7:23 PM
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Rick picked these on Friday - Bart has yet to fry them up but I had to read about them before we eat them.( HA - Like I would eat it anyway)
Preparation Once you have found tender specimens, they are best cooked straightaway. Like many other wild mushrooms the aroma is ephemeral often disappearing within hours. Tempura frying will retain some of this "watermelon" character. Sautéing or pan frying is a good way too. Slice them thin and cook them hard and fast. Overcooking will create toughness. I have tried drying them. They come out as very white, crunchy chips that are pleasant to eat dry. They retained more of that unique smell than I expected. I have made a powder with them but have not tried cooking with it yet but it looks and smells good. The microwave produced something you could make shoes with. I have had pretty good luck with tough ones though. I cooked them and put them in the blender with chicken stock blending until they were the consistency of a smoothie and then made mushroom soup. Really very good and not like any other. Nothing else tastes or smells like this mushroom. It is really very good when prepared correctly. I could easily identify it by the smell with my eyes closed. Maybe it would taste "mealy" if it was stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Actually, since different people perceive smell and taste differently your experience could be different.
I didn't see the mushroom post until just now. Let me just say YUM!!!! We might have to look for some this weekend around Lansing. Don't think we got any to try last year.