This is one of those subjects that many people fear to discuss.
The reason is, of course, that both camps have their devotees not to say zealots. Sometimes the views for and against the two are held with a fervour that makes it difficult or even dangerous ground for someone to try and explore objectively!
Still, let's try by giving what is admittedly a very personal and entirely subjective view - ignoring freezing, tinned and dried varieties for brevity.
Wild mushrooms
The vast majority of unbiased folk will probably tell you that wild mushrooms, when picked and used fresh from source, have a flavour and uniqueness that simply can't be replicated in most farmed mushrooms.
It is, of course, impossible to verify one way or the other objectively. Nobody seriously disputes that wild mushrooms are delicious but does that mean that mushroom farming can't replicate the same taste?
It's debatable!
Of course, it does have to be admitted that some varieties of wild mushrooms are not usually grown commercially or are very hard to obtain if they are. So, that's a tick in the box for the €wild mushrooms are best€ brigade.
Yet there are a few problems.
If you happen to be living in the middle of one of Australia's major urban centres, it just might not be practical for you to get up, get out and find sources of wild mushrooms. Romantic as the idea may sound, it may seem rather less so if it means driving for hours to get to a source and back.
Then you have the perennial but nevertheless real issue of safety.
Unfortunately, some types of mushrooms can be downright dangerous. Therefore, to participate in wild mushroom collecting you're going to need to be an absolute expert in mushroom identification or to trust that someone who has done it for you is that expert. That is unless you like the idea of gambling with your health and possibly even life.
Mushroom farming
This is no doubt that's where the vast majority of Australians source their mushrooms - albeit through an intermediary usually in the shape of a market or supermarket.
Now in the old days, mushroom farming had a fairly indifferent reputation with gourmands and connoisseurs.
Anyone much above the age of 40 or 50 will be able to remember the days when your choice was pretty much limited to €white button€ mushrooms and the supply-chain wasn't always what it should have been. The result of that latter problem was usually past-their-best mushrooms that didn't look or taste appetising.
Yet today, all that has changed.
Mushroom farming in Australia and overseas is now big business. It has made huge progress in diversifying into far more exotic varieties and it's now possible to source mushrooms that up until perhaps 10 or 20 years ago, would only have been seen in exotic cookbooks covering Asian cuisines.
The supply chain problems have also, by and large, been sorted out. Typically the mushrooms you now see in the markets are very fresh and attractive-looking.
Once again, in terms of taste, comparing some farmed varieties against wild mushrooms just isn't possible in writing. It's all about personal taste.
It also has to be said that not everything is entirely right yet with mushroom farming.
The most immediate problem is that some of the more exotic varieties are still relatively expensive and still, at times, not easy to find fresh.
The conclusion
This is, of course, a tongue-in-cheek analysis.
Nobody can really say whether wild mushrooms are better than the produce of mushroom farming and for the vast majority of consumers, the choice perhaps sadly isn't likely to exist.
The good news is that there are some fantastic mushrooms out there in the shops, so get out and try them!
The reason is, of course, that both camps have their devotees not to say zealots. Sometimes the views for and against the two are held with a fervour that makes it difficult or even dangerous ground for someone to try and explore objectively!
Still, let's try by giving what is admittedly a very personal and entirely subjective view - ignoring freezing, tinned and dried varieties for brevity.
Wild mushrooms
The vast majority of unbiased folk will probably tell you that wild mushrooms, when picked and used fresh from source, have a flavour and uniqueness that simply can't be replicated in most farmed mushrooms.
It is, of course, impossible to verify one way or the other objectively. Nobody seriously disputes that wild mushrooms are delicious but does that mean that mushroom farming can't replicate the same taste?
It's debatable!
Of course, it does have to be admitted that some varieties of wild mushrooms are not usually grown commercially or are very hard to obtain if they are. So, that's a tick in the box for the €wild mushrooms are best€ brigade.
Yet there are a few problems.
If you happen to be living in the middle of one of Australia's major urban centres, it just might not be practical for you to get up, get out and find sources of wild mushrooms. Romantic as the idea may sound, it may seem rather less so if it means driving for hours to get to a source and back.
Then you have the perennial but nevertheless real issue of safety.
Unfortunately, some types of mushrooms can be downright dangerous. Therefore, to participate in wild mushroom collecting you're going to need to be an absolute expert in mushroom identification or to trust that someone who has done it for you is that expert. That is unless you like the idea of gambling with your health and possibly even life.
Mushroom farming
This is no doubt that's where the vast majority of Australians source their mushrooms - albeit through an intermediary usually in the shape of a market or supermarket.
Now in the old days, mushroom farming had a fairly indifferent reputation with gourmands and connoisseurs.
Anyone much above the age of 40 or 50 will be able to remember the days when your choice was pretty much limited to €white button€ mushrooms and the supply-chain wasn't always what it should have been. The result of that latter problem was usually past-their-best mushrooms that didn't look or taste appetising.
Yet today, all that has changed.
Mushroom farming in Australia and overseas is now big business. It has made huge progress in diversifying into far more exotic varieties and it's now possible to source mushrooms that up until perhaps 10 or 20 years ago, would only have been seen in exotic cookbooks covering Asian cuisines.
The supply chain problems have also, by and large, been sorted out. Typically the mushrooms you now see in the markets are very fresh and attractive-looking.
Once again, in terms of taste, comparing some farmed varieties against wild mushrooms just isn't possible in writing. It's all about personal taste.
It also has to be said that not everything is entirely right yet with mushroom farming.
The most immediate problem is that some of the more exotic varieties are still relatively expensive and still, at times, not easy to find fresh.
The conclusion
This is, of course, a tongue-in-cheek analysis.
Nobody can really say whether wild mushrooms are better than the produce of mushroom farming and for the vast majority of consumers, the choice perhaps sadly isn't likely to exist.
The good news is that there are some fantastic mushrooms out there in the shops, so get out and try them!
Source...