As now manufactured it resembles much in appearance the old English sp.a.w.n (see Figure 501). Some remarkable results have been obtained by the use of pure culture sp.a.w.n. We ill.u.s.trate a cl.u.s.ter of fifty mushrooms on one root grown by Messrs. Miller & Rogers, of Mortonville, Pa., from "Lambert"s Pure Culture Sp.a.w.n" produced by the American Sp.a.w.n Company, of St. Paul, Minn. (Figure 502). Several promising varieties have already been developed by the new method, and can now be reproduced at will. Figure 503 is a good ill.u.s.tration of _Agaricus villaticus_, a fleshy species in good demand. Figure 504 shows a bed of mushrooms grown from pure culture sp.a.w.n in a sand rock cave, using the flat bed.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 504.--A Mushroom Cave, Showing One of the Test Beds of the American Sp.a.w.n Co., St. Paul, Minn.]
=HOW TO COOK MUSHROOMS.=--To the true epicure there are but four ways of cooking mushrooms--broiling, roasting, frying them in sweet b.u.t.ter and stewing them in cream.
In preparing fresh mushrooms for cooking, wash them as little as possible, as washing robs them of their delicate flavor. Always bear in mind that the more simply mushrooms are cooked the better they are. Like all delicately flavored foods, they are spoiled by the addition of strongly flavored condiments.
=Broiled Mushrooms.=--Select fine, large flat mushrooms, and be sure that they are fresh. If they are dusty just dip them in cold salt water.
Then lay on cheese cloth and let them drain thoroughly. When they are dry cut off the stem quite close to the comb. Or, what is better, carefully break off the stem. Do not throw away the stems. Save them for stewing, for soup or for mushroom sauce. Having cut or broken off the stems, take a sharp silver knife and skin the mushrooms, commencing at the edge and finishing at the top. Put them on a gridiron that has been well rubbed with sweet b.u.t.ter. Lay the mushrooms on the broiling iron with the combs upward. Put a small quant.i.ty of b.u.t.ter, a little salt and pepper in the center of each comb from where the stem has been removed and let the mushrooms remain over the fire until the b.u.t.ter melts. Then serve them on thin slices of b.u.t.tered and well browned toast, which should be cut round or diamond shape.
Serve the mushrooms just as quickly as possible after they are broiled, as they must be eaten when hot. So nourishing are broiled mushrooms that with a light salad they form a sufficient luncheon for anyone.
=Fried Mushrooms.=--Clean and prepare the mushrooms as for broiling. Put some sweet, unsalted b.u.t.ter in a frying pan--enough to swim the mushrooms in. Stand the frying pan on a quick fire, and when the b.u.t.ter is at boiling heat carefully drop the mushrooms in and let them fry three minutes, and serve them on thin slices of b.u.t.tered toast.
Serve a sauce of lemon juice, a little melted b.u.t.ter, salt and red pepper with fried mushrooms.
=Stewed Mushrooms.=--Stewed mushrooms after the following recipe make one of the most delicious of breakfast dishes: It is not necessary to use large mushrooms for stewing--small b.u.t.ton ones will do. Take the mushrooms left in the basket after having selected those for broiling, and also use the stems cut from the mushrooms prepared for boiling.
After cleaning and skinning them put them in cold water with a little vinegar, and let them stand half an hour. If you have a quart of mushrooms, put a tablespoonful of nice fresh b.u.t.ter in a stewpan and stand it on the stove. When the b.u.t.ter begins to bubble drop the mushrooms in the pan, and after they have cooked a minute season them well with salt and black pepper. Now take hold of the handle of the stewpan and, while the mushrooms are gently and slowly cooking, shake the pan almost constantly to keep the b.u.t.ter from getting brown and the mushrooms from sticking. After they have cooked eight minutes pour in enough rich, sweet cream to cover the mushrooms to the depth of half an inch, and let them cook about eight or ten minutes longer. Serve them in a very hot vegetable dish. Do not thicken the cream with flour or with anything. Just cook them in this simple way. You will find them perfect.
GLOSSARY.
Abortive, imperfectly developed.
Aberrant, deviating from a type.
Acicular, needle-shaped.
Aculeate, slender pointed.
Ac.u.minate, terminating in a point.
Acute, sharp pointed.
Adnate, gills squarely and firmly attached to the stem.
Adnexed, gills just reaching the stem.
Adhesion, union of different organs or tissues.
Adpressed, pressed into close contact, as applied to the gills.
Agglutinated, glued to the surface.
Alveolate, honey-combed.
Alutaceous, having the color of tanned leather.
Anastomosing, branching, joining of one vein with another.
Annual, completing growth in one year.
Annular, ring-shaped.
Annulate, having a ring.
Annulus, the ring around the stem of a mushroom.
Apex, in mushrooms the extremity of the stem next to the gills.
Apical, close to the apex.
Apiculate, terminating in a small point.
Appendiculate, hanging in small fragments.
Applanate, flattened out or horizontally expanded.
Arachnoid, cobweb-like.
Arculate, bow-shaped.
Areolate, pitted, net-like.
Ascus, spore case of certain mushrooms.
Ascomycetes, a group of fungi in which the spores are produced in sacs.
Ascospore, hymenium or sporoph.o.r.e bearing an ascus or asci.
Atomate, sprinkled with atoms or minute particles.
Atro (ater, black), in composition "black" or "dark."
Atropurpureous, dark purple (purpura, purple).
Aurantiaceous, orange-colored (aurantium, an orange).
Aureous, golden-yellow.
Auriculate, ear-shaped.
Azonate, without zones or circular bands.