SC - Pickled Mushrooms - Long

[Elise Fleming]

Greetings!  THL Morgan MacBride requested a recipe for pickled 
mushrooms.  Here's one I found and followed since it is quite clear.  I 
"cheated" and used button mushrooms so I didn't peel them.

Pickled mushrooms, from Sir Kenelme Digbie’s _The Closet 
Opened_, as found in Cariadoc’s _Collection of Medieval and 
Renaissance Cookbooks_.  I have edited out some of his instructions 
that have no bearing on the preparation...It was a lot for my wrist to 
type.

“Pickled Champignons”

“...Cut the great ones into halves or quarters,, seeing carefully there 

be no worms in them; and peel off their upper skin on the tips: the 
little ones, peel whole.  As you peel them, throw them into a 
bason of fair-water, which preserves them white.  Then put them 
into a pipkin or possnet of Copper (no Iron) and put a very little 
water to them, and a large proportion of Salt.  If you have a pottle 
of Mushrooms, you may put to them ten or twelve spoonfuls of 
water, and two or three of Salt.  Boil them with a pretty quick-fire, 
and scum them well all the while, taking away a great deal of 
foulness, that will rise.  They will shrink into a very little room.  
When they are sufficiently parboiled to be tender, and well 
cleansed of their scum, (which will be in about a quarter of an 
hour,) take them out, and put them into a Colander, that all the 
moisture may drain from them.  In the mean time make your 
pickle thus:  Take a quart of pure sharp white Wine Vinegar 
(elder-Vinegar is best) put two or threee spoonfuls of whole 
Pepper to it, twenty or thirty Cloves, one Nutmeg quartered, 
two or three flakes of Mace, three Bay-leaves; (some like 
Limon-Thyme and Rose-mary; but then it must be a very little 
of each) boil all these together, till the Vinegar be well impraegnated 

with the Ingredients, whch will be in about half an hour.  Then take 
it from the fire, and let it cool.  When the pickl is quite cold, and 
the Mushrooms also quite cold, and drained from all moisture: put
 them into the Liquor (with all the Ingredients in it) which you must
 be sure, be enough to cover them.  In twn or twelve days, they 
will have taken into them the full taste of the pickle, and will keep 
very good half a year.  If you have much supernatant Liquor, you 
may parboil more Mushrooms the next day, and put them to the 
first.  If you have not gathered at once enough for a dressing, you
 may keep them all night in water to preserve them white, and gather 
more the next day, to joyn to them.”

Alys Katharine

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