Mushrooms
Warm milk
Salt
Pepper
Veal or chicken broth, or drawn butter
Flour wet in cold milk
1 egg, beaten

Rub them white, stew in water ten minutes; strain partially, and cover with as much warm milk as you have poured off water; stew five minutes in this; salt, pepper and add some veal or chicken gravy, or drawn butter. Thicken with a little flour wet in cold milk, and a beaten egg.

Common Sense in the Household by Marion Harland, New York, 1871

Comment: As Mrs. Harland does not specify what sort of mushrooms are suitable for this recipe, we will not do so either, except to note that it would be a shame to waste this much effort on plain canned button varieties. This is apparently intended as a side dish although it would seem to make an excellent mushroom sauce if thickened just a bit more than is called for here.

          

Mushrooms
Salt
Butter
Flour
Cream

There are many varieties of mushrooms, some of which are very poisonous; therefore you should be careful in selecting them, that you do not mistake the poisonous for the esculent ones. Those that are proper for food are only found in open ground, where the air is pure. They may be found in abundance during the months of August and September, more particularly after a misty night or heavy morning dew. The esculent mushrooms may be told by the color, if carefully examined before or soon after they are gathered. They are then of a dull pearl-colored white on the outside or top, while the under part is tinged with pink. Reject all other colors, and even the white ones, if they grow in low marshy ground, where the air is very much confined. The color of all will change very soon after they are gathered.

Take either the large mushrooms that are young and tender, or the small button ones, which you chose; wash them clean, removing the skins and stalks, put them into a stew-pan, with a little salt, but no water, cover the pan, and stew them slowly till tender; then season them with a small piece of butter rolled in flour, a very little sweet cream, and serve them with the gravy.

The Kentucky Housewife by Mrs. Lettice Bryan, 1839

Comment: As always, we print these recipes exactly as the authors originally wrote them. While we have the highest regards for Mrs. Bryant’s talents as a recipe compiler, we do NOT know anything about her abilities at identifying poisonous mushrooms. Please take that part of the recipe as being of historical interest only, and use store-bought mushrooms for this recipe.