Mushrooms Are King in 2024
Words: Shamim de Brún
Images: Unsplash
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but we should all bless our palate and eat some mushrooms. Imagine walking into a butcher shop, but instead of rows of meat, you start to realise…what’s with all the mushrooms? They’re everywhere! Mushroom sausages, mushroom chicken wings, mushroom bacon, mushroom minced meat, even mushroom calamari. Welcome to the future of sustainable and vegan cooking, where mushroom butchery is centre stage and in the spotlight.
Why Mushrooms
Mushrooms are the superheroes of tomorrow’s pantry, swooping in with a flourish of flavor and a bundle of benefits. These resilient fungi pop up wherever they please, making the world their stage – especially the charismatic button and the sturdy portobello, which take centre-stage as the culinary stars. Not only are they delightfully versatile, but they’re also brimming with nutrients, making them the foodie sidekicks we all need. So, whether you’re rustling up a storm in your kitchen or dreaming up new culinary delights, mushrooms are poised to sprinkle a bit of joy and a hefty dose of health into your dishes!
Mushrooms are sustainable, nutritious, and can be fast-growing. They require no regular watering, just a damp environment, which makes them profoundly more sustainable than other crops grown for nutrients, like corn and leafy greens.
There are a bunch of crafty folks across Ireland and the world tinkering with mushroom bits—stems, roots, and the intricate web of nature’s fungal network, aka mycelium. They’re whipping up proteins that rival meat in a much more sustainable and natural way than their lab-grown experimental counterparts. Their mycelium concoctions pack all the amino acids, nutrients, and mouthfeel you’d expect from traditional meat. Whether it’s sprouting on the forest floor or bubbling away in a fancy steel tub, mycelium is morphing into everything from juicy steaks to crispy bacon to succulent chicken.
Thanks to their unique makeup, many mushrooms are already very special. Aside from being low-calorie, mushrooms provide high amounts of fibre, B vitamins, and other minerals. They also contain many of the same amino acids as meat, which makes them a nutritious addition to a balanced vegetarian diet!
Variety is the Spice of Life
Funghi lovers know well that mushrooms are all about wild flavours and intriguing aromas. Take the classic Italian truffle, for example — it’s got this deep, earthy smell that can jazz up any dish. European mushrooms like these are real champs in the kitchen, giving you endless ways to get creative with your cooking. You could whip up a new mushroom dish everyday and still be eager for more. And when I get my shopping just right, that’s exactly what I do.
This affection is, at times, controversial. Mushrooms can be a misunderstood food. People can be scared of them because they associate them on an unconscious level with some fairly dark subject matter (think ‘The Last Of Us’).
Others eagerly attribute their distaste to the fungus’s taste and texture. I’d argue it’s almost always a case of misplaced blame; just like our parents overcooked steak and served soggy fish, they also probably didn’t know how to cook mushrooms.
This was certainly my experience.
Like vegetables, there’s a mushroom out there for everyone—it’s just about finding your match. For many, the classic button mushroom has been a game-changer. It’s the kind of fungi that can convert sceptics into devoted fans, one dish at a time. If you’re still on the fence about mushrooms, I dare you to try them out. Whether it’s the hearty texture of portobellos in a stew or the delicate slices of buttons in a salad, these European delights are dynamic stars in the kitchen. Why blame the mushroom when it could be the recipe that needs tweaking? Give them a chance and they might just surprise you!
Mushroom Butchery
The idea of mushroom ‘meat’ may sound peculiar at first, especially for those who haven’t been too fond of mushrooms in the past. But hold your scepticism because it genuinely works really well. Using mushrooms as a stand-in for meat isn’t a new concept, but has always intrigued me. Mushroom meats are diverse and offer a unique blend of texture and umami, making them ideal for creating plant-based meat alternatives. Understanding the range of mushrooms available and their cooking applications is important if you want to use them as a meaty sub.
When I went vegan, the last thing I gave up was seafood. But give it up I did when I learned that mushrooms could not only imitate the best of burgers but also that mushrooms could mimic scallops. There’s lots of vegan seafood recipes that replicate the texture of fish so profoundly it seems divined.
Mushrooms can be used to make: MUSHROOM TACOS, CHOWDER, P*RK BUNS, FRIED FRICKEN
Portobello Mushrooms are robust and rich with earthy flavours can stand up to hearty grilling, roasting, and stuffing. They’re a beloved staple for their versatility and deep umami qualities. These mushrooms can transform a simple sandwich into a lavish meal or a salad into a filling entrée. They can step into the spotlight and easily become the centrepiece of a dish.
Portobello Mushrooms Can Be Used To Make: A REUBEN, VEGAN SAUSAGE ROLLS and more.
Simple cap mushrooms deserve justice. They have been written off by people unduly. These are the little guys you see everywhere. Think SuperValu, Lidl, Aldi, Tesco, and any supermarket worth their salt, and they’ll stock these kids. Unassuming button mushrooms can be sublime when thinly sliced in salads. However, the important thing to consider when dealing with mushrooms is that they are made up of 80–90% water, like little sponges (says Harold McGee, in On Food and Cooking). Cooking with dry heat allows them to release their natural moisture. It caramelises their sugars, making them tender, not spongey. Then you can add them in everywhere to everything. When in doubt, cook your mushrooms first or separately and fold them back in the dish just before serving.
Button Mushrooms Can Be Used To Make: Spicy Garlic Mushrooms, Button Mushrooms à la Crème, Mushroom Wellington, and more.
When I went vegan, the last thing I gave up was seafood. But give it up I did when I learned that mushrooms could not only imitate the best of burgers but also that mushrooms could mimic scallops. There’s lots of vegan seafood recipes that replicate the texture of fish so profoundly it seems divined.
Mushrooms can be used to make: MUSHROOM TACOS, CHOWDER, P*RK BUNS, FRIED CHICKEN
Portobello Mushrooms are robust and rich with earthy flavours can stand up to hearty grilling, roasting, and stuffing. They’re a beloved staple for their versatility and deep umami qualities. These mushrooms can transform a simple sandwich into a lavish meal or a salad into a filling entrée. They can step into the spotlight and easily become the centrepiece of a dish.
Portobello Mushrooms Can Be Used To Make: A REUBEN, VEGAN SAUSAGE ROLLS and more.
Simple cap mushrooms deserve justice. They have been written off by people unduly. These are the little guys you see everywhere. Think SuperValu, Lidl, Aldi, Tesco, and any supermarket worth their salt, and they’ll stock these kids. Unassuming button mushrooms can be sublime when thinly sliced in salads. However, the important thing to consider when dealing with mushrooms is that they are made up of 80–90% water, like little sponges (says Harold McGee, in On Food and Cooking). Cooking with dry heat allows them to release their natural moisture. It caramelises their sugars, making them tender, not spongey. Then you can add them in everywhere to everything. When in doubt, cook your mushrooms first or separately and fold them back in the dish just before serving.
Button Mushrooms Can Be Used To Make: Spicy Garlic Mushrooms, Button Mushrooms à la Crème, Mushroom Wellington, and more.
Best Mushroom Dishes in Dublin
In Dublin, you can actually eat your way through every cuisine imaginable via mushrooms just to see what variety there really is in the fungi world. Big Fan, Bahay, Glás, Two Boys Brew, Little Bird Café, Bibi’s, The Merrion Hotel, Token, Cornucopia, Sprezzatura, Happy’s, The Grayson, PI George’s Street, Hawksmoor, The Pig’s Ear, M&L, Bastible, and more all showcase seasonal fresh Irish grown mushrooms
Across the globe, a wave of innovators is harnessing the power of fungi to create meat alternatives that not only mimic the taste and texture of conventional meat but also boast impressive nutritional profiles.
As consumers become increasingly conscious of the environmental impact of their food choices, mushroom-based alternatives offer a compelling solution that satisfies both ethical and gastronomic concerns. With visionary entrepreneurs like Mark Senn, The Mushroom Butcher leading the charge, mushroom butchery is poised to become not just a culinary trend but a sustainable staple in the world of cooking.
You can find more morsels of mushroomy knowledge here.
Elsewhere on Char: The Dublin 100
