My niece called mushrooms a 'slimy rubber band' and I had to defend them

I was at a family dinner last Saturday and my 14 year old niece Emma said mushrooms on pizza taste like slimy rubber bands. I love mushrooms on a good pie. A place called Tony's in Chicago puts roasted crimini on their bianca and it adds this earthy flavor you can't get from plain cheese. Has anyone else found mushrooms get a bad reputation they don't deserve?

2 comments

2 Comments

kim_hart71mo ago

Roasted crimini on a bianca sounds amazing, but you might be mixing up your mushrooms there. Crimini are just baby portobellos, they're the same species as the big portobello caps you see grilled. The real secret is that they brown way better than white button mushrooms because they have less moisture. Emma is at that age where texture is everything, I remember my nephew hating eggs for the same reason. Maybe try getting her to taste a crispy fried oyster mushroom sometime, the texture is nothing like a rubber band. The earthy flavor you described is umami by the way, same stuff that makes a good burger taste so satisfying.

emmam671mo agoMost Upvoted

My buddy Dave tried that same trick with his picky kid and oyster mushrooms. He seasoned them with smoked paprika and salt, fried them up crispy in a cast iron pan. The kid called them "meat chips" and ate a whole plate. @kim_hart7 you're spot on about the moisture thing, Dave said he had to pat them dry twice before they got that good crunch. He even started sneaking diced oyster mushrooms into his kid's mac and cheese and the kid never noticed. Just goes to show sometimes you gotta trick them with texture before they'll try anything new.