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Cooking mushrooms so they brown
Beginner Vegetables, grains and beans
Cooking mushrooms so they brown is cooking mushrooms hot and uncrowded, and salting late, so they turn golden and meaty instead of gray and soggy.
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How do you do it?
- Wipe or quickly rinse the mushrooms and pat them dry; slice about 1/4 inch thick.
- Heat a wide pan over medium-high with a thin film of oil, and add mushrooms in a single layer.
- Leave them alone for 3-4 minutes; they'll release water, then sizzle and brown once it's gone.
- Stir, brown the other side, then add salt, butter, garlic or herbs at the end.
Why does it work?
Mushrooms are roughly 90% water held in sturdy cell walls that don't collapse into mush. They must release and evaporate that water before the surface can get hot enough to brown. Salt pulls water out early, so they stew. They soak up oil at first and then give it back once their structure collapses, so resist adding more.
What are the common mistakes?
- Crowding the pan — water pools and mushrooms boil gray.
- Salting at the start — they weep liquid and won't brown.
- Adding more oil when the pan looks dry — they turn greasy once they release it.
Still stuck? Watch someone do it on YouTube.
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