European and American cuisine

Mushrooms grow wild in Europe and America, and a majority of the edible species are common to both continents. The edible fungus called mushroom is in all cases to be distinguished by its white, firm, solid stem, its fleshy cap, and its pink gills ; when the cap begins to expand, the gills are pale, but they soon become pink, and on this account it is in some parts of this country known as the pink-gill. When older the gills become chocolate-colored, then tawny black, in which state they are regarded as unflt for food. It has a pleasant and characteristic odor, by which those familiar with it can distinguish the plant. This species is found in pastures, in some years in great abundance. Its proper season is September and October, when our markets are abundantly supplied from the wild growth ; at other times cultivated mushrooms are to be had, but at very high prices. Mushrooms resemble flesh in flavor more nearly than do any other vegetable. They are used to form a dish by themselves, either stewed, broiled, or baked, and are largely employed to flavor other dishes, entering into a great variety of stews, fricassees, and sauces ; many are consumed in the preparation of catsup, which is the juice of the mushroom extracted by sprinkling them with salt and flavoring with spices. The general testimony is that mushrooms are highly nutritions, but difficult of digestion, and unsuited to persons with delicate stomachs. Mushrooms, Baked. — Cut off a portion of the stalks of 12 medium-sized mushrooms, peel the tops, and wipe the mushrooms carefully with a piece of flannel and a little fine salt ; wipe dry. Put them into a baking dish with a small piece of butter placed on each mushroom, sprinkle over a little white pepper, and bake 20 minutes. Serve on a hot dish, piled up high in the center, with the sauce poured around. Mushrooms, Pickled. — Choose for pickling only the small button mushrooms, rub off the skin with a piece of cloth and salt, cut the stalks off, put them in a saucepan over the fire ; add to each quart of mushrooms 7^ teaspoonful ground mace, Yg even teaspoonf ul ground white pepper, 1 even teaspoonful salt ; toss them well over a clear fire until the liquor flows, and keep them there until they are all dried up again. Then add enough vinegar to cover them, 1 onion, and 1 teaspoonful sugar, boil a few minutes ; put the mushrooms in small glass jars. When cold screw them up tightly or paste paper over them ; keep in dry places for further use. These are nice for sauces or ragouts. Mushrooms Preserved in Butter.— Peel 1 quart of nice white small button mushrooms, put them into cold water with a little lemon juice ; take out and dry with a clean napkin. Place in a saucepan over the fire with Yg pound of butter and 1 gill of water, simmer 15 minutes; put them with their juice into glass jars screwed down tightly ; set in a vessel of cold water over the fire to boil 1 hour. (If there should not be juice enough to cover the mushrooms in the jars, more melted butter must be added.) When opened in winter the butter can be used for sauce.