We bought these babies at the Saturday farmers market from the mushroom lady. She called the Black Pearls and they cost about the same as filet mignon. My wife has watched some vegan cooking videos and gave it a try. She cooked it in a cast iron using another skillet and a pot of water as a weight. It was delicious, with a little practice, I could see this as a viable meat alternative. I grilled up some burgers in case the experiment was an expensive failure. Mine was a green chile cheeseburger; my wife took hers plain and made a mushroom burger. I ate the mushrooms as a side.