MUSHROOMS AS FOOD 



may be shown. Take the specimens up carefully from their 

 place of growth, removing all the loose dirt from the base 

 of the stem. Wrap the specimens carefully in soft paper or 

 large green leaves that they may be kept as fresh as possible 

 till the time of examination. On reaching home, lose no tim.e 

 in making the examination for in some species there are 

 evanescent characters which will not be available after a few 

 hours' delay. In one family of fungi the color of the spores is 

 an important character and a great aid in the identification of 

 species. The color of the spores in many species is the same 

 as or similar to the color of the mature gills, but there are so 

 many exceptions that explicit directions for ascertaining their 

 color will be given in another place. 



In the preparation of mushrooms for cooking, the utmost 

 cleanliness should be observed. Some have the upper sur- 

 face of the cap covered with a sticky, viscid or glutinous sub- 

 stance when fresh. This often causes bits of dirt, leaves or 

 sticks to adhere to the cap tenaciously. In such cases it is 

 generally best to remove this rubbish by peeling the caps. In 

 other cases the dirt may be wiped away with a damp cloth or 

 towel, or washed off and then the surface dried with a towel. 

 It is also well to peel those having a thick tough skin. 



The proper method of cooking will depend somewhat on 

 the kind of mushroom, the tastes of those that are to eat them 

 and the conveniences at hand. Many of them can be cooked 

 in the same manner as a beefsteak. It is customary to cook 

 them in a very simple manner, either by frying in butter or 

 broiling gently with a little butter added and seasoning to 

 taste. They may also be stewed or baked. The skillful cook 

 will devise many ways of cooking them and various recipes 

 will be found in cook books and in works on edible fungi. Too 

 much cooking may spoil a mushroom as well as an oyster or 

 a tender beefsteak. My efforts to make a tough mushroom 

 tender by steaming have been successful, but the experiments 



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