Looking for family meal recipe inspiration? The UK & Ireland Mushroom Producers’ nutritionist Madeleine Shaw has answered your questions

[YanaMumsnet]

Lockdown has forced most of us to do all our cooking at home and (if you’re anything like us) after producing endless meals for a not-always-appreciative audience, your creative cooking juices may have somewhat dried up. From finding a recipe that the whole family will enjoy, to balancing nutritious goodness in the ingredients we use - sometimes all we need is inspiration.
To help us get more health benefits from our meals, The UK and Ireland Mushroom Producers have introduced vitamin D enriched mushrooms.

So we’re pleased to announce a Q&A aimed at culinary inspiration for a healthy meal with nutritionist and best-selling cookery writer, Madeleine Shaw.
Madeleine is working on the ‘Mushrooms are Magic’ campaign with The UK & Ireland Mushroom Producers - a partnership of mushroom farmers and growers who are enriching their ‘shrooms with Vitamin D.

Here’s what they have to say: “Vitamin D is essential in supporting a normal immune system, and plays a vital role in keeping our bones healthy, as it works to regulate our intake of calcium, magnesium and phosphorous. Current NHS advice is get 10 micrograms of Vitamin D daily; if you’re inside most of the day, you may not be getting enough of the sunshine vitamin from sunlight alone. Therefore, you can achieve your daily dose by eating eight medium-sized Vitamin D-enriched mushrooms that are available at all major supermarkets.”

Here’s more information about Madeleine Shaw: “Madeleine Shaw is a leading voice on the wellness scene as a nutritionist, cookery writer and a new mum.
Over the last five years she has transformed a simple food blog into a wellness community, inspiring content across her channels, helping her fans to 'get the glow' by taking a balanced and holistic approach to their health. Her delicious, fail-safe, recipes, combined with her nutritional knowledge and health tips, have meant she has become a go-to resource for hundreds of thousands of fans - in the UK and beyond.”

So if you have any questions around family cooking (or indeed glorious isolation cooking if that’s your thing), how to incorporate healthy ingredients like mushrooms into meals for fussy eaters, how to make good family meals on a budget, how to supercharge your cooking with key nutrients, or if you are keen to get an idea how to elevate your favourite mushroom recipe, this is the Q&A for you.

Ask your questions below by the 13th of July and you’ll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £100 voucher for the store of their choice (from a list). We'll back at 3-4pm on 16th July to answer your questions.

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!
MNHQ

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@Anj123

I have recently started using a slow cooker and wondered if you had any good slow cooker recipes that incorporate mushrooms? Thanks.

Hi Anj123

A mushroom stroganoff is really nice, or a creamy mushroom soup that you cook slowly and blend would be delicious.

@BristolMum96

My toddler despises mushrooms. Is there any way, or special recipe, to hide the taste? She doesn't mind the texture. The taste seems to show through all manner of sauces and other ingredients

Hi BristolMum96

Cooking mushrooms with some delicious, strong flavours is great. Just combine with a cream sauce or with coconut, or maybe something tomatoey such as a Bolognese or curries. You could even chop them up and put them in a fish pie. If she likes the texture, you just need to make sure there’s lots of flavour to go with it.

@Cotswoldmama

I used to be able to but a mushroom pate from a supermarket but I haven't seen it for ages, it was also quite expensive I'd love to be able to make my own! Any tips?!

Hi Cotswoldmama

There are lots of mushroom pate recipes online, give it a Google, it’s a lovely thing to make. If you want a vegan pate or classic pate, there are lots of recipes out there and it sounds delicious.

@Gazelda

What's the best way to keep mushrooms fresh for as long as possible?

Hi Gazelda!

To keep mushrooms fresh, keep them in the fridge and avoid putting water on them. They do last around 5 days so make sure you are using them before the end date.

@NudgeUnit

People say that you should only wipe mushrooms, not wash them. Why is that, and how can you make sure they're clean enough to eat if you don't wash them?

Hi NudgeUnit

Yes, this is the standard practice of mushrooms, you can wash them if you want to and dry them. But usually we wipe them, so they don’t get soggy.

@Montydoo

what sauces work with mushrooms - other than garlic ?

Hi Montydoo

Garlic and mushrooms are a classic combination, but I love mushrooms in a Thai curry, either a red yellow or green curry - they’re fantastic. I love them in a smoky Bolognese, mixed with lamb, smoked paprika, and I also love them with balsamic vinegar and lime, skewering them on the BBQ.

@PashleyB

I enjoy eating mushrooms but am never sure how to use the different varieties. Have you got some suggestions about some more unusual mushrooms (rather than the usual white ones) to use and how I could use them? Thank you

Hi PashleyB

You can use them in the same way. Some mushrooms lend themselves to Asian cooking, some lend themselves to more classic dishes that you make more regularly. Give it a go, mushrooms are a sponge and soak up so many flavours so whatever you give them they will give back to you.

@pushchairprincess

There are many variety of mushrooms out there in the supermarket, what varieties would you recommend cooking together in terms of taste, cooking time and texture ?

Hi pushchairprincess

In terms of cooking time, the smaller the mushrooms the faster they will cook, but I think it's about choosing which ones work best for you. I love a Portobello mushroom for Portobello steaks on the BBQ and I love a button mushroom for frying and putting on toast. My particular taste might be different to yours but maybe buy a multi pack with lots of different varieties and then go from there.

@sharond101

How can I add mushrooms to a dish without them releasing to much liquid and making it too runny?

Hi sharond101

Don’t wash the mushrooms and make sure the pan is really hot, also don’t add too much oil you want to keep the pan super dry. I would also say don’t put too many mushrooms in the pan at once as the more mushrooms there are in the pan, the more liquid they will provide. Try to use a big pan, so they are evenly placed. Keep stirring the mushrooms and make sure the heat is high, so they are crispy and not soggy.

@SnowyMouse

How can I hide veg in food for the children?

Hi SnowyMouse

Grating them or finely chopping mushrooms is a good way, although I’m not a fan of hiding vegetables. It’s about repeating the vegetable in your children’s meals as often as possible, trying it with different sauces and foods. At the end of the day, we want our children to understand that vegetables taste delicious and are part of a healthy, balanced diet.

@xxxxclarexxxx

I am a huge mushroom fan but my son is less than keen! Is there any types that are less slimy (as he says) or ways to sneak them into food hell end up enjoying?

Hi xxxxclarexxxx

You can easily grate mushrooms into Bolognese, chop them up and put them into an egg muffin, or you can pop them into his favourite dishes you already make for him. Texture is something you can play around with. You can crisp mushrooms up by putting them in a hot pan so they don’t go soggy, placing them on a high heat, avoiding having too many mushrooms in the pan.

@AugustRose

As a family of vegetarians, and two teenage vegans who don't like mushrooms I struggle with how best to use them or make them taste good. DH and I usually just have button mushrooms with scrambled egg but that's about it. I really need to know which ones taste the best.

Hi AugustRose

All mushrooms have different tastes to them, so different recipes work for different varieties. Cooking food is all about challenging yourself, trying new recipes and giving more ingredients a go.

@welshmardymum

Does it really matter what type of mushrooms you use in recpies? If i can't get hold of they type it says what are the best 'good for everything' mushrooms!

Hi welshmardymum!

I would say a button mushroom is a diverse, good for everything mushroom.

@CecilyBlue

I only ever use button or shitake mushrooms. Can you tell me a bit about the different varieties of mushrooms and what mushrooms to use for different tastes.

Hi CecilyBlue

Shitake mushrooms are best in Asian cooking, Portobello mushrooms are good for BBQ’s or recreating meatier tastes. Whether that’s grating them through in a Bolognese of grating and making a Portobello ‘pulled pork’ burger. Button mushrooms are nice to pop on pizzas or on toast, they have a beautiful shape to them. It’s about giving mushrooms a go, trying different varieties and seeing what works for you. There’s loads of mushroom varieties out there but they are all little sponges so they all soak up flavours and they are all fantastically delicious.

Thanks everyone for your questions - I hope I've been of help and given you some mushroom recipe ideas to try out with your family.

If I didn't manage to answer yours, check out www.facebook.com/MushroomsRMagic/ or www.mumsnet.com/family-food/healthy-mushroom-recipes.

Enjoy!

Thanks @MushroomsMShaw, some great ideas here.

@YanaMumsnet thanks for this fabulous post, I missed asking a question, but have learned a great deal, BTW who won the voucher ?

Thank you all for taking part and posting your questions.
The prize draw winner is AugustRose. Congrats!

still no answer regarding the alleged 'qualifications'. and BTW have recently given birth is even less of a qualification than 'nutritionist'

the actual answers could be found with 10 mins on google.

nice work if you can get it. More fool the mushroom farmers for paying for this.

Ooh thank you!