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    Home » This and That » $30/lb Mushrooms. Worth it or Worth Skipping? Plus Tips!

    by Kathy Patalsky · updated: Mar 14, 2020 · published: Mar 26, 2009 · About 4 minutes to read this article. 6 Comments

    $30/lb Mushrooms. Worth it or Worth Skipping? Plus Tips!

    I love perusing the mushroom section at Whole Foods. White button, shiitake and portobella are the typical varieties. But there’s always a few exotic varieties in stock as well. Today it was Chanterelle and Blue Foot mushrooms. The shocker is usually the price tag of these mushrooms. Chanterelle and Blue Foot: $29.99 a pound. So I have to ask: Worth it or worth skipping?

    $30/lb Mushrooms. What’s a Foodie to do? I always wonder if that is why the security guard at Whole Foods hangs out by the shrooms. Gosh, what if I dropped a giant Chanterelle on the floor. Would I be tackled? Anyways…

    Lets take a look at the $30 prime suspects: Bluefoot and Chanterelle.

    Bluefoot. No blue feet here. But a blueish-lilac speckled stem is what gives this elegantly clean mushroom its name. Bluefoot mushrooms have an intense woody flavor and hold their shape quite well after a quick saute.

    Chanterelle. Ribbed and bright orangish-yellow. Resembles a giant piece if popped corn-with a long stem. Marshmallowy-looking. They cook up with an earthy flavor, less woody than the bluefoots. Incredibly aromatic flavor.

    What do you think? Worth it or not? Click ahead for my analysis, more photos and my simple mushroom cooking instructions…..

    $30/lb Mushrooms. What’s a Foodie to do?
    This is a seriously controversial foodie situation!
    OK, believe it or not, you should not be shocked and deterred by the sticker shock of $30 mushrooms. Mushrooms are incredibly light for their size, so if you can purchase them piece by piece-do it. Thanks Whole Foods. Look, you’re not going to walk away with a pound of chanterelles-unless you are cooking a heavy duty meal for special guests-then maybe.

    The solution…

    Indulge the mushroom connoisseur inside of you! The fabulous thing about pick-your-own mushroom sections is that you can buy a little bit and not spend a lot! Even with the $30 varieties. For example, I literally bought 3 large bluefoot shrooms and it cost around $2.50. Trust me, it was worth it. These mushrooms are so flavorful that just a few provide an intense flavor impact to a meal.

    A few chanterelles cost me around $3.50. Thus I had a very gourmet mushroom tasting experience for around $6.

    Michelin-Star quality Mushrooms. You’ll easily find Blue Foot and Chanterelle mushrooms on the tasting menus of the most esteemed chefs. There is even a fine dining restaurant here in NYC called Chanterelle.

    At Craft restaurant in NYC, there is a mushroom section on the menu. It looks like this at present:
    mushrooms
    Roasted
    Hen of the Woods 13.
    Baby Shiitake 12.
    Oyster 11.
    Trompette Royale 12.
    Bluefoot 13.

    How-to Cook Mushrooms

    Cooking mushrooms is incredibly easy. The hardest part is the prep of cleaning and properly slicing the shrooms. Here are instructions for chanterelles and blue foots.

    Blue Foot Tasting:
    Rinse the Blue Foots well. Gently dry.
    Blue Foots are naturally very grime-free, so scrubbing is usually unnecessary.
    I like to slice my Blue Foots right down the middle for a half-cut look. Sliced too thin and you will lose some of the thick-bodied texture of the shroom.
    Cook:
    For fat-free shrooms, steam them with a pinch of salt.
    For maximum flavor I like an olive oil saute.
    Saute in a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil, pinch of salt and pepper for about 5 minutes. I like to cover the pan as they cook to ‘steam’ cook the caps and seal in the moist flavor. You can even add some shallots or fresh herbs to the pan if you’d like. But eaten ‘unseasoned’, these mushrooms are delicious.

    Chanterelles are similar, but may require a bit more cleaning. I like to cook small chanterelles whole-no slicing. But the larger mushrooms I will slice into thin long strips. Simply saute lightly and they are done. And delicious.

    Do not overcook mushrooms or they will become chewy, rubbery and lose their moist texture.

    Healthy Fungus.
    Don’t forget that mushrooms are incredibly healthy.
    Here’s another mushroom post to feed your mushroom curiosity.

    MORE Bluefoot Mushroom Photos:





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    About Kathy Patalsky

    Hey there! I'm Kathy, lover of kitty cats, weekend baking, 90's movies, travel, beach fog and foamy lattes. Since 2007, I have been sharing my vegan recipes and photos. My goal is to make your cooking life a little easier, delicious - and plant-loaded - while sharing some LIFE and conversation along the way.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Aunt Annie says

      October 16, 2009 at 9:41 pm

      I just pick my own in season and freeze them.

      Reply
    2. Dan says

      March 27, 2009 at 4:49 pm

      I love good mushrooms too. I find great exotic shrooms for a good price at an Asian market. Giant shiitakes for a great value. Also, farmers markets can have good mushroom guru stands.

      Reply
    3. Maggie says

      March 26, 2009 at 6:27 pm

      I’ve had chanterelles before and loved them but haven’t tried bluefoot mushrooms. My Whole Foods needs to get on the ball. All we get in bulk are shiitakes and cremini!

      Reply
    4. Maya says

      March 26, 2009 at 10:37 am

      Yay Whole Foods! It has been a month since I was last there. Gonna get me some shrooms!

      Reply
    5. Oliver Slay says

      March 26, 2009 at 2:07 am

      The Japanese eryngii mushroom… which comes with about the same size price tag (well about $50/kg here)… but lots of umami (deep flavour)… is worth buying.. one or two stems doesn’t quite come to much… boiled in water with shiitake for about 15 minutes.. add soya sauce.. add chunks of cucumber and boil for couple more mins add a little kuzu (arrowroot) dissolved in a little water and my partner says it tastes a little like beef gravy… not that i would know…
      but a deep flavour nonetheless…

      Reply
    6. Anonymous says

      March 26, 2009 at 12:44 am

      Mushrooms are always worth it. I love chanterelles. Bluefoot looks yummy too, but I’ve yet to try them.

      Reply

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