Me neither

Good tip, thanks!

Eat them, they will be fine. I eat mushrooms like that all the time. You could also fry them and throw them into an omelet or have with a steak.

I don't eat mushrooms but my husband does (did you know they are a great food to build your immunity with?) and he would eat those in a heart beat!

I toss them when they get slimy.

I do the opposite of adella. After the store package is opened for first use, I put the remaining mushrooms into a ziplock bag and make sure they're dry and the bag is closed tight.

I might eat those when cooked but perhaps not raw. I'd wash them in either event.

A Cooks Illustrated tip for sauteing mushrooms - after slicing, put them in a bowl and microwave for about five minutes per pound, scaled up or down. That causes them to shed a lot of water and the remaining slices will produce a more flavorful end result after being sauteed. The liquid can be used separately if making soup or a sauce.

I agree with Elmer. If they are not slimy, they are ok.

A person can learn a lot through Cooks Illustrated magazines. They are great, beautiful art on the covers too.

I would I would eat those, too. When I buy mushrooms, I immediately store in a paper bag, like a lunch sack. They seem to last longer, but that seems to be up for dabate on various cooking sites.

I would only toss them if slimy. I have used them when they have been brown and spotted in a recipe where they are cooked like Beef Stroganoff. I usually only buy them when I am going to use them right away.

I saute them dry until they start to get browned, THEN add salt. Works well.

Sure I'd eat them! They might not be good raw in a salad (I like them fresh and firm for that), but if you're cooking them they'd be fine.

Thanks, all. I think I'll saute them up and make a sauce.

I toss them when they get slick.

What Elmer (and a lot of subsequent people) said, except that I purchase and store mine in a paper bag-the shops here sell them loose and the mushroom growers' association provides paper bags.

I'm among those who buy mushrooms as I need them. I don't want to keep them around for more than a day or two. I may be unusual in that I've visited mushroom growing facilities, so I buy mine with a different criteria and treat them differently when they come into the home.

Rhizo, what different criteria and how do you handle them when you get them home? I'm curious and wonder if we should be doing things differently! Thanks.

Oh I just want to add that I have never bought sliced mushrooms. I buy whole and slice them myself, they last longer that way.

I use only whole mushrooms, and I just tear a hole in the plastic over the tray. I then place a damp paper towel over the opening. They do not seem to dry out, and there never is condensation inside the package. I do use them within about 4 days. If they ever start to show spots, I use them in a gravy right away.

Those look okay to eat. I cannot see the "dots" well, however. Could the dots be holes from insect larvae (common with wild mushrooms)? If so, that won't hurt you but is off putting. (I confess that I am not a good sport at the prospect of eating mushrooms or cruciferous vegetables with larvae browsing them.)

Like Bluebell66, we keep mushrooms in a lunch-sized brown paper bag in the fridge. It's best to take a soft brush (mushroom brush or chip brush) and dust off any growing medium before putting them into the paper bag.

They will eventually dry out a bit in the refrigerated brown bag, BUT our mushrooms get a second chance (and yours can too).

If you come across a bag of 'shrooms that have dried (not fermented), look them over carefully to be sure that they don't have any "bloom" or secondary fungus. Usually mine are dry, or pretty mush dry and clean looking. Set these in a dry place to finish drying. When they are "bone dry", I put mine into a glass jar with a few of those food-quality desiccant packs. You must have them absolutely dry, and you want a jar that will seal tightly. I keep mine whole (these are usually small button/white mushrooms).

Often, when I want to add umami flavor to something like red spaghetti sauce, I food-processor pulverize a handful of these very dry (clean) mushrooms. (Careful not to breath in any mushroom dust.) The resulting mushroom powder can go directly into the cooking sauce.

In using store bought mushrooms, I compost any that don't dry well, get slimy (rarely), as well as any trimmed stalk ends.

mimipad, in Europe those mushrooms would be used, or sliced, dried and preserved.

If you buy too many mushrooms, you can always slice, then oil or butter sauté the extra and freeze them for later use.

I didn't see the slimy part, but I have to say, if they're slimy, I toss them.

They weren't slimy...yet.

Well....;-) They tasted fine?

what sort of sauce did you make?

Various dried mushrooms: Shiitake, button mushrooms from store, dried.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agaricus_campestris

(I've collected and eaten A. campestris -- often found in lawns. I had an experienced European mushroom forager teach me and we also had many books and resources.)

I made a quick sauce with shallots, balsamic and Dijon. Thickened with a little corn starch beef stock slurry. Kind of my "go to" sauce that I use with anything and everything ;-)

Thanks. That sounds delicious. I usually have (Asian) shallots on hand as well as mushrooms.

BTW, I got a better look at those spots on the mushrooms and saw that they were just small oxidized dots (?sliced mushrooms).