How to Clean Mushrooms

The best way to clean mushrooms? A salad spinner!

Many cooks fear that rinsing mushrooms will cause them to soak up water like a sponge, turn soggy, and steam—rather than brown—in the pan. In the test kitchen, we found that rinsing was actually fine for many mushrooms, as long as we rinsed them whole (before chopping). We proved this by weighing whole mushrooms before and after washing. We found that mushrooms without their gills fully exposed (button, cremini, etc.) did not absorb much water, just make sure to dry the mushrooms before prepping and cooking so they'll be able to brown.

Rinsing the mushrooms in the salad spinner’s basket and then spinning them dry is the most efficient way to rid them of debris and any moisture still clinging to them after cleaning. (For oddly shaped or delicate varieties such as enoki, simply rinse and pat them dry with paper towels.)

Varieties with exposed gills, such as portobellos, did, however, absorb a lot of water when rinsed, and that absorption adversely affected how they cooked, so for these varieties we recommend brushing off the dirt with paper towels or a pastry brush instead.