I have some friends who always peel mushrooms before cooking them. I usually just wipe them (wash them if dirty), slice and cook them. what do you do? If you peel them, why do you do it?

Mamta

No, I never peel mushrooms. A total waste of time and good mushrooms, in my view. I just wipe them and cook them. Only peel them when a little brown, past sell by date :-)!

I am from USA by the way.

Rashmi

Never peel them - had this conversation with a friend online too - she only peeled them because she'd never really learned or read how one normally deals with mushrooms and kind of just made the assumption that she should do so when she started cooking with them!

I give them a good "scrub" under water to wipe off the dirt in which they grow and that's it...

I wipe them clean as a rule, but sometimes when they have been left and start to go "slimey" I peel the skin off...

(and you should never wash them as they are wet enough)

Thanks, I will tell my Chinese friend that she is wasting her time and mushrooms!

Mamta

I never wash them before storing - only just before use. If you store them after washing they go all manky.

My Mum always peeled hers until watching something on TV. As she never cooked in Singapore, I guess she must have learnt by watching.

Laura G

if we are talking about 'ordinary' mushrooms, it depends on their size and age. Old large ones need peeling, although, depending on the dish, the peelings can be used. Also, I usually discard the stipe (stem) in older ones.