This guide to culinary mushroom varieties presents the more common types and as well as a few that are offbeat — how to prepare them and recipes for using them.
Not long ago, when a recipe called for mushrooms, it meant the white or button variety. After all, what else was there? Today, it’s not hard to find a wide array of tasty options like cremini, shiitake, portobello, and more. Other, still perhaps less common culinary varieties like enoki, maitake, wood ear, and porcini, are worth seeking out.
The earthy flavors and unusual (sometimes meaty) textures of mushrooms are what make mushrooms appealing, but there’s more to them than that. White mushrooms offer modest nutrients, but their more exotic cousins boast more substantial nutrients, including B vitamins, along with potassium, iron, and other minerals. All mushrooms are practically calorie-free.
