Types of Mushrooms

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With so many types of mushrooms, the possibilities are endless.

High in fiber and


vitamins, mushrooms are also fat- and cholesterol-free. They're popular around the
world due to their versatility as well as their meat-like heft and texture — and these
days, we generally don't have to travel further than the produce aisle to explore
them all. Here, we take a look at the flavor profiles and characteristics of the most
popular mushroom varieties.

1. White Button Mushroom

Alternate names: able mushroom, cultivated mushroom, button, champignon


(de Paris)

Characteristics: The most common and mildest-tasting mushroom around.


Ninety percent of the mushrooms we eat are this variety. Less intensely flavored
than many of its more exotic kin, it can be eaten either raw or cooked, and works
well in soups and salads, and on pizzas.

2. Crimino Mushroom (Crimini, pl.)


Alternate names: Cremini, baby bellas, golden Italian mushrooms, Roman,
classic brown, Italian brown, brown mushrooms

Characteristics: A crimino is a young portobello. Although the crimino is darker,


firmer and more flavorful than its cousin the white button mushroom, the two can
be used interchangeably. Increasingly, retailers hoping to capitalize on the
popularity of the portabellos are selling crimini mushrooms as "baby bellas."

3. Portabello Mushroom
Alternate Names: Portobella, field mushroom, open cap mushroom

Characteristics: Common in Italian cooking, dense, rich portobellos lend depth


to sauces and pastas and make a great meat substitute. When portabellos are young
and small, they're called criminis. If you want a bun-substitute, you can even use
the mushroom's flat cap. Mushrooms of this variety are as wide as the palm of your
hand, and their meaty texture stands up to grilling and stuffing (or both!).
4. Shiitake Mushrooms
Alternate Names: Shitake, black forest, black winter, brown oak, Chinese black,
black mushroom, oriental black, forest mushroom, golden oak, Donko.

Characteristics: In Japanese, shiitake means "oak fungus," which describes


where the mushrooms can be found in the wild. These days, however, most
shiitakes are cultivated. They're best identified by their umbrella-shaped brown
caps, which curl under ever so slightly. Fresh shiitakes have a light woodsy flavor
and aroma, while their dried counterparts are more intense.

5. Maitake Mushroom
Alternate Names: Hen of the Wood, sheepshead mushroom, ram's
head, kumotake, dancing mushroom

Characteristics: From afar, this mushroom can look like a head of cabbage.


Cultivated, as well as found in the woods, these mushrooms are often sold in
clusters with their soft, feathery caps overlapping. This mushroom has an earthy
aroma and a gamy flavor, and is native to both the northwestern United States and
Japan. They grow wild east of the Mississippi River in August and September.

6. Oyster Mushroom
Alternate Names: Tree oyster, angel's wings, pleurotte en huître, abalone
mushroom, shimeji

Characteristics: Although these can be found in the wild growing on the sides of


trees, the ones you'll find in the store or on a menu are most likely cultivated. Like
their namesakes, they're whitish in color and fan-shaped, and possess a delicate
odor and flavor. Oyster mushrooms are found in many Japanese and Chinese
dishes such as soups and stir-fries.

7. Enoki Mushroom

Alternate Names: Enokitake, enokidake, futu, winter mushrooms, winter fungus

Characteristics:__ The edible variety of these mushrooms feature small, shiny


white caps attached to thin stems and possess a distinctive crunch. They're good
raw. In the wild, they grow on Chinese Hackberry trees, ash trees, mulberry trees,
and persimmon trees.
8. Beech Mushroom

Alternate Names: Buna shimeji, beech brown mushroom, clamshell mushroom

Characteristics: Cooked, these crunchy brown-capped clusters are crunchy with


a sweet nuttiness. Raw, however, they taste bitter

9. King Trumpet Mushroom

Alternate Names: King oyster, trumpet royale, ali'i oyster, boletus of the steppes,
king brown mushroom, French horn mushroom, king brown mushroom

It’s all about the thick, meaty stem on this jumbo mushroom

10. Black Trumpet Mushroom


Alternate Names: Horn of plenty, black chanterelle, trumpet of the dead

This wavy fungi is a late-summer find in the Midwest and East and grows all winter
in the West. Black trumpets have a rich, smoky flavor and notes of a black truffle
mushroom when dried.

11. Chanterelle Mushroom

Alternate names: Golden, yellow, chanterelle, egg mushroom, girolle, pfifferling

Characteristics: Trumpet-like, with a depression in the center of its cap, the


chanterelle is one of the most popular wild mushrooms. (Because they're
notoriously difficult to cultivate, chanterelles are usually foraged in the wild.)
Golden-hued, fleshy and firm, they're described as having an apricot-like scent.
They're common in many European cuisines, including French and Austrian, and
are also native to the United States. They are particularly abundant in the West and
Pacific Northwest from September into the cold months.
12. Hedgehog Mushroom

Alternate Names: Sweet tooth, wood hedgehog

Characteristics: With a sweet smell and taste, it makes sense that this mushroom
is also called the "sweet tooth" (unless the mushroom is older — then it can take on
a bitter flavor). Crunchy, nutty and meaty, this mushroom tastes very similar to a
chanterelle. This hardy mushroom grows in the winter on the West Coast.

13. Morel Mushroom

Alternate Names: morchella

Characteristics: A fleeting springtime treat in the Midwest and West. You can’t


mistake its conical, spongy look and woodsy flavor.
14. Porcino Mushroom (Porcini, Pl.)

Alternate names: Cèpe, bolete, king bolete, borowik, Polish mushroom,


Steinpilz, stensopp, penny bun

Characteristics: Slightly reddish-brown in color, porcini are one of the most


prized wild mushrooms, sought out for their smooth texture and aromatic, woodsy
flavor. They're popular in Italy, as well as in France, where they're called cèpes.
Fresh porcinis aren't as easy to locate in the United States, but dried ones are easily
reconstituted by soaking in hot water. Prized in Italy, these have a brief summer
season in the East and pop up in the spring and fall on the West Coast.

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