Mushroom Essence

Ingredients

• 2lb. of well washed and dried mushrooms
• two tablespoonfuls of lemon juice
• ^oz. of salt
• one quart of very rich poultry or white stock

Method

1. 1

   Put mushrooms in a pan with lemon juice and salt, cover, and cook for a few minutes.

2. 2

   Pour stock over mushrooms, boil for about ten minutes, then strain through muslin.

3. 3

   Cool and bottle.

As published

This recipe was extracted from The "Queen" cookery books: Vegetables (1902) by S. Beaty-Pownall, page 40. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

2lb. of well washed and dried mushrooms into a pan with two tablespoonfuls of lemon juice, and ^oz. of salt, cover the pan closely, and cook them over the fire for a few minutes ; now pour one quart of very rich poultry or white stock on to the mushrooms, let them boil together for about ten minutes, then strain off through muslin, and when the essence is cool bottle off and cork down closely. Another way which produces an even stronger essence is this : Sprinkle button or flap mushrooms with a little fine salt, and let them stand for three hours, when you mash them well ; next day strain off the liquor that will flow from them, and boil this down till reduced to half. This does not keep long, but many people prefer it because of its strong natural mushroom flavour. This essence is often mentioned in cookery VEGETABLES. 7!> books, and much used in cookery, but the directions for making it are seldom given. Mushroom ketchup (f resh) —When using mushrooms for any purpose, do not throw away the stalks and trimmings, as these make an excellent flavouring for all kinds of sauces, stews, &c., in which mushrooms are used. Put all the trimmings of the skin and stalks into a saucepan, seasoning them with freshly ground black pepper, and adding enough slightly salted water to float them well ; bring this to the boil, let it simmer for fifteen minutes, then strain through fine muslin and bottle off. Keep it tightly corked and in small bottles, for once opened it will not keep. pie. — Line a raised pie mould with thin short crust, spread on this about a tablespoonful of seasoned white breadcrumbs, then a two inch layer of peeled and halved mushrooms ; cover this with two tablespoonfuls of breadcrumbs and five or six little balls (the size of a nut) of butter, or well clarified dripping. Repeat these layers till the mould is full, finishing with breadcrumbs and butter, cover with more short paste (leaving a little hole in the centre), and bake in a quick oven. Meanwhile stew the mush- room stalks and trimmings with a few spoonfuls of weak stock or water, and a very little salt, until this broth is very strongly flavoured ; now dredge in a little fine sifted flour, add half a gill of cream or new milk, let it all boil together for a few minutes, then strain it, whilst hot, into the pie, just as you are about to serve it. The seasoning of the breadcrumbs is a matter of taste, some people only adding minced parsley or chives, freshly ground black pepper, and VEGETABLES. su ;i very little salt, whilst others use a third of the bulk of breadcrumbs or Parmesan cheese, and season it rather strongly with coralline pepper ; others, again, substitute parboiled and cut up macaroni for the bread- crumbs, and moisten with the mushroom essence

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.