what you should know

milder and less jammed with umami than its wilder cousins, button (a.k.a, white) mushrooms have a sweet woodsy thing going on that makes them a common staple in kitchens across the world.

buttons are also known as common or cultivated mushrooms or champignons de paris. no matter what you call them, you know them when you see them: sprinkled on the tops of pizzas, bobbing in asian soups, holding pasta sauces together and endlessly available in those shrink-wrapped, 8 oz. containers in your local produce aisle. 

choosing & storing when shopping, look for firm, white tops with few blemishes and solidly attached stems. (we can't stop you from buying sliced mushrooms, but we would if we could.) stay away from damp or wrinkly buttons. if you're not using them right away, put the mushrooms in a paper bag and store them for a few days in a refrigerator drawer. 

to wash or not to wash? though the conventional wisdom says not to wash mushrooms, we side with jacques pepin, harold mcgee and alton brown, all of whom say that washing leads to neither mushy mushrooms nor lost flavor. most of the time though, you'll be okay just brushing dark spots with a damp paper towel. don't clean them though until just before you need them.

what you need

• though slicing mushrooms is easy enough with a knife, an egg slicer can knock out a batch in no time.
• a lifelong forager, jacques pepin likes his cultivated mushrooms dark and shriveled; he says they've developed more character. who are we to argue? pepin's complete techniques is a master class in prep and skills.
  
• buttons make an excellent soup/stew "meat" when real meat is unavailable (or undesirable). they hold their shape well after long cook times and seem to absorb whatever goodness with which you pair them. one of my favorite mushroom stews comes from nancy verde barr's awesome book make it italian.

what you do

• simply sauteed mushrooms rival the tomato sandwich as the perfect afternoon snack.
• even though barbara kafka frowns on roasting white mushrooms, we think her high-heat method works wonders on a pile of buttons. seasoned with lemon juice and the stiff resinous pop of thyme...oh man.
• consider introducing buttons to miso soup an act of generosity on your part: you're giving them a chance to see what true umamidom is all about.