How to maximise the umami in mushrooms | Kitchen aide

How do I cook mushrooms at home so they have the umami you get in restaurant dishes?
John, by email
For Chantelle Nicholson, chef-patron of Apricity in London, boosting the savoury side of ’shrooms comes down to three main things. First, they hold a lot of water, so “you need to cook that out of them, so heat is super-important, as are fat and salt”. Tomás Gormley, chef-owner of Cardinal in Edinburgh, adds that he can “almost guarantee” that John isn’t using enough of the latter: “As a rule, I use 1.5% of the weight of whatever I’m seasoning. With mushrooms, especially, season early, before they hit the pan, to draw out their moisture. That resulting mushroomy water then cooks the mushrooms while it’s reducing and concentrating the flavour.”

But there are so many varieties of mushrooms out there, and they all behave in different ways, so John needs to be using the right ones for the job. “If you’re making a soup, puree or paté, field, portobello or button mushrooms are fine,” Nicholson says. “But if you’re looking for a delicious sauteed mushroom, say, ideally you need something with less water content – chestnut, shiitake or blue/grey oyster mushrooms. Heat oil in a pan, then add the shredded or sliced mushrooms, and season with fine salt straight away.” Nicholson would be inclined to toss in a bay leaf and some thyme or sage, too, and maybe a smashed clove of garlic. “Cook over a high-ish heat until lightly golden, then add a bit of butter and keep cooking until golden. If you want to enhance the flavour even further, a splash of dry sherry works really well.”

That said, Buttons Mira, author of The Mushroomery, throws her ’shrooms into a dry frying pan: “That’s right, no oil or fat! I put a lid on top and let them sweat out that rich, umami flavour.” Alice Zaslavsky, author of Weeknights with Alice, deploys a similar tactic: “Cooking mushrooms the traditional way in fat can inhibit the intensification of umami and lock in too much moisture, which is why I’ve taken to wet-frying my mushrooms.” She first lets them bubble away in a little water “spliced with condiments: umami-rich soy sauce and/or Worcestershire sauce work well”, until all the liquid evaporates. “Only then do I add oil and/or butter to lift off the flavour in the base of the pan and encourage caramelisation for extra depth and sweetness.”

Heading out of the frying pan and into the oven, a properly roasted mushroom can also be meaty and deeply flavoured: “That makes them super-nutty and delicious,” says Mira, who then uses them in pastas and risottos. The best way to do this is, again, with high heat, salt and oil, Nicholson says: “I’d also suggest using chestnut mushrooms over button mushrooms, and quartering them – hard herbs, such as thyme, bay or rosemary, will help as well.”

Just like the rest of us, though, sometimes those mushrooms need a bit of a helping hand: “Up the umami potential by doubling down on the right kind of mushroom,” Zaslavsky says, which in her book includes sprinkling over dried shiitake or porcini in powdered form: “Both offer a deep, savoury aroma and flavour that helps enhance milder varieties.” Magic mushrooms, indeed.