Simple Mushroom Flowers

In this Instructable, I will show you how to make a simple mushroom flower garnish. These can be made with White or Cremini mushrooms. It is a fun and fast way to add a little style to your mushroom loving dishes, salads or veggie platters. I originally learned to make these years ago in my high school cooking class. We had a guest speaker from a culinary school and this was one of the things they showed us. I fell in love with these right away. I don't even like mushrooms but I will find excuses to make these whenever I find the chance.

Supply List:

Mushrooms

Knife

Sink

Dish Cloth or Paper Towels

Cutting Board- Optional

Bowl- Optional

Wash the mushrooms in cool water. If needed, gently rub your fingers over the mushroom to help get them all nice and clean. Set them on a paper towel or dish cloth to dry off.

You will want a knife that is both sharp and pointed. Ideally it will be on the smaller side such as a paring knife. While you can use a larger chef knife, it will be more difficult to handle and the point is typically a wider. As a right handed individual, I prefer to hold the knife in my right hand and the mushroom in my left. It is easiest to control the knife for this if you hold the blade between your thumb and first joint of your index finger. The blade can technically face either way. I would hold it whichever way you feel most comfortable and safest.

Place the tip of the knife just off center with the blade flat across the top of the mushroom. With a tipping up motion, like you are pouring a cup of tea, gently press the tip of the knife into the mushroom until it pierces the skin. As soon as it pops through the layer of skin stop applying pressure and lift the blade. The indentation into the mushroom should look similar to a triangle. Place the blade near the first mark and make a second indentation. Moving around in a circle continue making marks until you return to where you started.

Using just the very tippy top of the tip of the knife, make a circle of indentations inside of the first ring

Starting at one of the points created from the very first circle of indentations, start a new circle going all the way around until you return to the starting point. Continue making these rings until you reach the bottom of the mushroom. The further down the side of the mushroom you get the easier it is to make the indentation. You will want to be cautious not to apply to much pressure and accidentally remove a piece of the mushroom. Continue step two through four for all your mushrooms.

Here are some photos showing the same process with the Cremini Mushrooms.

Enjoy your beautiful flower mushrooms.