Matsutake Mushrooms

The 1000 Foods To Eat Before you Die book specifies that you have to try Matsutake Mushrooms.  Apparently they are the most expensive mushrooms on the planet and only grow in a few places-namely Japan and Oregon/Washington.  I found a great website to order fresh mushrooms from Oregon (Oregon Mushrooms) and my matsutake mushrooms arrived yesterday. They were huge and BEAUTIFUL.  If ever there was a beautiful mushroom, it would be these.   I baked them in parchment along with some aromatics and hoped for the best.    I didn’t like them. I know this goes back to my lack of interest in anything I find slimy and these mushrooms stay very firm and a bit slimy.  I took the entire mess and made a Hungarian mushroom soup.  In this, the mushrooms really shone.  They retained their earthiness which gave the soup a whole different texture than what I usually get with other mushrooms.  I think this one is a personal decision-if you like your mushrooms really firm-these might be your mushrooms.  For me, I take a pass.