Go to the Recipe: Cream of Mushroom Base
Can this base be made the day before?
can this base be canned or frozen?
We didn't try canning it, but it should freeze ok.
It should keep for 1-2 weeks in your fridge as long as you cool it properly and your fridge stays nice and cold.
Hi, In Belgium, I can't find Knox gelatin. Any idea on any alternatives? Thanks a lot. Aïcha
Hi Rachmani, You can use any powdered gelatin you have available.
What kind of flour do you recommend for a gluten-free roux?
Looks delicious. It has been so dry lately; has Grant’s friend Larkin had any luck foraging for for matsutakes lately? I was going to try to hunt some but wonder if it is too dry!
Also, I have some cepes absolute from Mandy Aftel. Do you think that would work well in this? Did you happen to experiment with it?
I’ll be making this for sure. Very excited to try!
A bit confused by the mise picture with the creminis and the onion (or fennel bulb?). Am I missing something? Thanks.
In our other gluten-free vegan recipe we use Mochiko sweet rice flour. You can apply the same ratio to this recipe.
Thanks for the heads-up, Andrew, and sorry for the confusion. We had a mix-up with the mise picture—the one with the creminis and onions belongs to our Gluten-Free and Plant-Based Cream Of Mushroom Base recipe.
Hi Wes, Let us know how the cepes absolute works out—we need to order a bottle!
Sorry I'm confused with the 5 and 6 steps, I may use the reduction to whisk with roux or to simmer with mushrooms?
Hi @Rafa, Looks like we didn’t throw in there that it was half of the reduction in the roux and half in the mushrooms. Thanks for bringing it up. We’ve updated the recipe to reflect.
can you use this base for other "Cream of" soups? I had a Cream of Green Chile soup in El Paso once that I've been trying to recreate ever since. Thanks!
Of course. This should give you a great jumping off point for any soup like that.
What recipe is the featured picture of? It looks delicious.
Does it matter what mushrooms you use? Can I use Shitakes, for example?
I thought it's a myth that mushrooms absorb any water and it's always good to properly wash them (multiple articles online) - any thoughts ?
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My wife and son are lactose intolerant and I don't think there is enough lactaid to compensate. Is there a workable substitute for the heavy cream?
Different taste but you could use coconut milk. Other nut milks will also work, but obviously tastes will differ. I dont find almond milk works well but it's easier to control the texture if you make your own. Oat milk may work well and will likely i.part more of an earthy flavor. The other option would to be to go w a mushroom stock. You wont get the creaminess (without a good hydrocolloid) and it will be more mushroom...ee....
Would consider freezing only if short term. The cream is likely to develop a fair amount of water crystals. You could ways freeze the base without the cream and add it when you thaw/use the base.
Whichever option you normally use as a substitute should work fine, just don’t reduce it, and use the reduction amount in the recipe.
Anything you like to eat works, we just like to use firmer mushrooms so they don’t just go to mush.
We just halved some of the Matsutake mushrooms that we used in the recipe, roasted them in a pan, covered with the base and Parmesan and baked. You could also do this with the king oyster mushrooms.
You can wash any mushroom you want, but they should be air dried to try to lose some of the liquid before you cook them.
re the gelatin included in the recipe. If I use chicken bone broth (homemade of course), would that be equivalent? Thanks ChefSteps!
Hi Helen, You’ll still need the amount of gelatin indicated in the recipe for good results.
I just want to give credit to your website team; the interaction level with commenters since the reboot is fantastic! Thank you, y'all!
OMG!! YUMMM!! I will never buy cream of mushroom soup again! Thank you for the insight to the recipe pic. I am going to serve that along side of the green beans. My house is divided, not everyone is a fan of bean casserol. Thank you for your help...
thanks Greg!
Many thanks, Greg!
What size dice are we talking here on the mushrooms? Closer to 5mm or 10mm?
Thanks!
Make sure you choose the right pot to reduce the cream. I went with a tall 2qt All Clad. I’ve been reducing for over an hour...
Should have went with a larger pot with more surface area to speed the reduction.
Whatever size you prefer is fine, Greg.
I'm thinking of using this as a base for some Thanksgiving pizza! Green bean casserole "pizza sauce" topped with roasted turkey and dollops of cranberry sauce... after baking the pizza, crumble over crispy turkey skin
How in the world do you have an estimated time of 20 minutes for this recipe when the first step after mise en place is reduce for 30 min...
What about using turkey broth? Made a ton from the butchered turkey carcass!
It's probably not magical thinking, but it's not accurate either. I think they're counting the actual interaction time with ingredients and cooking; or it's human error. This feels like a ~60-90 minute process to me. Looking forward to trying it, though!
sounds super tasty to me
Something got lost in translation here...sorry for the confusion. It should only take about 10 minutes to reduce this amount of stock in a 3qt sauce pot. 30 min to complete the entire recipe, depending on the time you need to clean whatever mushrooms you decide to use.
I am curious if this would freeze well?
Can anyone suggest a substitute for the flour to make this gluten free?
How long would the extra keep in the refrigerator?
Hello. How should I proceed If using 160 bloom gélatine leaves? Thank you
for this application I would just use the same measurement of weight.
we used mochico rice flour in the vegan and gluten free version. use that one as a base of measurement for gf.
we didn't attempt that. but I would assume it would be fine.
Has anyone made this with just criminal mushrooms? I could not find mistake or oyster mushrooms in store. Any suggestions?
criminal or mistake mushrooms😂😂😂
Took me a while to even find the King Oysters...but a different Asian market than I normally use had them.
I ended up going with shitake which was easier to find and somewhere in between. Fantastic!
I froze it...vacuum packed and it worked GREAT. Its so thick that it wasn't hard to get all the air out. Kept for quite some time, though its so tasty, you won't want it frozen for long.
How high of a heat do I dare heat this cream? I've had it at 225 degrees (just over water boiling) for an hour and have reduced it by 1/6 or so. Using a Hestan Cue burner. I really don't want to scorch it..
At $70 a pound for Matsutake mushrooms (I followed your hyperlink) this is a very expensive soup base! If I try this I hope Crimini or some other mushroom works well.
Any blending or straining required, or is this chunky?
Of course it will. King oyster mushrooms work very good as a substitute as well.
I have the same question. It took me over an hour to reduce it by half and that was with continuous stirring. Continiuous. And I did the same as you with temperature...225 max but as it reduced I lowered that to about 215.
Hi DJB. Time and temp will vary greatly depending on the pan you choose, the cream, and your altitude. But just to be be helpful, I reduced a pot of cream with the same pan and the control freak as I did in the recipe above. There should be no risk of scalding the cream if you have a heavy bottom pan. thinner cheaper pans will heat up to fast and inconsistent of induction and could burn. With that being said there is also no one temp to set the control freak at either.. we use it as a stove replacement and are constantly watching the pot and making adjustments as needed.. but here we go.. this is what I use did. 250°f for 4 minutes and 30 seconds while stirring. then drop to 223°f for 8 minutes, keeping an eye on it and giving a stir and a spat down around the rim. Then up to 225°f for 4 minutes and 30 seconds. at this point I no longer needed to stir, it would not boil over. Next, up to 230°f for the final stage of reduction which took me a total of 22 min. And I was trying to be more cautious here to give you a guide. I typically will do this in 15-20 min, watching the whole time. on a higher heat.
explanation above.
Just whisking. The only chunks come from the mushrooms you add. Otherwise it's smooth.
20 minutes to reduce 32oz cream by half? I don't think so.
I used a 12 inch skillet and it took hours. I think the 20 minute version is the TV version where there is an already reduced pan waiting under the counter.
Today, mine took over 2 hours to reduce by half. But, it's fabolous and I now just alot the needed time.
I read the response also...
Wow 15 minutes vs 1 hour and 15. Sounds good to me. At that temp Kyl cited I assume the cream is bubbling or a rolling boil!...?
I guess I could plan out tossing the result but do the reduction in 15 - 20 and see where it ends up.
how long can this be chilled and kept?
1-2 weeks in the fridge.
I just finished my batch from last Thanksgiving (a little over a year) vacced in the freezer. Still good
