52 MUSHROOMS. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



COOKING MUSHROOMS. 



]Iavikg been successful in growing mushroiDns, it is Just as 

 well to know liow to cook them to the best advantage. We 

 shall therefore give you a few recipes which we know to be 

 good ones, to enable the housewife to cook mushrooms in 

 the most appetising and least indigestible manner, including 

 also the making of catsup, or ketchup — an excellent sauce, 

 by the way, for use with cold or hot meat. 



Ste^wed Buttons. — Take as many fresh buttons as 

 are required, bearing in mind that a few will go a long 

 wav, as they are remarkably rich and substantial when 

 nicely cooked. They must be perfectly clean, and, if neces- 

 sary, must also be washed. Remove the skin with a cloth, 

 and, of course, cut off the base of the stalk of every one, 

 for that is always gritty. Put them in a stew-pan with a 

 little butter, a pinch of salt, a little lemon juice, and a little 

 broth or gravy. The proportions of these ingredients will, 

 of course, be determined by the bulk of the buttons, and 

 the cook must have some judgment to determine what the 

 proportions shall be. Take care not to overdo it. They 

 nmst not burn in cooking, and they must not be drowned 

 or over-flavoured. Stew for ten minutes, and serve on hot 

 buttered toast. If it be preferred, the buttons may be 

 sliced, but they are handsomer and better flavoured if 

 cooked whole, unless they are large, in which case slice them 

 the thickness of a crown piece. 



Saute of Mushrooms — Have a few large mush- 

 rooms, and take care that they are clean and fresh, for if 

 gritty and damaged they are quite unfit for cooking. Cut 



