Tuesday, August 28, 2007

The Cremini Mushroom: Beats the Button in a Pan


I'm here working in New York for a few days before heading out to the beach for a final summer foray. While I'm alone here (and I mean really alone, it appears that everyone has left NYC for somewhere else) I've been trying to cook for myself rather than eat take out food. Although nothing I have cooked is worth repeating to anyone, I have been having great success sauteeing cremini mushrooms. Cremini, or crimini, mushrooms are baby portobello mushrooms.

One of the problems I have always had sauteeing white button mushrooms ("normal" mushrooms) is that they contain a lot of liquid and tend to steam rather than brown. This is especially true if you need to prepare a lot of mushrooms and don't have the time to cook them in small batches. Cremini mushrooms, in addition to having a more "earthy" flavor, tend to have less water weight than the white button mushroom. As long as you have enough oil and a hot pan, they saute nicely leaving you with mildly browned mushrooms. If you use a pan that retains a lot of heat, such as cast iron, you can literally fill the bottom with creminis and still come up with an attractive, tasty product.

3 comments:

The What To Expect Foundation said...

Have you ever had the mushrooms at craft? The blue hen mushrooms still give me heart palpatations. Hope you bring us some shrooms when you get out here, after all you are my favorite fun guy.

Ira.B said...

No, but they often sell them at the Seaview Market!
MM

Unknown said...

Let's do a mushroom dinner this fall! We picked some in the Maine woods we can contribute. (kidding, just kidding.)