Cremini
Agaricus bisporus · Fungus
Top 10 pairings
The cremini — also sold as baby bella, chestnut mushroom or Roman brown — is not a different species from the ordinary white button but the SAME mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, in its naturally brown-capped strain and at a stage between the white button and the fully opened portobello. Its tan-to-chestnut cap is firmer and drier than the white button, and its flavour is noticeably deeper, earthier and more savoury, which has made it the everyday brown mushroom of choice for cooks who want more body without the spreading flat cap of a portobello.
Picking a good onedrag
Closed, dry, glossySlimy, black-gilled, sour
Veil just splitEveryday bestThe all-rounder: fry, roast, stuff, or slice into anything.
Cap surfaceDull, a bruise mark or two
Under the capVeil just torn, gills pale pink
Cut stemCut end faintly tan, stem firm
Smell at the gillsMild, sweet, mushroomy
These cues are Mushroom's, and hold across its varieties; where this one differs, its own page says so.
What you get from one
97%
Edible part
18 g · dirty stem butt off
19 g
Weight each
each one
Keeping ittap a temperature
A domestic fridge holds it about 5× longer than the counter.
95%
Humidity
Paper bag, never sealed
Airflow