COOKING MUSHROOMS, 
151 
The small, short-stemmed, white-skinned mushrooms 
offered for sale are of the variety known as French 
mushrooms, and on account of their white appearance 
are preferred by many; the longer-stemmed, broader- 
headed, and darker-colored kind that we also find offered 
for sale is what is known as the English mushroom. 
The French mushrooms are the most attractive in ap- 
pearance and preferred in the market, but the English 
variety is the best flavored and generally the most liked 
for home use. 
As soon as the frill around the neck breaks apart the 
mushroom is fit to gather; keeping it longer may add 
to its size a little, but surely will detract from its ten¬ 
derness. The gills of the mushrooms will retain their 
pink tinge for a day after the frill breaks open, but they 
soon grow browner and blacker, until in a few days they 
are unfit for food. In gathering, the mushrooms should 
be pulled and never cut, and kept in this way until 
ready to prepare them for cooking. By retaining the 
stem uncut the mushroom holds its freshness and plump¬ 
ness much longer than it would were the stems removed. 
Keep them in a cool, dark place, and in an earthenware 
vessel with a cover or a thick, damp cloth thrown over 
it; this Jvill preserve their plumpness. If the frill is 
broken wide apart when the mushrooms are gathered, 
the caps are apt to open out flat in a day or two, and 
the gills darken and spread their spores, just as if the 
mushrooms were still unsevered from the ground. 
Carefully inspect the mushrooms before cooking them. 
If the gills are black and the mushrooms are too old do 
not use them; if the cap is perforated by insects discard 
it, as it is very likely there are maggots inside; or if 
there are dark brown spots (“black spot 55 ) on the top 
of the caps throw the mushrooms away. Old mush¬ 
rooms are tough, ill-looking, bad-tasting and indigesti¬ 
ble, and those infested by insects, although not poison- 
