Hey! You Can Wash Mushrooms

Elizabeth Passarella
Elizabeth Passarella
Elizabeth Passarella is the author of the essay collection Good Apple and a contributing editor at Southern Living. A former editor at Real Simple and Vogue, she has spent more than 20 years writing about food, travel, home design, and parenting in outlets including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Parents, Martha Stewart Weddings, Coastal Living, Airbnb, and The Kitchn. Elizabeth grew up in Memphis, Tennessee and now lives with her husband and three children in New York City.
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published Jul 1, 2008
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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)

Filed in:
Mushrooms
Tips & Techniques
Vegetables
Ingredient