[Sca-cooks] recipe using portabela mushrooms?

[a5foil]

I asked Tom about portabellas, and am forwarding his reply.

(From me:)

Got a question on the Cook's List about portabellas. I seem to remember you
telling me they are a modern creation? If so, where did you get the info?

(From Thomas:)

I don't remember my source for that. A cursory search on the Internet
reveals some interesting information, though, from the Mushroom Council, and
many other sources like mushroomexpert.com. Google "portabella mushroom
history", "crimini mushroom history", "agricus bisporus".

Tricky question, actually. Kind of like broccoli.

The common white button mushroom is the agaricus bisporus.

The crimini mushroom is a recently developed brown strain of agaricus
bisporus.

The "portabella" is a crimini mushroom allowed to grow an additional 6-7
days. The name is a product of American marketing, developed to sell crimini
mushrooms that had grown past their perceived prime. So called Baby
Portabellas, are crimini mushrooms that were allowed to open, but not
mature.

Depending on the grower they are called Portabella, Portabello, Portobella
or Portobello.

Mushroomexpert.com says the American commercial mushroom industry recently
developed the brown strain, calling the button form "Crimini", and those
allowed to mature "Portabellas" or "Portobellos". No references.

Agaricus bisporus is the cultivated relative of the wild agaricus campestris
mushroom. There are, however, some native populations of agaricus bisporus
in California, but almost all other a. bisporus wild and cultivated have
European genetic roots. Aside from the native populations, almost all
occurring a. bisporus in North America can be traced back to escapees from
commercial mushroom farms in Pennsylvania (and from spores scattered to the
winds from trucks carrying them to market).

Many sites say that button mushrooms were first cultivated in the mid 17th
century in Paris, by melon farmers who discovered that they could grow
mushrooms in quantity in their melon fields.

So. Did medieval Europeans eat button mushrooms? Some did. Common thinking
in England though, right up to the 17th century, was that most mushrooms
were vile. Cf. Gerard's Herbal and other writings. The French, Spanish and
Italians, however, loved mushrooms. Boletus (bolets) and agaricus (agaric)
mushrooms appear in the Catalan mss from 1324.

Did medieval Europeans cultivate them? Maybe, but the earliest people seem
to know of is mid-17th century Paris, right at the end of period.

Could medieval Europeans have eaten what we know as Portabellas? Not if the
strain wasn't created until recently in America.

Could medieval Europeans have eaten mature agaricus bisporus? Sure.

So, while the specific strain marketed as Portabella likely isn't period,
the agaricus bisporus species of which it is a variety is certainly old
enough to have been eaten in period, even though it wasn't grown
commercially until the end of period. The French, Italians and Spanish may
have been eating something very similar to the Portabella. We can't really
say with certainty.