question about mushrooms

[aggie94]

Okay, I think I've figured it out, but I wanted someone to confirm for me.

Cremini mushrooms are baby portobellos (or in other words, portobellos are just really large cremini mushrooms). Here's where I had been confused -- are creminis just brown button mushrooms? I had never bought them before, but needed them for the smoked gouda and mushroom and spinach risotto. When I went to the store and saw what was labeled "cremini," they looked like brown button mushrooms. When I asked the grocer about them and explained that I thought creminis were baby portobellos, he said that was right. Eh? I was confused because they look nothing like mini portobellos, which is what I was expecting them to look like. But now, I think I've figured it out. Baby portobello = cremini = brown button mushroom. Right?

[Gail]

Here you go: a nice page on mushrooms:
http://www.foodsubs.com/Mushroom.html

According to this, your cremini=baby portobello link is correct, whereas the cremini=brown mushroom (depending upon what your grocer sells as brown mushrooms) may be a tad off.



[This message has been edited by Gail (edited 05-17-2001).]

[emilycat]

Hm. I think you may have created the brown button mushroom term http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

Actually, creminis are baby portobellos -- they're not fully grown. But button mushrooms are cultivated, an entirely different variety of mushroom than cremini/portobello.

Okay, after reading Gail's link, creminis are related to button mushrooms, but they're still not the same kind. So I wasn't totally wrong http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[This message has been edited by emilycat (edited 05-17-2001).]

[aggie94]

Okay, so you're right -- I did make up the "brown button mushroom" term. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

Thanks for the website, Gail! At least I know that I'm actually buying the right thing. I guess terminology isn't as important. I just figured since they LOOK like white/button mushrooms, except they're brown, that I'd just call them brown button mushrooms. I wanted to make sure what I was calling brown button mushrooms were the same thing as creminis, and it looks like they are.

Okay, I'm officially calling these things creminis or baby portobellos from now on to avoid any more confusion!

Thanks, guys!

[kwormann]

aggie...any chance I could get the mushroom risotto recipe?

TIA

Kim