We once interviewed a mushroom farmer for a magazine article, and she said something we never forgot: "Mushrooms need a shower, not a bath."
And so, while every cook we see on TV tells us to wipe each mushroom with a damp cloth and never, ever rinse for fear those porous mushrooms will just soak up water and turn to mush, we've been happily giving ours a quick run under the faucet. It's far less time-consuming and, frankly, they taste just fine.
Well, we now have Gourmet magazine on our side...
One of the little tips in the front of the July issue mentions that it's a myth that mushrooms can't be washed. In fact, Gourmet performed an experiment, soaking a bunch and testing how much water they absorbed. It was about one sixteenth of a teaspoon per mushroom — only a bit more than is absorbed by an asparagus, they say.
And that's if they soak in water. Ours merely shower.
Related: Survey: Do You Wash Mushrooms Before Cooking Them?
(Image: Flickr member pauldcocker, licensed under Creative Commons)
I think Alton Brown talked about this one, too, although I could be wrong. I've always washed mushrooms (They grow in dung, I'm not putting them in my food unwashed!) and never had a problem so I guess it never occurred to me that this was a common misconception.
view Tiamat_the_Red's profile
Alton Brown definitely did a mythbusters-type episode on food myths, and he talked about this. He soaked mushrooms in water for longer and longer periods of time, and weighed them before and after. He found that they soak up very little water, and that amount doesn't increase over longer soaking periods. It's also the same if they get a "shower" or a "bath". Here is the link to the YouTube clip:
view ScienceandtheCity's profile
Cook's Illustrated also tested the "mushrooms soak up water" thing and found it to be bunk.
view STH's profile
I totally wash my mushrooms. I used to wipe them with a wet towel, but it took far too long to get them really clean. Plus, I found that it sometimes tears the tender tops of them, so it was just easier to dislodge all the dirt with a quick rinse and rub. I'd never noticed any difference in taste - just an absence of grit.
view hs's profile
Yes, Alton Brown did a very entertaining episode on this very subject. He soaked mushrooms for various lengths of time, and even after extended soaking, the mushrooms actually absorbed only a tiny amount of water.
I wash my mushrooms under running water, followed by a wipe with a clean hand towel. It has no effect on the taste or the texture, whether the mushrooms are served raw or cooked.
view NoNoBadDog's profile
I see I'm not the only one who saw the Good Eats episode where Alton Brown proved this one. My mom always rinsed her mushrooms for the very simple reason that they grow in dung and dirt and they are not clean. She said "I don't care who slimey or mushy they get, I'm not putting sh*t in my meal!" and honestly, I never noticed the difference so I figured my mom was on to something. It's nice to see others proving this as well. I'm so sick of "and you should never wash your mushrooms because they'll absorb too much water" on cooking shows! Finally the word gets out!
view Miss Pea's profile