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Champignons and mushrooms are the best known and most common forms of edible fungi. In olden days, when it was necessary to go collecting the delicate white-capped mushrooms on meadows and in the woods, they were correspondingly valuable and regarded as an exquisite delicacy. Not without good reason did the Roman emperor Nero, a true connoisseur of all kinds of pleasures and desires, call them 'cibus deorum' – 'the dish of the gods'.
Delicious but difficult to digest
Edible mushrooms have a similar nutritional value to vegetables. They contain minerals such as potassium and phosphorus, and are rich in vitamins, primarily vitamin D, which is rarely found in vegetables. As mushrooms contain chitin and cellulose in their cell walls they are difficult to digest however. For this reason they should be steamed or braised in a pan for 15 to 20 minutes as their contents are then best released and the mushrooms are most easily digested.
Storing mushrooms properly
If the mushrooms are fresh, solid and not too moist when bought, they can be stored in the vegetable cooler of the refrigerator for a number of days.
Mushrooms which have dried out during storage can still be used if they are placed in milk before being cooked. The caps of young mushrooms are light brown and hemispheric. The caps of older mushrooms have a red to dark brown tinge.
Fresh mushrooms are a delight...
The caps of young champignons are still closed and have grown together with the stem. It is not until they age that the cap opens and the colour of the lamellae changes from a light colour to a dusky pink or dark brown. Fresh mushrooms should be firm and compact. If the stems have taken on a dark colour it is an indication that they have been stored for a long time. Champignons and mushrooms can be used in many ways. They may be boiled, steamed, braised or grilled, and are also tasty when eaten raw, in salads for instance. White mushrooms retain their colour if a little lemon juice or vinegar is dribbled over them. Brown mushrooms have a more intensive aroma.
... with a champignon and vegetable aspic
With a delicious champignon-vegetable aspic you can enjoy that special autumn mood in the comfort of your own four walls. Thanks to the source of high-quality protein – gelatine – which contains no cholesterol or sugar, and practically no fat, this aspic is a deliciously light pleasure. A glass of white wine is an exquisite way to round off this culinary delight in autumn.
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