Why We Always Avoid Ordering The Mushroom Swiss Burger From This Iconic Chain

If you're lucky enough to live in one of the 26 states that have a Culver's, you know it's the place to go when you're craving a rich, frozen custard Concrete Mixer, fried cheese curds, or a burger with a warm, buttery bun (that bun is why the chain calls its burgers "ButterBurgers," just FYI). However, this Wisconsin-based, dairy-centric chain isn't infallible; like any restaurant, it has its misses as well as its hits. For one thing, when Chowhound compared Shake Shack's versus Culver's burgers, Shake Shack had the edge. We've now ranked every Culver's burger, and while our reviewer found something enjoyable in pretty much every offering on the (admittedly short) burger menu, Culver's mushroom and Swiss burger was the outlier in that it had too many unpalatable qualities.

For starters, we found the mushroom and Swiss burger rather devoid of flavor and the cheese a bit bitter — an unexpected discovery considering Swiss's usual sweet, nutty notes and the famous umami-rich qualities of mushrooms. Texturally, the burger didn't perform well, either, with its wax-like cheese and droopy fungi. It's the mushrooms, in particular, that our reviewer pinpointed as the main culprit behind this lowest-ranking Culver's burger. Mushrooms are a challenge to get right in a fast food kitchen — here's why.

Our reviewer noted that cooking mushrooms in bulk and ahead of time — as fast food establishments tend to do — can lead to the unpleasant consistency we observed in Culver's mushroom and Swiss burger. The main reason for this lies in the nature of batch cooking. When cooking large quantities at once, there's a very real possibility that the ingredients won't have much space in the pan, and with mushrooms, overcrowding is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.

Not overcrowding your pan is standard advice for achieving optimal texture in virtually anything you cook, from proteins to vegetables. In the case of mushrooms, especially, which are over 90% water, if they're bunched together during cooking, that liquid can't cook off. The mushrooms then end up steaming and turning mushy, which is likely what happened with the Culver's mushroom and Swiss burger.

The fix would be to leave ample room between the mushrooms in the pan by cooking fewer at a time or using a pan that can accommodate the quantity you're making. Of course, these solutions are easier to implement at home than in a time-crunched environment like a fast-food kitchen, where bulk cooking is often the name of the game. So, maybe the next time you're craving a mushroom burger, saute your own mushrooms and fire up your grill instead of risking a disappointing fast food experience. And if you're definitely headed to Culver's, go for the Culver's Deluxe or a ButterBurger cheese with the works instead — those were our favorites.