# Do you like mushrooms? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 29, 2018, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-mushrooms/820487 "2018-08-29T18:23:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-mushrooms/820487/101 "2018-08-30T23:45:05Z")
I shop at Japanese grocers a lot. Lately I’ve been buying “Shimeji” mushrooms, which come in a softball-sized clump. They’re grown in a some kind of soil-free medium, so there’s no dirt. They have a pleasant, mild, almost oyster-y flavor and take well to garlic and butter (what doesn’t?). I haven’t bought them in awhile. This thread reminds me to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-mushrooms/820487/102 "2018-08-31T00:01:56Z")
There’s almost nothing that I _won’t_ eat, even if I don’t really care for it. Like clams - they seem to be the poor man’s oyster - kinda tough and chewy, but nothing to complain about or make an ass of oneself at a dinner party. But mushrooms are the food of the gods. Put them in everything. Grill them by themselves. Make soup. Omelettes. Gravy. Mix them with any vegetable to improve the dish. Stuff them. Put them in rice. Deep fry them. Saute them with onions in butter or olive oil and you have the universal delicious addition to any meal. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-mushrooms/820487/103 "2018-08-31T00:13:23Z")
We have ads on tv from the “mushroom growers” proclaiming the virtues of mushrooms and telling people to add them to this or that. I usually don’t notice, but I thought of you OP when one came on last night. You’re lucky you don’t have to see your nemesis on the telly. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-mushrooms/820487/104 "2018-08-31T00:42:19Z")
Speaking of mushroom growers, my kids gave me a mushroom growing kit one year. Despite not having a basement, it worked okay, but not worth the effort. Which reminds me of the [Ray Bradbury story.](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0683186/) ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-mushrooms/820487/105 "2018-08-31T00:47:02Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > All the people oh-so-cleverly comparing mushrooms to athlete’s foot - do any of you drink beer? Wine? Whisky? Or eat bread? Yeast is not fungus. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-mushrooms/820487/106 "2018-08-31T00:47:10Z")
I have never bought canned mushrooms, but they shouldn’t be THAT disgusting. I enjoy pickled raw mushrooms from the deli, in olive oil and vinegar and garlic and herbs. The Russians love pickled mushrooms with their iced vodka. I have to serve a real Russian spread one of these days. Black bread and caviar and thick sour cream and chopped onions and capers and pickled mushrooms and iced vodka. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-mushrooms/820487/107 "2018-08-31T00:49:51Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Speaking of mushroom growers, my kids gave me a mushroom growing kit one year. Despite not having a basement, it worked okay, but not worth the effort. We have ones that are self-contained in a cardboard box. All you have to do is open the box and occasionally squirt the surface with some water to keep it moist. There’s not much effort. (I might buy one, now you’ve reminded me.) ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-mushrooms/820487/108 "2018-08-31T00:55:24Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Yeast is not fungus. [Ignorance-B-Gone!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeast) ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-mushrooms/820487/109 "2018-08-31T02:04:57Z")
> [@Bayaker](#): > > But mushrooms are the food of the gods. > **[Theobroma cacao](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theobroma_cacao)** > > Theobroma cacao (cacao tree or cocoa tree) is a small (6–12 m (20–39 ft) tall) evergreen tree in the family Malvaceae. Its seeds, cocoa beans, are used to make chocolate liquor, cocoa solids, cocoa butter and chocolate. Native to the tropics of the Americas, the largest producer of cocoa beans in 2018 was Ivory Coast, at 2.2 million tons. Its leaves are alternate, entire, unlobed, 10–50 cm (4–20 in) long and 5–10 cm (2–4 in) broad. > The flowers are produced in clusters directly on the trunk a... "The generic name is derived from the Greek for “food of the gods”; from θεός (theos), meaning “god”, and βρῶμα (broma), meaning “food”. Eat all the disgusting fungus you want, but do not impugn chocolate in so doing. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-mushrooms/820487/110 "2018-08-31T04:12:33Z")
I hated mushrooms as a kid. I just thought they were slimy and disgusting. That may have been because my mother always used canned mushrooms. I think my turning point was in college when I had breaded deep-fried mushrooms somewhere. After that, I loved them (well, damn few things don’t taste good that way). I then expanded my taste to raw and sauteed mushrooms. The latter are GREAT on a grilled cheese sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-mushrooms/820487/111 "2018-08-31T05:39:38Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > My gripe is with cilantro. It’s been trendy for a while and it shows up in tons of things. > > Thing is, some people have a genetic basis to dislike the stuff. Something like 20% of the population has a gene that makes cilantro taste like soap. > > You’d think a restaurant wouldn’t put cilantro in something one out of five customers will hate but nope…some places put in damn near everything. I’m one of the lucky few and my favorite Mexican restaurant seems to double down on the cilantro in their salsa. Grmph > [@Procrustus](#): > > I like them, but I’m sympathetic to the OP’s complaint. Restaurants shouldn’t assume everyone like mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, olives, mayo, or a ton of other things. Let people know what they’re ordering, and everything will be okay. As for the OP. Love my mushrooms. Fried. Stuffed, Grilled. Whatever. But I’m going to have to agree with **Procrustus**. There should be a note in the menu that shrooms are part of the dish. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-mushrooms/820487/112 "2018-08-31T09:19:59Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Yeast is not fungus. [Yes it is](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fungus): > [@](#): > > A fungus (plural: fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms **that includes microorganisms such as yeasts** and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-mushrooms/820487/113 "2018-08-31T09:22:14Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > Eat all the disgusting fungus you want, but do not impugn chocolate in so doing. [Oh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botanical_identity_of_soma%E2%80%93haoma#Candidates_for_the_identity_of_soma), [yeah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_use_of_entheogens#Mushrooms)? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-mushrooms/820487/114 "2018-08-31T09:29:09Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > [Oh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botanical_identity_of_soma%E2%80%93haoma#Candidates_for_the_identity_of_soma), [yeah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_use_of_entheogens#Mushrooms)? TLTE: Just a little quote from that latter cite to show that the original chocolate-eaters were totally down with mushrooms: > [@](#): > > Called “Teonanácatl” in Nahuatl **(literally “god mushroom”**—compound of the words teo(tl) (god) and nanácatl (mushroom))—the mushroom genus Psilocybe has a long history of use within Mesoamerica. […]The Aztecs would drink chocolate and eat the mushrooms with honey. ---
**Author:** ![Plumpudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Plumpudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumpudding)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-mushrooms/820487/115 "2018-08-31T11:11:51Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > Eat all the disgusting fungus you want, but do not impugn chocolate in so doing. Thank you. Cocoa beans are fermented after harvesting. You wouldn’t have chocolate as you know it without fungus. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-mushrooms/820487/116 "2018-08-31T11:58:49Z")
> [@Rough\_Draft](#): > > I even like the canned ones! A friend has a bar/restaurant. His side salads come with canned 'shrooms. I love them, but many people complain. He keeps serving them out of spite. Many of his regulars order NO SIDE SALAD DAMMIT.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-mushrooms/820487/117 "2018-08-31T13:31:04Z")
I like fresh mushrooms in a green salad, and I don’t mind mushrooms on pizza. But that’s as far as it goes. So I’m more ‘no’ than ‘yes,’ but enough ‘yes’ that I didn’t answer the poll. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-mushrooms/820487/118 "2018-08-31T18:26:52Z")
More often than not I don’t like them. The way I do like them is very fresh, thinly sliced, and either grilled with meat or on top of a pizza as a secondary flavor, like with sausage. I once had a grilled thick smokey slice that a restaurant called a "burger’. It was okay. It wasn’t a burger. It was a mushroom with the soft texture and slightly earthy flavor sufficiently masked by some sort of smokey seasoning and sauce. I ate it but I wouldn’t choose it over a slab of beef. I have had deep fried mushrooms I enjoyed, as long as I stuck with the smaller bites, otherwise I’d just eat the batter and spit out the mushroom. Any other way it’s nasty. Flavorless at BEST, slimy and rubbery from a jar. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-mushrooms/820487/119 "2018-08-31T20:07:07Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > …But that’s not what the rant is about. It’s about how ubiquitous mushrooms have become at just about every restaurant everywhere. So many dishes that would otherwise appeal to me are ruined by the presence of mushrooms or mushroom sauce. Yes, I know I can ask for no mushrooms, but sometimes they can’t do the dish without them; the ingredients are pre-mixed or whatever. And sometimes they don’t even tell you about them… I adore mushrooms. Well, most mushrooms. But I agree with you that they should TELL YOU WHAT THE FOOD IS!! I despise peppers. Hot peppers, and cooked bell peppers. I’m okay with raw bell peppers, but I’m not wild about them. And they are in everything. And cilantro tastes like soap. > [@Tamerlane](#): > > Yep - I adore mushrooms and most things mushroomy, including a wide selection of wild varieties. I even took a graduate course on mushroom taxonomy ;). > > But as above I’ve been trying for years to cultivate a taste for truffles and so far I’ve been unsuccessful. In tiny amounts( or as oil or salt flavoring) find them edible, but they overall detract from every single dish. In large amounts, like shaved pieces, I find them pretty much inedible. The flavor is just too much for me. Go figure. I agree with you. I don’t know what it is, but truffles just don’t light my fire. I don’t HATE them, but most every dish seems better without them. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-mushrooms/820487/120 "2018-08-31T21:47:51Z")
Love them, so does my wife. When we would drive from a western suburb of Philly to SW NJ through Wilmington, we would stop in Kennett Square, the mushroom capital of the US and buy a pound and eat them raw on the road. When my brother was a kid he wouldn’t touch them. Finally, as an adult, he tasted one and liked it. He then asked us accusingly why we hadn’t told him how good they tasted. We tried bro, we tried. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-mushrooms/820487.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-mushrooms/820487.md?page=7)