When you choose to dine at The Holiday Inn1 you have quite a number of options2 to suit your taste3. One thing you might not be fully aware of4 is the number of different kinds of mushrooms which find their way into our culinary selections5 from time to time.
Mycophagy6 or the preparation and eating of mushrooms has become increasingly important in fine cuisine7. There are many types of mushrooms, and each of them has several ways in which they may be prepared or mixed with other ingredients8.
It’s now spring, and as you might expect, we’ve had morel mushrooms9 (Morchella esculenta) on the menu for a few weeks. Most morels are hand-picked from local sources to insure freshness and maximum flavor10. In other seasons of the year we can have morels which are commercially grown11, but these must be specially ordered12.
The common field mushroom13, (Agaricus campestris) is our most commonly used mushroom in soups, sauces14, gravies15 and in salads or stews. This is the “button mushroom”16 you may associate with pizzas17 and mushroom soup, and we prepare it in other ways as well. What you may not know is that a variant18 of the field mushroom, the Portabella19, is the same type of mushroom, but it is grown to maturity20 instead of being used in the button stage21, and it is a larger variety.
We also have Shitake (Lentinus edodes)22 in some of our veggie stir fries23 and soups, and may use “golden trumpet” (Cantharellus cibarius)24 which is so popular in Europe.
Several other mushrooms are available, including the Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus)25, Wood Ear (Auricularia auricula)26, and the King Bolete (Boletus edulis)27, but you’ll have to special- order28 these.
You may like to collect and cook your own mushrooms, but if you do, be careful that you know what you are eating! Some mushrooms are poisonous, and even some of the good ones may cause allergic reactions29 in some people. Eat a small amount of any mushroom if it is new to you, and in this way you’ll learn to appreciate them and may avoid an upset stomach30.
Notes:
1. Holiday Inn (假日旅馆): The name of a widespread group of hotels and motels in the U.S. as well as other countries. Most of these hotels have excellent restaurants associated with them where both guests and local people eat.
2. options: possibilities, choices (选择). Most of these restaurants have large menus that list many main dishes, types of sandwiches, desserts etc.
3. to suit your taste：满足你的口味
4. be aware of: know or understand (知道，了解)
5. culinary selections: 烹饪的精选物品
6. mycophagy: (a technical term) dining on mushrooms of various types (真菌的食用).
7. fine cuisine: extremely excellent quality of food prepared by a good chef (精美菜肴).
8. ingredients: the food contents of a special dish (配料).
9. morel mushrooms: 一种可食用的蘑菇 （见下图）
10. to insure freshness and maximum flavor: 确保新鲜和味道最佳
11. commercially grown: (production of a food item) done by a business concern (专为出售培植的).
12. must be specially ordered：要专门订购
13. field mushroom: 双孢蘑菇
14. sauces: fluid, flavorful semi-liquid mixtures of foods and spices used to add more flavor to food (调味汁).
15. gravy (plural gravies): a sauce made from the thickened and seasoned juices of meat (调味肉汁).
16. button mushroom: another common name for the field mushroom.
17. pizzas: 比萨饼
18. variant: alternative form or different form than the more common one (变种).
19. Portabella: an Italian name given to the adult form of the variant of the field mushroom (长成熟的 field mushroom的意大利名称).
20. maturity: fully grown and developed in its life stages (成熟).
21. button stage: the immature stage of a mushroom when it has not yet developed distinctive parts of a cap, stem and base (蘑菇的未成熟时期).
22. Lentinus edodes (香菇): the Latin name for the choice edible mushroom known as Shitake in Japanese cuisine.
23. veggie stir fries (炒菜): a technique favored in Chinese cuisine.
24. golden trumpet (鸡油菌): the common name given to the mushroom Cantharellus cibarius which is one of the favorite mushrooms in France and Europe in general. (见下图)
25. oyster mushroom (平菇): the common name for Pleutotus ostreatus, a mushroom commonly growing on dead wood or stumps of broad leaf trees. Commonly oyster colored, and prized as a choice mushroom by many people. (见下图)
26. wood ear (木耳): the mushroom Auricularia auricula which grows world wide on rotting wood of fallen trees. Prized as both a medicinal and highly sought mushroom in most Asian countries.
27. king bolete (牛肝菌): the mushroom Boletus edulis which is a large, fleshy mushroom associated with the living roots of many broadleaf trees including oaks. In Italy it is called Porcina which means “little pig,” because of its enlarged stem. Popular in many countries, and featured in many restaurants.
28. to special-order (专门订): order something which is not normally on the menu, but which can be ordered from a supplier who has this item available on request.
29. allergic reactions (过敏反应): responses of a person which cause them to become ill when eating a particular type of food. It occurs not because it is a poisonous food, but because the individual has a reaction due to their immune system response.
30. upset stomach ：肠胃不适
