Among the endless brilliant advice in Jane Grigson’s The Mushroom Feast is a note about size that is really helpful. It is in relation to the cultivated mushrooms readily available in greengrocers and supermarkets, the controlled development of which she reveals to be as every bit as fascinating as the mysterious appearance of wild ones. Grigson reminds us that small button mushrooms are exactly that: small and immature. And, having just formed, they haven’t had the chance to develop flavour, which is why it’s advisable to buy medium-sized mushrooms or, even better, large, open or flat mushrooms that have been given the time to develop real flavour. “Left undisturbed in mushroom caves,” Grigson notes, “cultivated mushrooms can swell to a pound in weight and develop a flavour equal to field mushrooms.”
While out mushroom hunting in the velvet cool of my local supermarket the other day, I was delighted to come across not just one, but several packets of open-faced mushrooms with white caps and delicate brown gills. I might be a novice, but I do know to move slowly and quietly when mushrooms appear, so as not to draw attention, or to give away the spot to other mushroom hunters. Keeping my eyes low, I picked the packets off the shelf, put them in my basket, paid and walked home, making sure to disturb as few leaves as possible. I suspect a neighbour might have been watching me.
