Part 135 (1/2)

_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.

_Seasonable_.--Meadow mushrooms in September and October; cultivated mushrooms may be had at any time.

FUNGI.--These are common parasitical plants, originating in the production of copious filamentous threads, called the mycelium, or sp.a.w.n. Rounded tubers appear on the mycelium; some of these enlarge rapidly, burst an outer covering, which is left at the base, and protrude a thick stalk, bearing at its summit a rounded body, which in a short time expands into the pileus or cap. The gills, which occupy its lower surface, consist of parallel plates, bearing naked sporules over their whole surface. Some of the cells, which are visible by the microscope, produce four small cells at their free summit, apparently by germination and constriction. These are the sporules, and this is the development of the Agarics.

BROILED MUSHROOMS.

(A Breakfast, Luncheon, or Supper Dish.)

1125. INGREDIENTS.--Mushroom-flaps, pepper and salt to taste, b.u.t.ter, lemon-juice.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BROILED MUSHROOMS.]

_Mode_.--Cleanse the mushrooms by wiping them with a piece of flannel and a little salt; cut off a portion of the stalk, and peel the tops: broil them over a clear fire, turning them once, and arrange them on a very hot dish. Put a small piece of b.u.t.ter on each mushroom, season with pepper and salt, and squeeze over them a few drops of lemon-juice. Place the dish before the fire, and when the b.u.t.ter is melted, serve very hot and quickly. Moderate-sized flaps are better suited to this mode of cooking than the b.u.t.tons: the latter are better in stews.

_Time_.--10 minutes for medium-sized mushrooms.

_Average cost_, 1d. each for large mushrooms.

_Sufficient_.--Allow 3 or 4 mushrooms to each person.

_Seasonable_.--Meadow mushrooms in September and October; cultivated mushrooms may be had at any time.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MUSHROOMS.]

VARIETIES OF THE MUSHROOM.--The common mushroom found in our pastures is the _Agaricus campestris_ of science, and another edible British species is _A. Georgii;_ but _A. primulus_ is affirmed to be the most delicious mushroom. The morel is _Morch.e.l.la esculenta_, and _Tuber cibarium_ is the common truffle. There is in New Zealand a long fungus, which grows from the head of a caterpillar, and which forms a horn, as it were, and is called _Sphaeria Robertsii_.

TO PRESERVE MUSHROOMS.

1126. INGREDIENTS.--To each quart of mushrooms, allow 3 oz. of b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt to taste, the juice of 1 lemon, clarified b.u.t.ter.

_Mode_.--Peel the mushrooms, put them into cold water, with a little lemon-juice; take them out and _dry_ them very carefully in a cloth. Put the b.u.t.ter into a stewpan capable of holding the mushrooms; when it is melted, add the mushrooms, lemon-juice, and a seasoning of pepper and salt; draw them down over a slow fire, and let them remain until their liquor is boiled away, and they have become quite dry, but be careful in not allowing them to stick to the bottom of the stewpan. When done, put them into pots, and pour over the top clarified b.u.t.ter. If wanted for immediate use, they will keep good a few days without being covered over. To re-warm them, put the mushrooms into a stewpan, strain the b.u.t.ter from them, and they will be ready for use.

_Average cost_, 1d. each.

_Seasonable_.--Meadow mushrooms in September and October; cultivated mushrooms may be had at any time.

LOCALITIES OF THE MUSHROOM.--Mushrooms are to be met with in pastures, woods, and marshes, but are very capricious and uncertain in their places of growth, mult.i.tudes being obtained in one season where few or none were to be found in the preceding. They sometimes grow solitary, but more frequently they are gregarious, and rise in a regular circular form. Many species are employed by man as food; but, generally speaking, they are difficult of digestion, and by no means very nouris.h.i.+ng. Many of them are also of suspicious qualities.

Little reliance can be placed either on their taste, smell, or colour, as much depends on the situation in which they vegetate; and even the same plant, it is affirmed, may be innocent when young, but become noxious when advanced in age.

STEWED MUSHROOMS.

1127. INGREDIENTS.--1 pint mushroom-b.u.t.tons, 3 oz. of fresh b.u.t.ter, white pepper and salt to taste, lemon-juice, 1 teaspoonful of flour, cream or milk, 1 teaspoonful of grated nutmeg.

_Mode_.--Cut off the ends of the stalks, and pare neatly a pint of mushroom-b.u.t.tons; put them into a basin of water, with a little lemon-juice, as they are done. When all are prepared, take them from the water with the hands, to avoid the sediment, and put them into a stewpan with the fresh b.u.t.ter, white pepper, salt, and the juice of 1/2 lemon; cover the pan closely, and let the mushrooms stew gently from 20 to 25 minutes; then thicken the b.u.t.ter with the above proportion of flour, add gradually sufficient cream, or cream and milk, to make the sauce of a proper consistency, and put in the grated nutmeg. If the mushrooms are not perfectly tender, stew them for 5 minutes longer, remove every particle of b.u.t.ter which may be floating on the top, and serve.

_Time_.--1/2 hour. _Average cost_, from 9d. to 2s. per pint.

_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.