How to put mushrooms in soup/stew without creating foam?
This is something that has happened to me twice now:
I like making boxed Japanese curry, so I tried adding some sliced (fresh) shiitake mushrooms, because I like them. Before you actually add the curry blocks, it’s basically just a pot of water, meat, and veggies. Like a bland soup. When I add mushrooms and leave it to boil, it froths and bubbles over. This never happens any other time, with any other ingredients. Just mushrooms.
I tried looking up solutions, but it seems like I’m the only one having this problem. Any ideas?
Best Answer
You cannot avoid the foam, it's going to form but you can keep it from boiling over. A foamy pot boils over because the foam traps steam, acting like a lid sitting right on top of the water. Escaping steam takes heat away from the pot, preventing it causes the water to super heat and boil over. You can prevent it by simply stirring, and floating a wooden spoon on the top (actually works).
However, I would prevent this by reducing heat. You don't need to boil your food, a simmer will work just fine and is more gentle on your ingredients, less heat means even with foam it won't boil over. So turn it down and solve your problem.
As for why the foam forms with mushrooms I don't know. With pasta and rice it's the starches on the surface which come off and expand, but mushrooms aren't starchy. I suspect it's other particles on the outside of the mushrooms, or perhaps the spores under the cap. To reduce foaming you could try rinsing the shrooms, that's usually a no-no but as you're cooking them in water it's no big deal. You could saute them separately if you have the time, you'll get a different flavor which you may prefer, although you wouldn't get it that way in a traditional Japanese curry.
Here's an article about foaming in pasta water which may be worth a read.
Pictures about "How to put mushrooms in soup/stew without creating foam?"
How do you add mushrooms to soup?
Keep the soup very warm, even hot. Saut\xe9 the 1/4 pound sliced mushrooms in the 2 tablespoons butter and the sherry until the mushrooms have given up their moisture and are beginning to brown or slightly crisp. Garnish each portion of the soup with a few of the saut\xe9ed mushrooms.How do I cook mushrooms before adding to soup?
Instead of tossing the mushrooms straight in the pot, cook them in a little skillet alongside before you add them. This will help release their moisture, concentrate their natural sugars right in the pot, and lend big flavor to the whole dish.How do you keep mushrooms from getting soggy?
When you cook them in a pan, the water will seep out. If you keep the heat low, the mushrooms will just simmer in their liquid. Medium high or high heat will get rid of all that liquid, and will give the mushrooms a nice brown color. Make sure all that water has evaporated before taking your 'shrooms off the heat."Why is there foam on my soup?
At very hot temperatures, the starch reacts with the water molecules, causing an increase in surface tension, which ultimately forms small bubbles or pockets of air surrounded by the starch, creating foam.No Cream, Cream of Mushroom Soup Recipe
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