How to Identify Grocery Mushrooms

Mushrooms add texture and flavor to many dishes.

Mushrooms are such a versatile food that they can be offered fresh in a salad, sautéed in an omelet or grilled over an open flame. Your grocer typically stocks three varieties of mushrooms that look different from one another, but are actually all members of the same species. With a little practice, you can identify the button, crimini and portabella mushrooms and be on your way to a culinary treat.

Instructions

1. 

   Young, freshly-picked button mushrooms are creamy white with a closed veil.

   Identify button mushrooms first -- they are the ones most commonly sold in grocery stores. Buttons are small, squat mushrooms varying in color from white to tan. When turned over, younger buttons have a closed veil, or thin skin, connecting the cap to the stem and they have the most delicate flavor. The veil on a more mature mushrooms is typically open, exposing the gills, and the flavor is stronger.

2. 

   Crimini mushrooms are similar in size and shape to buttons, but are coffee-colored.

   Distinguish crimini mushrooms by color -- they are a coffee-colored version of button mushrooms, sometimes called “baby bellas” or “brown mushrooms.” Criminis have a denser flavor than buttons, but are otherwise similar in shape and texture.

3. 

   Meaty portabella mushrooms are large discs that sport dark gills.

   Single out portabella -- sometimes called portobello -- mushrooms by their impressive size; they grow up to 6 inches in diameter. Portabellas are fully mature crimini mushrooms known for their meat-like texture. You can recognize them by their large disc shape and dark brown color.

Tips & Warnings

• Mushrooms need to breathe; they keep best when stored in a paper bag in your refrigerator.

• Lightly wash mushrooms just before preparing them, but avoid soaking in water since the gills cook poorly after absorbing water.

References

• “Tom Volk’s Fungus of the Month for April 2001”; Tom Volk and Kelly Ivors; 2001
• Mycological Society of San Francisco: Common Store Mushroom
• The World’s Healthiest Foods: Mushrooms, Crimini

Resources

• Non-timber Forest Products of British Columbia: Mushrooms