Meatless Mondays: Mushrooms

Better late than never…..

I’m really trying to resist calling them “magical,” but mushrooms really are a nutrient powerhouse.  These fungi are low calorie, low fat, low salt, yet high in fiber.  Mushrooms have even more potassium than bananas and are rich in copper, selenium, riboflavin, and niacin.  Mushrooms are purported to be vegetarian sources of vitamin B12, usually found only in animal-based foods, and vitamin D, which is found naturally in very few foods.  The USDA nutrient database indicates that mushrooms don’t contain the active form of B12, and contain only inactive vitamin D.  Some of these inactive vitamin forms might convert to active forms, but vegetarians shouldn’t rely on mushrooms to meet these nutrient needs.

Do you wash your mushrooms or do you wipe them clean?  The fear has always been that mushrooms will absorb washing water, which will alter how they cook and dilute their flavor.  I’ve always been firmly in the washing camp.  Alton Brown, of Good Eats fame, did an episode in which he compared the weight of washed and wiped mushrooms.  There was no weight difference between the two batches, yet the washed mushrooms looked cleaner.  I feel validated.  

Cooking mushrooms in water will leach out the riboflavin and niacin, water-soluble B vitamins.  To retain the nutrients, either incorporate the cooking liquid into your meal or eat them raw. 

Most recently, I took advantage of mushrooms’ high levels of glutamic acid (the natural form of MSG) to bring umami to Smitten Kitchen’s mushroom bourguignon.  Are you a Smitten Kitchen fan?  Her blog and cookbook are beautifully photographed examples of what a curious and adventurous home cook can create.  Deb Perelman, the author, used to be vegetarian, so she always includes rich, complex vegetarian mains and side dishes.  The two pounds of portobello mushrooms quickly cooked down to a luscious, rich meal that even my steak-loving husband enjoyed.

The only change I made to her recipe was to add some swiss chard at the end of the cooking period to beef up the nutrition.  (Sorry, I can never resist a good pun.)  Those are the sort of sad green bits in the picture above, which added vitamin K, vitamin C, and even more fiber to the dish. 

In the summer, I know it’s cliched, but I enjoy grilled mushrooms, both the enormous portobellos and the smaller button or criminis on a shish kebab.  Although I’m not as much of a fan of raw mushrooms, a spinach salad just seems incomplete without them.  How do you use mushrooms?  Are you a washer or a wiper?