Mushrooms are a staple in most of British households. From using them in stir-fries to turning them into a creamy sauce, the food has multiple uses. Apart from this, mushrooms also come with a large number of health benefits.

Widely known as the “superfood”, consuming mushrooms helps you maintain the right amount of vitamins, minerals and fiber. They have also been linked to improved gut health, heart health and brain function. However, mushrooms have a short shelf life if not stored properly. Experts from thekitchn tested few methods for storing mushrooms and found that there is one way that will stop them from getting “slimy”.

Rachel Ng from thekitchn wrote: "The winning method not only kept the mushrooms slime-free for 10 days, but it also improved their flavour."

She tried six different ways to store the mushrooms, and one method improved the shelf life of the food item. According to the expert, using a combination of paper towels and paper bags helps the mushrooms not get slimy.

The food expert lined a brown paper bag with a folded piece of paper towel and placed the mushrooms inside the bag.

She explained: "The technique worked well to rein in the moisture, which meant the mushrooms didn’t get slimy. The mushrooms in the paper towel-lined paper bag fared slightly better than those in an unlined paper bag.

"At the end of the 10-day period, there were no slimy mushrooms. Three of the mushrooms turned slightly darker, while the rest sort of looked like they had a tan. Three of the mushrooms were also slightly wrinkly."

Concluding the best ways to store mushrooms, the expert said that storing them in a plastic bag traps moisture, and the mushrooms were discoloured at the end of the sixth day.

She said: "Plastic traps moisture and mushrooms end up sitting in a damp container or bag, which causes discoloration, mold, and slime.

"While it’s best to eat button mushrooms within five days of purchasing, you can extend mushrooms’ shelf life when you store them in a brown paper bag — with or without paper towels. Bonus: You might even end up with a more flavourful mushroom dish."

Even leaving the mushrooms in their original container and move them to the refrigerator directly from the grocery store is not advisable.

She said: "On day 10, the mushrooms looked exactly like they did when I brought them home from the store. They were still white with no visible discolouration. Some water droplets formed inside the container, which is probably why four of the mushrooms had a thin layer of slime and one of the mushrooms had mold on it. There was also a slight odour."