If they came in one of those pressed paper 'berry' type containers, just open in the refrigerator. Otherwise. unwashed in an open paper bag in the refrigerator but don't count on more than a few days either way.

Luckily I can still find them both ways at the store, loose by the pound or packaged. If I do end up with more than I need or can use right away, I sauté, freeze - then I can still add them to soup or sauce, eggs later.

I've always stored them in the fridge in the container they came in. Remove the plastic wrap completely and place a damp cloth over them. If not used quickly check cloth daily and keep damp. I've kept shrooms fresh this way at least a week.

My experience is that when mushrooms get damp, they get slimy and unusable quickly. If I'm not using the whole package, I'll make sure they're completely dry and put them into a ziplock bag.

They come dry, whether loose or when in a sealed package. When loose, they're in a part of the display counter that doesn't get sprayed with water. Why think that dampening them is preferable?

In my area they can be found both loose and in smaller packages. We often buy them at Costco in a large basket. It's a good excuse to eat them up quickly - raw, in salads, and cooked.

A fridge will dehydrate mushrooms unless covered in some manner. Edible fungi consist mostly of water....70-90%.....which will pretty quickly evaporate away, leaving you with limp, undesirable produce.

That high water content is also why mushrooms shouldn't be tightly wrapped in plastic or put in a zip-lock bag. They can become slimy in just a few days due to all of the condensation from the mushrooms.

A paper bag will hold some of that moisture in but still allow the mushrooms to breathe, so to speak. I can keep them in perfect condition for over a week, probably two.

Thank you for your help. I only needed a few for home made burgers on the grill. Will also sauté some for steaks on Mon. Called my friend & she will use the rest of them.

I slice and sauce' in butter what I am not going to use. Place on cookie sheet and freeze, then put in ziplock bag. Many times I buy them on sale, and do this. Whenever you want to make a hamburger or steak, just add a handful of these mushrooms. Always like to have them on hand.

P.S. an egg slicer makes slicing mushrooms a real easy task.

if i knew i really only needed a small amount and would likely not use up entire container, i'd check out the "salad" bar. if they don'y look like they've "seen better days"... just scoop some up... no prep and no waste!

I'm always willing to try something new - I'll try leaving some uncovered and see what happens. My fridge tends to be damp - when you take room air and drop the temperature, relative humidity increases. But I'm open.

Cooks Illustrated has a hint for how to remove excess water from mushrooms to be sauteed or added to a dish. It's simple - slice and then put them into the microwave for 3-4 minutes. Quite a bit of water will be released that can be poured out (or reserved to later add the dish, if desired) and the dry-er mushrooms are easier to use for the next step. Before learning this step, too many times the undesired released water made sauces or lasagna too watery.

I seldom have mushrooms that I don't use immediately, but a couple of times I have left them on my "splatter screen" where they dehydrate. They can be stored for later use. All I do is reconstitute them in a little hot water and let then soak...voilà, usable, tasty mushrooms. Of course the appearance is changed, but they all go down the hatch the same way.

If I'm not using the entire package, I just peel back the plastic wrap and use what I need and then replace it. BTW - mushrooms cook down to far less volume than one might think.

Agree with Kiseiverd when I need a very small quantity of a perishable vegetable, I buy it at the salad bar.