Mr. W. G. Smith, and are accompanied by what seemed the most satisfactory accounts of the characters and properties that are obtainable. The spores which accompany the figures are uniformly enlarged seven hundred diameters.

_Marasmius oreades_ (Fairy-ring Champignon).

_Pileus_ smooth, fleshy, convex, sub.u.mbonate, generally more or less compressed, tough, coriaceous, elastic, wrinkled; when water-soaked, brown; when dry, of a buff or cream-colour, the umbo often remaining red-brown, as if scorched; _gills_ free, distant, ventricose, of the same tint as the pileus, but more pale; _stem_ equal, solid, twisted, very tough and fibrous, of a pale silky-white colour.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 30--1. _Marasmius oreades_ (Fairy-ring Champignon).

Pastures, roadsides, and downs, in the autumn; colour, pale buff; _gills broad and far apart_; diameter, 1 to 2 inches.

Fig. 30--2. _Marasmius urens_ (False Champignon). Woods and pastures in the autumn; colour, pale buff; _gills narrow and crowded together_; diameter, inch to 1 inches.]

The fairy-ring agaric is a valuable little fungus, and common on almost every lawn. In hilly pastures it generally appears in broad brown patches, either circular or forming a portion of a circle.

_M. urens_, the most acrid of all allied funguses, usually grows in woods, though sometimes in the fairy-ring. However, its flat top and narrow crowded gills cause it to be readily distinguished anywhere.

_Opinions on the Merits of Marasmius oreades as an edible Fungus._--"On the Continent this species has long been considered edible, but on account of its coriaceous texture it is dried and employed in the form of powder, to season various made-dishes."--_Dr. Greville._

"The common fairy-ring champignon is the best of all our funguses, yet there is scarcely one person in a thousand who dare venture to use it.

With common observation no mistake need be made with regard to it. It has an extremely fine flavour, and makes perhaps the very best ketchup that there is."--_Rev. M. J. Berkeley._

"An excellent flavour, as good as that of most funguses."--_Dr. Badham._

_Modes of Cooking Marasmius oreades._--_General Use._--"Cut in small pieces and seasoned it makes an excellent addition to stews, hashes, or fried meats, but it should only be added a few minutes before serving, as the aroma is dissipated by over cooking. It is the mushroom used in the French _a la mode_ beef-shops in London."--_Dr. Badham._

When stewed, the champignons require rather longer time to ensure their being made perfectly tender. They are readily dried by removing the stems from the fungus, threading them on a string, and hanging them up in a dry airy place. "When dried, it may be kept for years without losing any of its aroma or goodness, which, on the contrary, becomes improved by the process, so as, in fact, to impart more flavour to the dish than would have been imparted by the fresh fungus; though it is not to be denied that the flesh then becomes coriaceous (or tough), and less easy of digestion."--_Dr. Badham._

_Champignon Powder._--Put the champignons in a stew-pan with a little mace and a few cloves, and a sprinkling of white pepper. Simmer, and shake constantly to prevent burning, until any liquor that may exude is dried up again. Dry thoroughly in a warm oven until they will easily powder. Put the dried agaric, or the powder, into wide-mouthed gla.s.s bottles, and store in a dry place. It will keep any length of time. A tea-spoonful added to any soup, or gravy, or sauce, just before the last boil is given, will produce a very fine mushroom flavour.

_Pickled Champignons._--Collect fresh b.u.t.tons of the fairy-ring agaric and use them at once. Cut off the stems quite close and throw each one as you do so into a basin of water in which a spoonful of salt has been put. Drain them from it quickly afterwards, and place them on a soft cloth to dry. For each quart of b.u.t.tons thus prepared, take nearly a quart of pale white wine vinegar, and add to it a heaped tea-spoonful of salt, half an ounce of whole white pepper, an ounce of ginger-root bruised, two large blades of mace, and a fourth of a salt-spoon of cayenne pepper tied in a small piece of muslin. When this pickle boils throw in the agarics and boil them in it over a clear fire moderately fast, from six to nine minutes. When tolerably tender put them into _warm_ wide-mouthed bottles, and divide the spice equally amongst them.

When perfectly cold, cork well, or tie skins and paper over them. Store in a dry place, and keep out the frost.

Full-sized champignons may be pickled exactly in the same way, but will require longer boiling, until indeed they become tender.--_Modified from Miss Acton._

_Champignons quickly Pickled._--Place the prepared b.u.t.tons in bottles with a blade of mace, a tea-spoonful of pepper-corns, and a tea-spoonful of mustard seed in each, and cover with the strongest white wine pickling vinegar boiling hot. Cork or tie down as before, but do not expect them to keep above three months.

_Agaricus procerus_ (the Parasol Agaric).

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 31. _Agaricus procerus_ (Scaly Mushroom). Pastures, &c., in autumn; colour, pale brownish buff; diameter, 5 to 12 inches.]

_Pileus_ fleshy, ovate when young, then campanulate, and afterwards expanded and umbonate (blunt pointed), from three to seven inches across. Cuticle more or less brown, entire over the umbo, but torn into patches, or scales which become more and more separated as they approach the margin. Flesh white. _Gills_ unconnected with the stem, fixed to a collar on the pileus surrounding its top. _Ring_ persistent, loose on the stem. _Stem_ six or eight inches high, tapering upwards from a pear-like bulb at the root, hollow with a loose pith, whitish brown, but more or less variegated with small and close-pressed scales.

Whenever an agaric on _a long stalk_, enlarged _at the base_, presents _a dry cuticle_ more or less _scaly_, a darker coloured _umbonated top_, _a moveable ring_, and _white_ gills, it must be _Agaricus procerus_, the parasol agaric, and it may be gathered and eaten without fear. When the whitish flesh of this agaric is bruised it shows a light reddish colour.

There are but two other agarics that at all resemble it, and both are edible. One about the same size is _Agaricus rachodes_. It is not generally considered so good in flavour as _A. procerus_. Mrs. Hussey, however, says plainly, "If _Agaricus procerus_ is the king of edible funguses, _Agaricus rachodes_ is an excellent viceroy." The other is the _Agaricus excoriatus_, a very much smaller fungus, with a more slender habit, a shorter stem, and no true bulb at the base. This elegant little fungus is also very good eating.

The parasol agaric has a very wide range of growth. It is a common fungus, and is in _high request all over the Continent_.

_Opinions on the Merits of Agaricus procerus as an Edible Fungus._--"A most excellent mushroom, of a delicate flavour, and it must be considered a most useful species."--_The Rev. M. J. Berkeley._

"Were its excellent qualities better known here, they could not fail to secure it a general reception into our best kitchens, and a frequent place among our side dishes at table."--_Dr. Badham._

"If once tried, it must please the most fastidious."--_Worthington G.

Smith._

There can be no question but that, when young and quickly grown, the parasol agaric is a delicious fungus. It has a light and delicate flavour without the heavy richness which belongs to the ordinary field mushroom. The writer has prevailed on many persons to try it; all without exception have liked it, many have thought it quite equal, and some have proclaimed it superior, to the common mushroom.

_Modes of Cooking the Agaricus procerus._--_Broiled Procerus._--Remove the scales and stalks from the agarics, and broil lightly over a clear fire on both sides for a few minutes; arrange them on a dish over fresh-made, well-divided toast; sprinkle with pepper and salt, and put a small piece of b.u.t.ter on each; set before a brisk fire to melt the b.u.t.ter, and serve up quickly.

If the cottager would toast his bacon over the broiled mushrooms, the b.u.t.ter would be saved.