With their deep umami richness and meaty texture, mushrooms are unlike any other type of produce, and because they’re so special, they need to be treated right. The little details that go into cooking mushrooms to perfection are important, and one of the steps where everything can go wrong is seasoning them.

It's normal to salt most foods before cooking, but salting porous mushrooms ahead of time makes their texture rubbery and resistant to browning, resulting in less mushroom flavor. Salting mushrooms early also causes them to release too much water, and they'll end up steaming in their own liquid rather than searing.

Instead of seasoning ahead of time, wait to salt your mushrooms until their last few minutes of cooking in a pot or pan, once they've passed the steaming stage and are already decently browned. This way, you get a perfect balance of strong, well-seasoned mushroom flavor with a tender, meaty texture.