Our caller today, Leah, lives in New York City. Leah called in because she loves the farmer’s market that pops up four times a week in New York’s Union Square. And honestly, I’m with her. I love a farmer’s market in general, and this one in particular is huge. Leah told me that she loves checking out all the vendors, picking up her produce, herbs, even local cheese and meat.
Leah: But there’s just this one vendor that I find myself completely avoiding, and that is the mushroom guy.
CM: Oh, okay.
L: And, [inaudible 00:01:01].
CM: The mushroom guy, or we should really say guys, are a staple at the Union Square Farmer’s Market, and they have quite the selection of mushrooms.
L: Not just the standard baby bella white mushroom that I have bought in the grocery store and I have used, but these really cool, interesting varieties of mushrooms from lion’s mane to shiitake, that are just so funky. And I find myself staring longingly from afar, wanting so badly to be able to shop from that, but I don’t know which ones to buy. And then when I think about preparing them, I think, there must be a very specific way that I need to cut this, or cook this, or prepare this because they look like they’re from a different planet. It’s just the one tent that I am scared to approach.
CM: Now, you mentioned baby bella or cremini mushrooms. Are you actually making that sort of style of mushroom?
L: So I’ve purchased them, I’ve cooked with them in a basic stir-fry form, and I do find that when I buy them in the grocery store and I cook with them, they fall flat. They’re kind of gummy or slimy. I’ve gotten to travel for work to places like China and Vietnam, and I’ve had these really awesome mushroom dishes. And I love to watch Top Chef, and anytime someone makes a mushroom dish, everyone talks about the umami, and I want to experience that and I want to create a dish where the mushroom is the star.
CM: Have you ever tried talking to anybody at the stand, just out of curiosity? No judgment.
L: No, I have not.
CM: Yeah. Well, I think ultimately my goal is for you to be able to walk up to who I’m sure is a very friendly mushroom person, who’s going to be so excited to help you in your journey and for you to go, “All right, I want half a pound of those blue oyster mushrooms and half a pound of maitakes. Here’s what I’m thinking of doing.” Boom, and to be off and running.
L: Exactly, that’s my dream.
CM: Leah’s mushroom intimidation really stuck with me because, well, she’s right. Some of the varieties that have recently popped up at farmer’s market mushroom stands don’t necessarily look like anything else that we eat. And on top of that, mushrooms have a lot of different use cases. You’ve got people using them medicinally, as meat substitutes, as flavor enhancers, all that to say the world of mushrooms is big. So if I was going to help Leah out, I needed to go beyond recipe suggestions. After a short break, a field trip. We are in the vestibule of the mushroom guy’s lair.