Washing mushrooms?

I've just returned from Seattle with a pound or two of wild mushrooms. I'd like to sautee and eat some, whilst freezing those that I don't eat. I know how to freeze the partially-sauteéd ones, that's not the issue.

The issue is: do I wash the suckers beforehand? or just brush? or what?

If washing is the order of the day, how is it best accomplished?

Newbie questions, but I don't want to trust my usual rough-and-ready methods to these wonderful fungi!

TIA,

Geo

I've seen Jacques Pepin advise that it's fine to wash mushrooms. I've done it and seems fine if you shake all the water out of the crevices. I wonder if Cooks Illustrated has done something quantitative to assess how much water is absorbed.

I wash my mushrooms all the time; I do it quickly....just lightly spray them and the wipe off with a paper towel. I just plan on doing it about one hour before I will use them. Any additional moisture absorbed has probably evaporated by the time I need to use them.

Alton Brown did a review of moisture absorption; it's small. Just don't let the mushrooms soak. A quick bath does no harm.

Depending on how dirty they are, you could either wash wash them or not.

I typically brush and wipe the soil away - if need be sometimes with a damp paper towel.

Washing would be fine - mushrooms don't absorb much water (at least not as much as they are thought to - Alton Brown I think explicitly tested that with button mushrooms I think).
I don't like washing, especially wild mushrooms because, um, what's the point? I heat inactivate the bugs and dammit I want to experience the terrior effects. Also you don't want to soak morels (though at this time of year that's not what you have).

What mushrooms do you have (just curious)?

ChrisH wrote:I've seen Jacques Pepin advise that it's fine to wash mushrooms. I've done it and seems fine if you shake all the water out of the crevices. I wonder if Cooks Illustrated has done something quantitative to assess how much water is absorbed.

I know Alton Brown has in "The Fungal Gourmet" episode. Check out Scene 3: The Kitchen in this transcript. The washed mushrooms picked up 1.5 grams of water per 'shroom.

Tnx y'all-- good info, well worth knowing. I think I'll just spray the dirtiest ones, and brush the rest.

I've got mostly chanterelles, plus something that looks sort of like a clump of brown-oysters but not quite, and a huge chunk of hen-of-the-woods that I'm really excited about, since I've heard such good things about this 'shrooom.

I'll report back!

Tnx again,

Geo

I soak wild mushrooms in salt water, to get all the bugs and worms out. I don't care for that sort of "terroir." The number of worms that crawled out of a pristine-looking batch of morels I brought home last spring was appalling.

Then let them dry thoroughly before you try to cook them if you plan to saute. Otherwise they steam and get kind of slimy.

Oh LAZ, bugs and worms would be protein supplement, not terrior Morels I tend to cut in half longitudinally, then cleaning out. Soaking them in salted water, I feel robs a lot of flavor (of the mushroom itself ).

Geo, hen-of-the-woods is very good eats. If you make duxelles (with garlic; no cream) and stick it in a chopper it makes for a fantastic mushroom 'spread' (not a paste, but a spread with texture)