Agaricus bisporus

Everybody recognizes this widely cultivated mushroom--the Button Mushroom. It’s a staple in mushroom cuisine everywhere. It’s been cultivated for centuries.

In recent years, a new strain of Agaricus bisporus was developed, and that darker, more robust strain was given an exotic-sounding marketing name: Portobella. The little ones, picked before they were mature, were given the market name Crimini, as if Portobella and Crimini were two different species. But then consumers started figuring out that Crimini and Portobella were actually the same mushroom, and so marketing brains came up with a new name: Baby Portobellas.

The thing is, the Button Mushroom, Portobella, Baby ‘Bella, Crimini--they’re all the same species of mushroom, and all just variations on the same mushroom flavor.

We think that, until one has sampled a few truly different species of mushrooms, enjoying their unique flavors and individual textures, one really has no reason to claim they don’t like eating mushrooms.

Button Mushroom (Agaricus bisporus)

Crimini (Agaricus bisporus)