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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

not to peel mushrooms?

96 replies

MardyBra · 07/08/2011 18:08

OK if they're those great big ones, I'd peel them, especially if the skin was looking a bit manky. But if they're just normal sized, fairly fresh mushrooms, then I'd just give them a rinse, maybe cut of a bit of the stem and use them.

My mother thinks this is disgusting practice, especially as mushrooms are grown in horse manure.

OP posts:
itisnearlysummer · 12/08/2011 08:24

wipe, no peel and we're all still alive and the children will only eat them raw.

Bubbaluv · 12/08/2011 08:55

OP, I wonder if your DM has eaten mushrooms in a restarant? No good chef would wash or peel a mushroom. (obviously excluding strange wild ones that require peeling).

Whatmeworry · 12/08/2011 09:01

Nope - quick splash to wash away most of the soil that's it.

mumeeee · 12/08/2011 09:06

YANBU. DD3 did a catering course and they were told never to peel mushrooms.

Thumbwitch · 12/08/2011 09:12

yeah, but I bet most restaurants don't have mushrooms a week old that have started to open up and the skin go darker, either. So they wouldn't need to peel their mushrooms. It's a home thing.

notcitrus · 12/08/2011 09:16

I've always wiped them with a damp paper towel, but MrNC likes peeling them if they've gone a bit grey. Keeps him happy! (he does it; I won't)
Once they've got dried out they're impossible to peel so back to wiping and cutting with scissors.

Thumbwitch · 12/08/2011 09:52

nothing natural - I know you've lifted that from a website so it's not in your own words, but but but - although heating the soil to 71deg C might kill all vegetative bacteria, it won't necessarily kill all spores. So the soil/substrate is not fully "disinfected". Pasteurising works on milk because it is unlikely to contain any spores - but soil will.

I know, it's not you - but I just wanted to point that out. :)

nothingnatural · 12/08/2011 09:54

Thanks Thumb Smile happy to stand corrected.

BupcakesandCunting · 12/08/2011 09:57

I used to peel because my dad always peeled and I learned to cook from him.

Then, I read on the mushroom bag from Sainsbury's about two weeks ago, "no need to peel. Just wipe" It was a hallelujah moment, I can tell you.

MissusCT · 12/08/2011 09:58

You can peel mushrooms?!

Cheria · 12/08/2011 09:58

I peel the big ones but others just wet some kitchen paper and wipe them clean. Don't even rinse as they go soggy and absorb too much water. Nothing wrong with a bit of dirt. No need to peel at all.

Ephiny · 12/08/2011 10:01

I didn't know you could peel mushrooms either! What exactly do you peel off? Confused.

I just wipe with damp kitchen paper if they look like they need it. If you buy them in a packet, that's what the instructions usually say to do.

FairyArmadillo · 12/08/2011 10:03

I've never peeled a mushroom in my life and I eat them most days.

Thumbwitch · 12/08/2011 10:03

f you buy OLD mushrooms, or they go old in your fridge (like mine often do) then the edge will be easily accessible and you can just lift it with a small knife, or even your fingers. If you have NEW mushrooms, that are closed cup, this will not work.

Solo · 12/08/2011 13:35

Cheria it is a fact that mushrooms absorb water and therefore it is better to wipe with a damp cloth, but I'd rather eat mushrooms that contain water than something that'll make me ill.
I only peel mushrooms that are well and truly past their best.

Cheria · 12/08/2011 22:56

Solo bit of shit never hurt anyone... Grin

notlettingthefearshow · 12/08/2011 22:59

Never heard of peeling mushroom unless it's past its best - very wasteful.

A wipe with kitchen towel is ample.

rhondajean · 12/08/2011 23:01

Do people really peel mushrooms? I thought that was an urban myth.

Selks · 12/08/2011 23:01

I don't peel them (apart from the big ones with thicker skins) and I don't wash them either - being drenched in water does a mushroom no good at all. If they need it I give them a wipe over, otherwise I just cook them. I haven't died yet.

Anifrangapani · 12/08/2011 23:08

I thought it was chicken shit......

Maybe that is grapes.

Linnet · 13/08/2011 01:22

I always peel mushrooms, I always have and always will. I know that you aren't supposed to but I do. I also eat them raw, I don't cook them, I don't really like them cooked. If I was at someones house though and they served me something with cooked mushrooms in it I'd eat it to be polite but I don't like to cook mushrooms and eat them. Dd1 loves mushrooms, in pasta, in omlettes, in stir fry etc but I don't like how they go soggy and a bit bleugh when they are cooked.

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