What Are Mushrooms and How Can I Use Them?

Canned mushrooms are button or cremini mushrooms that have been cooked and sealed in liquid, sold either whole or sliced, plus a cheaper stems-and-pieces grade. They are the pantry version of mushrooms: shelf-stable and already cooked.

See the parent mushrooms page for the fresh kinds.

What you trade for that convenience is texture. Canning leaves them softer and a touch rubbery, and the long, slow heat strips much of the meaty depth that fresh mushrooms bring. They taste mild and a little tinny, more pleasantly earthy than deeply mushroomy.

Shitake mushrooms have a stalk that is removed before consumption as it is tough and woody. It is common for shitake mushrooms to be dried for long term storage.  Dried shitake has an intense flavor that brings earthy character to some dishes.  

To rehydrate dried shitake mushrooms cover with boiling water and allow to rehydrate for about one hour. Remove the mushrooms, careful not to distrub the gritty sedimate. Filter the mushrooms liquid, which is packed with flavor, through a cofee filter to remove any grit.  Use the resulting liquid to create flavorful mushroom broths and sauces.

Buy mushrooms as fresh as possible and it is advisable to cook them as soon as possible. Store refrigerated in a paper bag. Storing in plastic or in a sealed container and they will spoil more quickly.

All mushrooms are a type of fungus that is normally found growing in cool damp locations in medows and woodlands whereever the soil is rich in hummus.  Most mushrooms consist of a stalk with an umbrella shaped cap.

To retain the full flavor it is best not to peel or wash the mushrooms but rather brush clean with a soft mushroom brush or damp cloth to remove any dirt.

Button mushrooms, scientifically known as Agaricus bisporus, are the most common and widely cultivated variety of edible mushroom worldwide. They are also frequently called white button mushrooms, champignons, or simply white mushrooms.

These fungi feature small, round, white caps (typically 1–2 inches in diameter when young) with short stems, giving them a button-like appearance that lends the name. As they mature, the caps may open to reveal pink or brown gills underneath, and they develop a mild, earthy, slightly nutty umami flavor with a firm, meaty texture.

Originally native to grasslands in Eurasia and North America, button mushrooms were first cultivated in France during the 17th century on horse manure heaps.

Today, they are inexpensive, readily available year-round in grocery stores, and versatile in cooking—often sautéed, added to salads, pizzas, soups, or stir-fries for their subtle taste and ability to absorb other flavors.

They are low in calories (providing almost none when eaten) while offering some protein, fiber, and nutrients like B vitamins.

Button mushrooms are distinct from other varieties like cremini (which are slightly more mature button mushrooms with a browner hue and deeper flavor) or portobello (fully grown versions of the same species).

"Chinese mushrooms" on a recipe almost always means dried shiitake, the brown caps sold in bags at any Asian grocery. The label sometimes reads black mushroom or fragrant mushroom, but it's the same dense, smoky cap you rehydrate before cooking.

Dried beats fresh for this style of cooking. Drying concentrates the flavor and gives the cap a chewy, almost meaty bite that holds up in long braises and quick stir-fries alike. A handful goes a long way.

Black trumpet is a wild mushroom shaped like a thin, hollow horn, dark gray to nearly black, with a delicate flared edge. It grows in fall woods and is foraged rather than farmed, which is why you usually find it dried or at a good market in season.

For its fragile looks it packs a big flavor. The taste is deep and smoky with a rich, almost fruity undertone that some cooks compare to truffle. A small amount perfumes a whole dish.

Porcini are wild mushrooms with a deep, meaty flavor and a heady forest aroma. Known in Italy as porcini and in France as cèpes, they are the same species, Boletus edulis, central to Italian cooking and used widely across France and Eastern Europe.

You will meet them two ways. Fresh porcini, in season in fall and sometimes spring, are firm and round-capped with a sponge of pores under the cap instead of gills. Dried porcini are far more common year-round, sold as amber slices that pack a concentrated savory punch.

Their flavor is what people chase. Porcini are rich in natural glutamates, the same compounds behind the savory hit of Parmesan and soy sauce, which is why even a small handful deepens a whole pot.

Ever wondered what treasures lurk in the forest floor, ready to elevate your next meal from mundane to magical?

Wild mushrooms are nature's flavorful gems, fungi that sprout untamed in woodlands, meadows, and even your backyard, unlike their farmed cousins buttoned up in grocery stores.

From the earthy morels of spring to the meaty porcinis that scream autumn risotto, these wild wonders pack intense umami punches that can transform simple dishes into gourmet adventures perfect for "edible wild mushrooms for beginners" or "foraging wild mushrooms in North America."

Think of wild mushrooms as the rebels of the fungi world: they thrive without human intervention, drawing nutrients from trees, soil, or decaying matter in diverse ecosystems.

Edible varieties like chanterelles (golden and apricot-scented, ideal for sautés) or hen-of-the-woods (frilly clusters with a chicken-like texture for stir-fries) offer unique tastes you won't find in cultivated ones.

But beware, not all are friendly; toxic look-alikes such as the deadly destroying angel can mimic safe ones, so foraging demands expert knowledge or guided tours.

In culinary terms, wild mushrooms shine in recipes calling for depth, like creamy wild mushroom soups or grilled portobellos on burgers.

They're seasonal stars, with spring bringing morels (honeycombed caps, nutty flavor) and fall ushering in boletes (spongy undersides, buttery richness). Nutritionally, they're low-cal powerhouses loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, and fiber, making them a hit for "healthy wild mushroom recipes for weight loss" or "vegan wild mushroom foraging tips."

Dried porcini are fresh porcini mushrooms (Boletus edulis, the cèpe of France) sliced and dried until leathery and amber. Drying isn't a compromise here. It concentrates the mushroom's savory compounds and deepens the woodsy aroma, so dried porcini often taste more intensely of porcini than the fresh ones do.

They're the form most home cooks actually keep. Fresh porcini are seasonal and pricey and gone within days, while a bag of dried sits in the cupboard for a year and is ready whenever a sauce needs depth.

Think of them less as a vegetable and more as a seasoning. A small handful, rehydrated, carries a whole pot.

Morels are the wild mushroom cooks chase every spring, with a honeycombed, deeply pitted cap that looks like a small sponge or a pine cone. They show up for only a few short weeks, resist farming, and command high prices because of it.

The flavor is the reason. Morels are intensely earthy and nutty, with a meaty, almost smoky depth that dried and cultivated mushrooms only hint at.

Their hollow, pitted structure is also a built-in sauce trap. Those pits catch butter and pan juices, which is a big part of why a simple morel dish tastes so rich.

Chanterelles are the golden, trumpet-shaped wild mushrooms that foragers and chefs treat as a seasonal prize. They grow on forest floors rather than farms, which is why you rarely see them stacked in a grocery cooler the way you see button mushrooms.

What sets them apart is the smell. A fresh chanterelle carries a distinct fruity, apricot-like aroma, sometimes with a faint peppery edge.

The flesh is firm and meaty, and the color runs from pale yellow to deep egg-yolk gold. The underside has shallow false gills that run down the stem rather than the sharp blades of a typical mushroom.

Because they are gathered wild and have a short season, they cost more than cultivated mushrooms and reward simple cooking.

Dried mushrooms are fresh mushrooms with their water removed, concentrating both flavor and shelf life into a shrunken, leathery form. Drying drives off most of the moisture, leaving a deeply savory ingredient that keeps for a year or more in the pantry.

More flavor, less weight.

That concentration is the whole point. Dried porcini, shiitake, and morels carry far more umami by weight than the fresh mushrooms they came from, which is why a small handful can flavor a whole pot.

Most dried mushrooms are rehydrated before use, and the soaking liquid that results is a dark, meaty stock you should never pour down the drain.

Boletus mushrooms, better known as porcini or cep, are wild mushrooms with a fat, bulbous stem and a thick brown cap. The species most cooks mean is Boletus edulis, the king bolete. It carries the deepest, nuttiest flavor of any common edible mushroom.

Unlike gilled mushrooms, boletes have a spongy underside of tiny tubes instead of gills. Young, firm specimens are dense and meaty; older ones turn soft and waterlogged and are best left in the woods.

Fresh porcini are seasonal and pricey, so most home cooks meet them dried. Drying actually concentrates their flavor, which is why a small handful of dried porcini can flavor a whole pot.