I just use a mushroom brush. I think washing makes them slimy.

I'm a bit concerned that these mushrooms are for tomorrow. Are you going to stuff them then bake tomorrow? Or are you going to bake today and reheat them? If the latter that's not considered a safe practice.

If I’m doing a whole bunch I put them in a mesh bag and swirl them in water. The mesh kind of scrubs them. Then I quickly dump them on an absorbent kitchen towel and dry them before they can absorb water. I’ve also dried in a salad spinner.

Yes, I use a mushroom brush under running water, and then set the cleaned mushrooms on paper towels to dry. I want to ensure the manure in which they grow is washed off.

Floraluk2, I was going to make the innerds tonight and put in the fridge. The sausage will be cooked before stuffing, if that's why you're concerned about doing them today. No raw meat will go in the mushroom.

I never use running water on them. I’ve had a mushroom brush for years, but tend to use a slightly damp paper towel more. I don’t buy packaged mushrooms since I want to pick them out individually for what at least looks cleanest and with no openings around the stem (all closed up).

My concern was with reheating mushrooms, not the contact with meat. That's unsafe. Or have I misunderstood the recipe? Are the mushrooms actually left raw?

To clarify, I use my mushroom brush dry. No water. As well as being slimy they absorb water and I think it destroys the flavour.

Mushrooms are grown in sterilised compost, not manure.

Floraluk2, to save time tomorrow, I was just going to cook the sausage, onions and chopped stems together today. The mushroom caps will be raw until they get stuffed tomorrow and baked. Not really sure why they would be unsafe to reheat if they're refridgerated in a timely manner? If there are any left, that is.

I usually wipe them off with a paper towel. And I also stuff the raw mushrooms with the finished filling and refrigerate the day before to save time. I often store them in disposable foil pans so I can take them out of the fridge and pop them in the oven. Mine have 2 kinds of sausage,green onion. jalapeño, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and garlic and herb boursin. And the mushroom stems of course. DELICIOUS.

Another good version I’ve made often

https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/sausage-stuffed-mushrooms

Another vote for using dampened paper towels.

I use a mushroom brush and/or paper towel, no water.

No water. I use a dry cloth or brush.

Chloebud, I watched the video for her version 3rd and wish I had gone shopping tomorrow or seen the video before. Oh, well...

Amylou, I was going to get Italian sausage today but it's so expensive for a pack so I decided not to and will just use Jimmy Dean. I have half a jalepeno after making another dish today but with the green pepper issue with the other ladies, decided to use part of a yellow bell I had. I also used green onions, a little red onion, the Boursin cheese, the chopped mushroom stems, a little bit of shredded cheese I had and bread crumbs. I just put four stuffed mushrooms into the convection oven and will see how they are. The stuffing mix is delicious, so thanks for the idea of using the Boursin cheese!

Tomorrow I think I'll add some panko bread crumbs in melted butter for the tops and maybe another sprinkling of shredded cheese.

Depends on how dirty they are. Either damp paper towel or in running water. Absorbing water has been debunked and slimy is a moot point if you’re baking them.

I wash them and immediately dry them with a paper towel.

Why would cooking today and reheating tomorrow be considered unsafe? As long as they are refrigerated after cooking, they can safely be reheated - just like any leftovers! You could eat them cold and they'd be safe, too.

I wash them and then dry on a towel.

It depends what I'm doing with them. Most often they are going in something I am cooking so I tend to use the faster hard water spray them clean. They don't absorb much water if not soaking in it and brushing doesn't seem successful enough for my liking.

Rinse under running water and lay on paper towel to dry.

I use a damp paper towel.

Mushrooms aren't grown in manure as commonly believed, but peat moss.

Another vote for my soft dry brush or in a pinch a paper towel. No water.

I don't wash them. I use a dampened paper towel as others have said they do.

But - floraluk2, I'd also like to know why reheating mushrooms is unsafe. I do it all the time and can't imagine that it's a problem. Would you kindly explain?

It depends on the mushroom 😊 Some are more dirty than others. I do all of the above. Wash in water and dry, I have a little fan in my kitchen that I will direct on them to really get them quite dry if those I bought have dirt on them. Others are more clean and those I brush with a mushroom brush or I use either a dry or damp paper towel on them. Then there is always the salad spinner - I've put mushrooms in those too.

I typically pick them out individually and not buy them boxed but if I need a larger quantity I will buy the box at Costco - more cost effective, either cremini or white. If cooking mushroom 'steaks' I tend to pick up Trader Joe's portobellos, Costco's are packaged with more mushroom than I need for two for dinner.

DH or friends will sometime harvest chanterelles and that would often happen when they were doing a forest consulting job, not out for a mushroom day - they would just stumble across a tempting patch. I try to be appreciative of their effort but those are about the dirtiest mushrooms ever. All kinds of forest debris including fir needles on them. I bought them mushroom knives and bags easily slipped into vest so they would cut and not pull them - and would still have a major cleaning, washing and drying job on my hands when they'd show up and proudly hand me their bounty.

'Do you have time to cook mushrooms for us' really meant do you have time to stand at the sink and clean these up, saute, season and serve these to us.

I've been reading around this since the start of the thread. I have always heard, read and believed that reheating mushrooms is genuinely dangerous. However, current advice seems to be that it's ok for 24 hours if they were refrigerated immediately. Normally I'm far less paranoid about hygiene than many posters here. For example I'm happy to simply wipe or brush raw mushrooms, but this is one thing I'll stick with, just in case. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/five-foods-you-should-avoid-reheating-a6879546.html

Chicken, rice, potatoes, mushrooms. For real? Their rationale for chicken os because of salmonella. If salmonella isn’t killed through pasteurization during cooking (instantly at 160°F, over time at lower temps)) the food can poison us the first time around. Seems to me their warning is against reheating bad food.

As for mushrooms, I tend to feel safe at the longer limits of what stilltasty recommends.

Uptown gal, I love Morel mushrooms!

Odd about reheating of food. I have a 3 day rule. It either goes in the trash or freezer after 3 days, if not eaten. I've never not included specific foods in this. In fact, leftover rice makes good fried rice and omurice. ( : I would have to throw out tons of food if I didn't reheat stuff.

I also only recently heard about the rice issues. I grew up with a Japanese mom who used to make a giant rice cooker full of rice and leave it on the counter for days. We all would eat out of it until it was gone. I don't recall anyone ever getting sick. It was Japanese short grain rice. Later she would add barely to it. I don't leave anything out on the counter and will refridgerate it right away. Most of the time I don't even let it cool off first.

Like morz8, if they're dirty I will rinse them off and dry them quickly. I love raw mushrooms, so it's hard for me to get them into a pan without nibbling on a few.

floraluk2, here in central Kentucky thoroughbred horse country they're grown in composted horse manure and bedding. A grower had a contract with one of the larger farms here to use their manure. Every time they came to pick it up, one of the men would bring my DH a package of their white button mushrooms. These mushrooms were huge, fresh and clean, nothing like you would find in any supermarket. I think they were probably sold to the better restaurants in the general area.

I've read those articles about not reheating things previously and have to question them. Rice in particular. My mexican rice recipe suggests cooking the rice the day before - then seasoning it and sauteing after its been chilled and stored in the refer overnight. I've reheated plenty of leftover take out Chinese food in my lifetime too.

My burgundy beef has a lot of thickly sliced mushrooms in it, no potatoes. We've eaten that as many as three days in a row. Should I admit that.....😊

I grew up with mashed potato patties made from leftover mashed potatoes. I'll often roast potatoes in the same pan as a beef roast, then dice leftovers and heat them in a skillet. They take on a nice flavor on their own from cooking with the beef.

I think I'm pretty diligent about not leaving dinner remains at room temp for long, as much as I'd like to fall into a comfy chair and leave the kitchen after dinner. Quickly chilled down, stored appropriately, I don't have an issue with reheating any of those things mentioned.

And I'm really not one to take chances with foods, more of a 'when in doubt throw it out' type.

I rinse fresh mushrooms under slow running water from the tap, and use my fingers, mostly, to rub off any dirt and debris, then bundle them up in a clean towel to dry them off a bit before cooking. I understand the idea behind not washing mushrooms is that they'll absorb the water and be soggy, but that notion's been proven false.

I rinse off all fruits and vegetables before using them, since running water is effective at removing pathogens.

I think mushroom brushes are intended as a utensil to use for dry cleaning, not as a scrubbing implement under running water.

Carolb, yep, it's not just the dirt part that bothers me, it's everyone who has touched that mushroom before you. Gag. I really hate seeing recipe vidoes where the person just pulls stuff out of the bag and starts chopping it up, never washing it.

Also, watching those recipes videos and the person is wearing gloves. That grosses me out too because they remind me of being a nurse and the reasons for wearing gloves. I'd rather they just wash their hands with soap and water. Unless they have super long nails, especially fake nails and start sticking their hands in the food. Gross.

Ha - it's the hair that often gets to me - that and jewelry.

I was taught to always tie your hair up/back when cooking, and take off rings and bracelets.

How did the mushrooms turn out Kathsgrdn?

Amylou, they were really good! Thanks for posting on my appetizer post about them. I have some leftover stuffing mix so am going to make another batch in a couple of hours.

I am pretty sure that you are not buying mushrooms with manure hanging on them .

However, I do know of a mushroom farmer who collects the stable cleanings, manure and spent hay and feed from a compost pile at a venue where mules are used. I always assumed that the whole mess is fully composted first.

Doesn't mushroom growing medium for those most commonly sold in stores contain manure...?

But that aside, there are many ways for pathogens to get on food before we consume it - including during the packing process.

Portobellos are generally grown on a mixed substrate which includes straw horse bedding, and other composted plant waste. It is sterilized before inoculation with the mushroom spore. What most people don’t know is that mushrooms are a fairly high pesticide use crop. When I use white or brown buttons I clean them with a brush and them rinse them carefully. I use clean woven bar towels (flour sack material) to dry.

Mushroom brush

Or, damp paper towel or dog’s tongue.

I will be delighted to take any edib;e Boletes, Morels anf Chanterelles that others find burdensome.

Petalique, that is adorable. Still going to wash mine, though, lol.

" Doesn't mushroom growing medium for those most commonly sold in stores is does contain manure "

All root vegetables grow underground in dirt fields contaminated by every outdoor pathogen under the sun. Do you think that's somehow better or different?

Even worse, oftentimes much of the illness-related recalls for bacteria like E coli, etc., in and on green leafy veggies comes from the water used after picking to wash off the dirt. Would you buy unwashed lettuce or spinach caked with dirt? That can be safer.

I would never wash a mushroom. My favorites are locally grown.

https://mushroommaggiesfarm.com/

I rinse them well. Gently. They are going to get wet anyway going into sauces or gravIes immediately.

Elizabeth, try roasting mushrooms in the oven for the most heavenly deep flavor imaginable.

Here's a recent Kenji recipe, can't do better than this to explain or outline the steps.

Easy Roasted Mushrooms

Sounds delicious, Elmer!

It is, I hope you can try it. Just a few minutes of prep, easy and foolproof.

Mushrooms have a very high water content. By roasting them as the recipe directs, the water evaporates (or some gets poured off as with his alternative at 15 minutes) and the flavor is concentrated. The result is a surprise the first time and if you like mushrooms, the first time won't be the last time.