FoodNetArchive

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1892

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Presented as published in 1892. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
I these are described under those headings, as well as Sauces, <bc., referred to, see under their special heads. 958 THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL COOKERY. Mushrooms — continued. Champignons, Chantarelles, and Cepes. This renders the classification of Mushrooms very simple, and leaves us those only which aff%»ommonly sold under that name. Of these we have the common meadow Mushroom (see Fig. | Fig. 1201. St. George’s Mushroom. 1200) ( Agaricus campestris ), the St. George’s Mushroom (. Agaricus gambosus) (see Fig. 1201), and the Button or Horse Mushroom (Agaricus arvensis) (see Fig. 1202). The edible boletus ( Boletus edulis) (see Fig. 1203) is sold in many parts of the Continent, cut into thin slices or hung on strings and dried, but it is little esteemed in England. There are numerous other kinds of fungi, some of which are edible and others poisonous. The best mode of distin- Fig. 1202. Button or Horse Mushrooms. guishing one from the other is given in a few rules drawn up by Prof. Bentley. They are as follows : edible mushrooms. 1. Grow hi diy airy places. 2. Generally white or brownish. 3. Have a compact brittle flesh. 4. Do not change colour by the action of the ah when cut. 5. Juice, watery. 6. Odour agreeable. 7. Taste neither bitter, acrid, nor astringent. POISONOUS FUNGI. 1. Grow in clusters hi woods and dark damp places. 2. Usually with bright colours. 3. Flesh fibrous, soft, and watery. 4. Acquire a brown, green, or blue tint when cut and exposed to the air. 5. Juice often milky. 6. Odour commonly powerful and disagreeable. 7. Have an acrid, astringent, acid, salt, or bitter taste. Another eminent writer on the subject informs us that no general rule can be given for the determination of the question whether fungi are or are not poisonous. Colour is quite indecisive, and some of the most dangerous fungi, and amongst them the Agaricus phalloides, are void of any unpleasant smell when fresh ; the most wholesome may be Mushrooms — continued. extremely offensive when old. Experience is the only safe test, and no one should incautiously try species with whose character he is not thoroughly acquainted. Under these Fig. 1203. Boletus Edulis. circumstances it is perhaps better to trust to the green- grocer who sells them. Baked Mushrooms. — (1) Cut off the stalks of some Mush- rooms, remove the outside skin, and put them on a buttered plate ; sprinkle them with salt and pepperBaked Mushrooms, cover with another plate, put them in a moderate oven, and bake until done, using the liquor that comes from them to baste with : they are then ready to be served. (2) Carefully cleanse the Mushrooms, and cut as many slices of bread as there are Mushroom-tops, trimming off the crusts and leaving each slice about 2in. square. Lay ' these in a baking-pan, spread each slice with butter, sprinkle with a little pepper and salt, and on each put one large Muslnoom-top, so as to nearly cover the bread. Set the pan in a hot oven for five minutes, then season the Mushrooms with salt and pepper, put a piece of butter as large as a hazel-nut on each, return the pan to the oven, and finish baking. The Mushrooms should be served on the bread as soon as they are done.