From: riburr@shentel.net   
      
   a wrote:   
   > "riburr" wrote"   
   >> I'm a proponent of cooking mushrooms over low heat.  The hotter you cook   
   >> mushrooms the less flavorful they become.  Just thinking about these,   
   >> eaten almost a week ago, still makes my mouth water.   
   >   
   > I remember when my mother used to cook mushrooms when I was a kid, I always   
   > thought she overdid them. Looking sorry, brown and shrivelled on the plate   
   > and missing somewhat the fresh "mushroomy" smell of when they were raw. When   
   > I later cooked for myself I would, for example in a sauce, always add them   
   > once the liquid had been added so that they never got browned. I'm talking   
   > cultivated Agaricus here.   
   >   
   > Since I discovered the delights of caramelisation, I now find myself always   
   > browning mushrooms somewhat in fat before adding the rest of the ingredients   
   > (if any). So now I make them just like mum used to.   
   >   
   > Also I like the idea that the trace amounts of carcinogenic hydrazines might   
   > be driven off by the higher temps (no doubt to be replaced by carcinogenic   
   > hydrocarbons from the caramelisation process.....)   
   >   
      
   Agaricus seems to withstand higher heat well.  Hell, people grill   
   portobello over open flame like hamburger. I might very well use a   
   caramelized sauce prepared ahead of time as a marinade for mushrooms   
   subsequently cooked at a lower temperature, but that's just my preference.   
      
   I find a lot of mushroom flavors are volatile or heat labile, and tend   
   to cook off at high heat.  I suppose a *very* quick fry in a hot wok   
   might give something interesting; giving a coat of caramelized flavors   
   cocooning and preserving the more delicate flavors toward the cooler center.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)