A Guide to the Fungus Among Us

Part of the joy of gourmet cooking is finding new flavors and ingredients before the rest of the world knows about them. This culinary one-upmanship happened with cheese, with spices, and now mushrooms. Here is a guide to common and exotic mushroom varieties.

White "button" White "button" mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) make up about 80 percent of all the mushrooms harvested in the state.   Cremini More than a decade ago, Pennsylvania growers started marketing the brown version of the Agaricus mushroom as a specialty crop. The underside of the cap, called the veil, remains intact.   Portobello This is a cremini allowed to grow much larger. The veil under the cap is allowed to break, exposing the striations, or "gills," underneath. The more mature mushrooms produce an intense flavor and are marketed for use in pastas, salads, as meat substitutes in burgers, or as "mushroom steaks." "The latest new Agaricus to be marketed is a 'portobellini,'" says mushroom scientist Dan Royse. "It's basically a cremini mushroom that has been picked just after its veil has broken. Think of them as small portobellos."   Shiitake (Lentinula edodtes) Intensely flavorful, this mushroom is the most popular exotic variety. Pennsylvania growers produced 6 million pounds in 1997­98. Traditionally, farmers raised these mushrooms on freshly cut hardwood logs. Royse and other researchers have refined ways to grow shiitakes on a substrate of sawdust, so cultivation is not so laborious and yields are higher.

Oyster (Pleurotus spp.) These mushrooms carry intense flavors and, perhaps more importantly, can be grown in a variety of colors, including yellow, pink, blue, brown, gray, and white. Oyster varieties are grown on substrates of wheat straw, cottonseed hulls, or wood chips.   Enokitake (Flammulina velutipes) These long-stemmed mushrooms are raised on substrates composed of wood chips in Asia and corn cobs or wood chips in Pennsylvania. Their delicate structure and flavor make them ideal for soups, salads, and other recipes.   Maitake (Grifola frondosa) Maitake mushrooms are growing in popularity not only for flavor, but also for their medicinal properties. The mushrooms are grown on substrates of wood chips. In Asia, powdered maitake is used in teas, tablets, drinks, and powders.   Morel (Morchella esculenta) These mushrooms, shaped like a Christmas tree or a pinecone, are just beginning to be marketed. They are difficult to grow commercially, but a few companies have done so by producing fungal structures called "sclerotia," which retain nutrients as they overwinter. The sclerotia are placed into a substrate of peat moss and bark. When water is added, mushrooms appear.

Royse says most Pennsylvania growers produce three to five types of mushrooms for sale. Producers who do not raise exotics often contract with smaller specialty growers so they can have a variety of products to market. "Specialty and exotic mushrooms are like wines," Royse says. "If you only had less expensive burgundy to sell, you would be missing a large part of your market."