The message
from Janet Baraclough .. contains
these words:
The message ]
from Chris ] contains these words:

Why do people collect mushrooms early in the morning?

Mushrooms grow fast; they come up overnight and in the morning are at
the unopened button stage.

They take weeks to reach that stage.

They are clean, white, fresh, need no
peeling, and taste and cook better (imho).

No mushroom needs peeling - most of the flavour is in and just beneath
the top of the cap. And BTW, the flavours in fungi are mainly
oil-soluble, largely released by cooking with some fat or oil.

The older, open ones tend to
shrink and bleed juice more in the frying pan; or if you're making soup,
they make it unattractively dark.

The unattractiveness is a matter of opinion.

If you pick the very big open ones, the top has a skin that needs to be
peeled off, the gills are very dark, the texture is a bit rubbery and
the flavour isn't as good.

I would dispute all of these statements apart from the colour of the
gills. IMO the flavour is far and away better than the immature
specimens.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/