Field mushrooms, White buttons, Champignon de Paris, Horse mushrooms, brown buttons, cremini/crimini, Portobello/portobellini, Baby Bellas, Golden Italian, Roman, Classic Brown mushrooms
(Agaricus sp.)
The wild field mushroom Agaricus campestris) is common and can be found growing in clusters or rings in grazed or mown grassland. It is similar to the store-bought white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus). The field mushroom is smaller and rather more delicate in stature and have the characteristic mushroom smell. The gills of the field mushroom should be pink or chocolate but not white or yellow. However, care needs to be taken to distinguish them from the deadly Amanita family. The horse mushroom (Agaricus arvensis) can grow to soup-plate size with thick firm flesh smelling slightly of aniseed. Agaricus bisporus v. albidus is a cultivated variety, otherwise known as “champignon de Paris”. It has a smooth white to brownish cap and a white stem and flesh. It is excellent raw or cooked and accounts for 60% of the world’s mushroom production. Brown buttons (Agaricus bisporus v. brunniscens) are commonly sold as young buttons under the name of cremini. When allowed to mature to an open, mid-size mushroom, they are called portobellini. The large mature specimens are sold as portobello and should be purchased when they have pink or brown gills. Juvenile portobellos are the same as white button mushrooms to the restaurant trade, but are a different strain. This brown mushroom was common in the US before the white strain was isolated and developed during the mid 1920s. It is a cocoa colour with a more solid texture and richer flavour than the white. The names have dubious origins and vary as often as the teller. One interesting story is about the naming of Portobello. Apparently, it was named after the Portobello Road in London, where all things fashionable are sold. Until just a few years ago, it was called cappelaccio in Italy, but soon dubbed Portobello after a popular RV show. From there, the stories multiply as quickly as the fungus. Overripe mushrooms will have black gills, a strong flavour, and a mild “fishy” odour and should, therefore, be avoided. Generally, the texture of the brown button is superior to that of the common white button, with its firm flesh and dense shape holding during the cooking process.
