Mushrooms— how many do we buy and how do we use them?

Each year we spend more on mushrooms than we do on baked beans, French golden delicious apples, Mars bars and pot noodles. Latest estimates place annual sales of mushrooms at nearly £150 million, yet we eat only half the number of mushrooms per head of population that are consumed in Europe and the States (2½ lbs a year as opposed to 5·lbs).