The simplest, most convenient and affordable type of mushroom processing is drying. The mass of mushrooms is reduced by 10 times, while new taste and aromatic properties appear, and mushrooms in this form can be stored for years. Dried mushrooms are very easy to store: tied in a cloth bag, put in a dark place - that’s all storage. And in terms of nutritional value, protein content and digestibility, dried mushrooms are superior to all others. So, how to properly dry mushrooms in order to enjoy your favorite delicacy for a long time? We'll tell you further.
Most often, tubular mushrooms are dried, since marsupials and most lamellar mushrooms contain bitterness, which does not disappear during the drying process. At home, you can dry porcini mushrooms, boletus, boletus, boletus, boletus, goat mushroom, oak mushroom, Polish mushroom, morels, morel cap, stitches, truffles, puffballs, chanterelles, honey mushrooms, champignons, etc. When dried, the taste of morels and strings, porcini mushrooms, and boletus significantly improves.
For drying, choose only fresh, healthy and strong mushrooms, without wormholes. There is a lot of debate about whether or not to wash mushrooms before drying. does not recommend doing this, because wet mushrooms, firstly, take longer to dry, and secondly, they can darken and become simply ugly. Before drying, simply wipe the mushrooms with a brush or cloth, removing pine needles, leaves, moss, sand, and soil. To speed up drying, it is better to cut large caps into slices, cutting off the stem at a distance of 2-3 cm from the cap. The stems of porcini, aspen and boletus mushrooms are cut into columns 3-4 cm long or wheels up to 2 cm thick. For butter mushrooms, moss mushrooms, honey mushrooms and chanterelles, mostly only the caps are used for drying, and morels and strings are dried entirely.
How to dry mushrooms? We offer several ways.
At home, mushrooms can be dried in the open air or in the sun, in a Russian oven, in an oven, on a gas or electric stove, or in special dryers. It is important that drying begins gradually, the mushrooms dry out and do not cook. At the same time, they must be dried quickly at a relatively high temperature and constant air circulation, since slow drying may spoil the mushrooms.
Sun drying is the most ideal way to dry mushrooms.
This drying method is called air drying. It is clear that mushrooms can be dried outdoors only on sunny days, in hot and dry times. In order for the mushrooms to dry well in the sun, they must be strung on fishing line, thread or metal rods so that the pieces do not touch each other, and expose them to the sun, covering them with gauze from dust and flies. It is better if the mushrooms are dried somewhere under a canopy, this will allow them to be protected from dust and rain. Mushrooms can only be dried in the sun, and drying can be completed in the oven; this is especially useful if the weather begins to deteriorate.
Drying in the sun usually takes 5-7 days. Those mushrooms that you cut into thinner slices will dry faster: in 2-3 days. You should not overdry them, otherwise they will darken and lose their flavor.
Natural air drying.
Mushrooms can also be dried outdoors under a canopy. To do this, they should be spread out in a thin layer on straw lined on the floor, on baking sheets, grates, frames - in general, on any available substrate. In this matter, the main thing is not to dry it out, so you should periodically turn the mushrooms over, remove the already dried ones and bring the rest to the desired condition.
You should not overdry mushrooms, as they become tasteless and lose their flavor; they do not soften or boil when cooked. At the same time, under-dried mushrooms are poorly stored, begin to mold at the slightest dampness and quickly deteriorate. Well-dried mushrooms (humidity 12 - 14%) feel dry and light to the touch, break relatively easily, but do not crumble, bend slightly. They resemble fresh mushrooms in taste and aroma.
Oven drying
When drying in the oven, mushrooms are laid out in a thin layer on specially made racks installed in place of regular baking sheets. Drying should begin with an oven temperature of 45°C. Only in this case they will not darken. Then the temperature can be increased, but it should be within 60-70 degrees, and so that the air in the oven constantly circulates, the door should be kept ajar. As the mushrooms dry, the sieves are swapped from top to bottom.
Electric dryer
Modern technology greatly simplifies the life of housewives, and it is also an excellent assistant in drying mushrooms. This device saves a lot of time and does not require constant monitoring and presence. Mushrooms should be laid out in one layer. Fortunately, many dryers have from 3 to 8 tiers, so you can dry a lot of mushrooms in one “sitting”. We recommend choosing a drying temperature of about 55 degrees, and drying time will take from 2 to 6 hours. The drying time is affected by the thickness of the mushrooms. The thinner the mushroom is cut, the faster it will dry. As soon as the mushroom plates begin to spring back slightly when bent and look dry, the device can be turned off.
Microwave drying
Not quite a conventional drying method, but no less effective. To dry this way, cut the mushrooms to a thickness of approx. 5 mm, place on a wire rack or plate and place in the microwave. Set the machine to approx. 150 W for 20 minutes.
After the time is up, open the microwave door and steam will come out. Leave to ventilate for 10 minutes, and then repeat the procedure 3 times. After such manipulations, the mushrooms will either dry completely or be ready for further drying, at least you will have a couple of days less time to dry them in the oven. The downside is that in this way you can dry a small amount of mushrooms, but you will spend a lot of time.
Dried mushrooms should be stored in tightly closed glass jars or in moisture-proof bags in a dry, dark and cool place. Under these conditions, mushrooms can be preserved for years. If mushrooms become damp and moldy during storage, they need to be sorted and dried, and spoiled ones should be removed.
For another drying method, watch the video:
Fender
07.10.2016 18:54
Drying mushrooms is very simple. I place a floor clothes dryer near the kitchen window, which is slightly open (for ventilation). I cover it with a mosquito net (sold in household goods stores), stretch it and secure it with clothespins around the perimeter. I scatter the chopped mushrooms in one layer. Everything is ready in two days. You can periodically light the gas if the humidity is high or blow it with a fan (air circulation is very important). I store it in glass jars under a nylon cover. In winter I check for humidity.
Luda
22.09.2016 18:58
I recommend an electric dryer for vegetables and mushrooms. Wonderful thing!
Yuri
26.08.2016 08:55
To the point. The best option in terms of time and temperature: 4 hours at 45-50 degrees. then a break for 4 hours and dry at 75-80 degrees for 4 to 6 hours. I dry it myself in a bathhouse at the dacha in a steam room on a triangular frame and place thin stainless steel ponds. Very comfortable, nothing slips or sags.
The mushrooms are coming - the season is in full swing! And again the question arises - how to preserve this valuable product for the winter? The best way is to dry! But how to do this correctly and effectively?
Drying is the simplest and most proven method of preserving mushrooms. After drying, the water content in mushrooms decreases from 90 to 10-14 percent. Thus, from 10 kilograms of fresh mushrooms, only 1-1.4 kilograms of dried mushrooms are obtained. Dried mushrooms are easy to store if dried correctly.
Dried mushrooms are used for various purposes: they are used both in the preparation of many dishes and as a seasoning.
The most suitable mushrooms for drying are porcini mushrooms, aspen mushrooms, boletus mushrooms, boletus mushrooms, fly mushrooms, goat mushrooms, chanterelle mushrooms, liver mushrooms, saffron milk caps, and edible morels.
Selected mushrooms are wiped with a dry cloth before drying. They should not be washed, as washed mushrooms do not dry well. Then they are cut into oblong plates 0.5-1 centimeter thick; If possible, mushrooms are cut so that the stems remain connected to the caps. The caps of small, healthy mushrooms can be dried whole or cut into pieces.
Mushroom cutting diagram for drying
Mushrooms are dried in the same dryers that are used for drying fruits and berries. The slices of cut mushrooms are placed on a sieve so that they do not come into contact with each other. First, the mushrooms are dried at a temperature of 45°C. At a higher initial temperature, protein substances are released on the surface of the mushrooms and then dry out, which worsens the further course of drying and gives the mushrooms a dark color. In this case, the mushrooms become so soft that they cannot be used as food.
Only after the mushrooms have dried from the surface and stopped sticking, the temperature in the dryer is raised to 75°C.
The duration of drying and drying of mushrooms cannot be determined precisely. If the mushroom caps and plates are the same size, they dry out in the same time. Dry mushrooms are removed from the sieve, and the rest are dried, turning them over from time to time. Properly dried mushrooms should be fragile, brittle and light in color.
You can dry mushrooms over a gas, wood-burning, electric stove, potbelly stove, kerosene gas or kerosene stove by making a simple device proposed by engineer Lukyanov. To make it, round five-liter herring jars are used. Only the lid is cut off from one jar and the bottom is left. In other jars, the bottom is also removed, leaving only the rims. The jar with the bottom is placed on a heat source, wooden ramrods with strung mushrooms, apple slices, pears, etc. are placed on the jar in the slots (see figure), and several rims are placed on top of each other, in the slots of which and between they insert ramrods. From time to time, the rims are moved from bottom to top, and the ramrods are turned around the axis.
For smaller raw materials, the rims can be turned into sieves by filling holes in a circle and stretching thin cotton twine or coarse thread. Using a similar principle, you can build a dryer for any raw material from any available materials - tin, aluminum, roofing iron, old buckets or aluminum pans and purchased sieves.
The content of the article:
Drying mushrooms is one of the ways to prepare them for future use. But unlike salting or marinating, it preserves all the beneficial properties of the product, its deep aroma in dishes and promotes better absorption by the body. However, not all varieties are suitable for drying; some of them contain bitterness and therefore are prepared fresh or subject to pickling. Appropriate processing removes the unpleasant taste from them. Today we will talk about those mushrooms that can be dried.
What mushrooms to take for drying
Mushrooms are lamellar, marsupial and tubular. In addition to them, there are two more species - tinder fungi and chanterelles. You can dry it at home:
- Tubular mushrooms. Boletus, boletus, boletus of all kinds, boletus, oak boletus, Polish mushroom, moss mushroom and porcini mushroom. All of them have a spongy layer under their caps, consisting of tiny tubes.
- Lamellar. Champignons, variegated umbrella mushroom, autumn, winter and summer honey mushrooms, deer mushrooms, fleecy scales and honey mushrooms. Under the cap of these mushrooms, thin plates are densely located in the radial direction. It is not recommended to dry milk mushrooms, milk mushrooms and russula; their milky juice contains a lot of bitterness.
- Marsupials. These are morels and white truffles. They have a shapeless, wrinkled body and spores located in special bags. White truffle is an expensive delicacy and quite a rarity, so its preparation by an ordinary summer resident is hardly possible. Morels are classified as conditionally edible mushrooms and require drying in the open air for at least two months. During this time, toxins from the product disappear and it becomes safe for consumption.
- Polypores. These are branched and variegated tinder fungi, as well as ram mushrooms.
- Chanterelles. This mushroom belongs to a separate family. At first glance, chanterelles look like lamellar mushrooms, but instead of lamellar mushrooms they have folds of flesh. The dried product has a slight bitterness.
How to prepare mushrooms for drying
There are different opinions about whether they need to be washed before drying. But experienced mushroom pickers wash only those mushrooms that are used for cooking, pickling or pickling. It is enough to clean them of sand, soil, moss, leaves, pine needles and wipe them with a slightly damp nylon cloth.
For drying, you need to select elastic, healthy and strong mushrooms that are not damaged. The legs of boletus, chanterelles and honey mushrooms are usually cut off.
You can dry mushrooms whole or chopped. In the first case, they should be sorted by size, then they will dry evenly. In the second, the mushrooms are cut into thick slices or quarters as desired. The stems of boletus, boletus and porcini mushrooms can be cut into columns 3-4 cm long or into cylinders 2 cm thick.
For chanterelles, boletus, honey mushrooms and moss mushrooms, only the caps are usually used for drying. Morels are dried in their entirety.
Advice! Drying of chopped mushrooms should begin immediately, in this case the product will retain its quality and color.
How to dry mushrooms at home
Mushrooms can be considered dry if they appear light in weight, bend slightly and break with little force. Dry mushrooms should resemble fresh ones in taste and aroma. 10 kg of fresh mushrooms usually yield 1-1.5 kg of dried product. You can dry mushrooms in different ways, the main ones are described below.
How to properly dry mushrooms in the sun
Such drying is possible on sunny, clear days in an open, windy place, protected from dust and rain. The mushrooms can be dried completely in the air or just dried, then brought to a dry state in the oven or stove.
If the weather deteriorates and becomes cloudy, the process should be temporarily suspended, since the product may pick up moisture, which it does not need. To dry in the sun, mushrooms need to be strung on fishing line, twine or a strong strong thread so that they do not touch each other, and then hung, covered with gauze from flies and dust.
For such “beads” you can make special convenient stands from wooden blocks or boards.
Natural drying in sunny weather lasts 5-7 days. Sliced mushrooms should be dried for no more than two days. In this case, their natural color will be preserved.
How to dry mushrooms in the oven
For this purpose, instead of a baking sheet, a “standard” or specially made grill is used, which is installed in its place. Mushrooms need to be placed on it in a thin layer and drying should begin at an oven temperature of 45°C. In this case they will not darken.
When the mushrooms have dried a little, the temperature can be raised to 60–70°C; the oven door should be kept slightly open to ensure air exchange. If there are several grates, they need to be swapped periodically to ensure uniform drying of the product.
If there are no grates, and you also don’t want to make them, the drying procedure can be done on a baking sheet, after covering it with baking paper. Mushrooms should be selected according to size and arranged so that they do not touch. Otherwise, the drying process is similar to the method described above.
If the mushroom plates and caps are the same size, they take the same amount of time to dry. Ready dried mushrooms should be removed from the oven, and the rest should be brought to the desired state, turning them over from time to time.
How to dry mushrooms in a dryer
You can make your own mushroom dryer using homemade boxes, a draft or forced air flow.
The boxes are made of plywood and planks 50 mm wide. They use a mesh with a cell size of no more than 15 mm as the bottom. The bottom drawer is made a little larger than the others, since guides are attached to it, along which the upper drawers slide.
Their number usually does not exceed 10 pieces, and the entire structure is located at a level of 30-40 cm. Its upper part is equipped with a plywood roof that provides shade. The gap between the roof and the top drawer is 10 cm.
The assembled structure must be placed in a draft. To speed up the drying of mushrooms, it can be equipped with an air collector. It is made from two sheets of plywood attached to the structure at different angles. After this, the dryer can be installed with the façade facing the wind.
Mushrooms, laid in a thin layer on the mesh of all boxes, must be sorted by size. Thanks to air circulation through the structure, they are dried.
How to dry mushrooms in an electric dryer
The thoughtful design of this device allows you to save a lot of time when drying mushrooms and does not require constant monitoring and presence. The electric dryer has several tiers in the form of pallets, each of which is filled with chopped gifts of nature.
Mushroom pieces should be placed in one even layer on each tier of the dryer. After setting the temperature to 55°C and a time of two to six hours, you can do other things while the device is working.
The duration of drying mushrooms in this way depends on the thickness of their slices. Thin plates dry faster, and so do small quantities. Therefore, when installing not five or six pallets in an electric dryer, but two or three, the readiness of the product should be checked after a couple of hours, otherwise it can be overdried.
If the mushroom plates spring slightly when bent and look dry, the device can be turned off.
How to dry mushrooms in the microwave
To dry mushrooms using this method, they need to be peeled and cut into 5 mm thick plates, then laid out on a wire rack or plate and set the microwave regulator with the product to 100-180 W for 20 minutes.
When the time is up, the oven door should be opened for 5-10 minutes to ventilate. During this time, intensive evaporation of excess moisture released by the mushrooms will occur. This procedure must be repeated 3-4 more times.
The result of the work can be dried mushrooms or their semi-finished product, subject to further drying. It depends on the type of mushroom. The process of such drying is quite long and tedious, especially if the oven has a small volume.
How to dry mushrooms in a Russian oven
Before drying mushrooms, sweep under the stove to remove ash and remove any container with water or food, if any, from the fireplace. When drying, mushrooms should not come into contact with the oven floor. Therefore, if the wickerwork or gratings do not have legs, then bricks must be placed under them in the “edge” position.
Mushrooms prepared for drying should be placed on racks with their caps down or strung on knitting needles. When, after firing, the temperature in the oven drops to 70°C, the laid or strung product can be loaded into it. A higher temperature in the oven is not recommended - the mushrooms can burn, and at temperatures below 50°C they dry out slowly and can sour and spoil.
An important factor in the process of drying mushrooms in an oven is the removal of moisture that evaporates from the raw material. In order to ensure this process, the furnace damper must be placed on two bricks, between which there must be a gap for air flow.
At the beginning of drying, the chimney must be opened? valves As the mushrooms dry out, it should be gradually closed.
The product dries unevenly. Large mushroom caps dry more slowly, small mushroom caps dry faster. Therefore, dried mushrooms must be removed in time, otherwise they may lose their aroma and taste, and under-dried mushrooms begin to mold from the slightest dampness.
How to make mushroom powder
To prepare this product, you can use dried mushrooms. They should be broken into pieces and ground in a coffee grinder. During the crushing process, the films of mushroom fibers are destroyed, and the product acquires new properties: it is more easily absorbed in the body and has a better aroma and taste. Porcini mushrooms are especially good when crushed.
For preservation during grinding, fine salt is added to the mushroom powder in an amount of 5-10% of its total weight. To emphasize and improve the taste of the product, you can add various ground spices to it: cumin, allspice, dried parsley leaves, celery, etc.
Mushroom powder is added to hot food at the end of cooking no more than one minute before turning off the stove. In addition, it is used as a common seasoning for salads, main courses and soups.
To prepare flavorful omelettes, mushroom powder is added when beating eggs. The product should be stored in a tightly closed glass container placed in a dark place. Without reducing its quality, mushroom powder can be stored in such conditions for up to 1 year.
Rules for storing dried mushrooms
Dried mushrooms, especially in powder form, are highly hygroscopic. They easily pick up moisture from the air and various foreign odors. Therefore, this product should be stored in well-ventilated areas. As containers, you can use moisture-proof bags and metal or glass jars with lids.
Linen and gauze bags are also suitable for this purpose, but in this case, the mushrooms must be separated from products that have strong odors. If for any reason the mushrooms have absorbed moisture, they should be promptly sorted and dried again.
For long-term storage of the product, while the mushrooms retain their warmth and fragility after drying, they can be immediately placed in sterile and sealed glass jars. The containers are sterilized at T=90°C: liter jars - for 50 minutes, half-liter jars - 40 minutes.
You can remove air from a jar using this method: pour a little alcohol into its lid, set it on fire, and immediately close the jar. In this case, all the oxygen in the container is spent on fuel combustion, so an airless space is formed in the container. Thanks to it, the mushrooms will not become moldy even if they have some residual moisture.
How to dry mushrooms - watch the video:
Before cooking, dry mushrooms should be washed and then left in water for several hours to swell. The product is cooked in the resulting infusion. Bon appetit everyone!
In principle, drying mushrooms depends on the specific collection location, region, transportation features and the technical capabilities of the mushroom picker. Each experienced mushroom picker has his own methods of drying mushrooms, worked out over the years, and uses them. Nevertheless, for general development, you can familiarize yourself with this material; perhaps you will be able to learn something new or long-forgotten old, but useful. So, how are we going to dry mushrooms?
- : what, where and how we dry
- : “bonus” of the procurement method
Drying mushrooms: how to dry mushrooms?
Drying is one of the simplest and most accessible ways to harvest mushrooms. Dried mushrooms keep well for a long time. In terms of nutritional value and digestibility, they are superior to salted and pickled mushrooms. In terms of protein content, dried mushrooms are superior to canned ones. When dried, all the nutritional benefits of mushrooms are preserved; The aroma of some species is even enhanced by this method of preparation, as, for example, in the porcini mushroom.
Drying mushrooms in the sun
On hot days, mushrooms can be dried in the sun or just dried to finally dry them at a higher temperature on the stove or in the oven.
For this purpose, mushrooms are placed on drying trays, thick paper or a dry board. Under no circumstances should mushrooms be placed on an iron baking sheet, as the mushrooms may bake and turn black on it.
Drying is carried out in a place protected from rain and dust and well blown by the wind. It is very important that the mushrooms, pre-cut into slices, are dried or dried completely within no more than 1-2 days. In this case, they retain their natural color.
Properly dried mushrooms bend; overdried ones crumble - it is better to soak such mushrooms and use them in the form.
Drying mushrooms in the oven
When drying in the oven, mushrooms are laid out in a thin layer on specially made or ready-made racks installed in place of regular baking sheets. The temperature in the oven should be between 60-70°C, and in order for the air to constantly circulate in it, the door should be kept ajar. As the mushrooms dry, the grates are swapped from top to bottom.
In urban conditions and for modern kitchens, this method of drying mushrooms is probably the most common and simple: ovens (and grates in them) are found in every home. If there are few grates (or there are none, it happens), then you can independently make 2-3 grates according to the size of the oven in such a way that they can be installed instead of baking sheets. The gratings can be made from any large-mesh wire mesh.
You can also use baking sheets if you don’t have wire racks. Mushrooms are selected by size (large ones are cut into pieces) and laid out on baking sheets. In this case, the mushrooms should not come into contact with each other, and air circulation in the oven should be ensured (open the door slightly).
First, the mushrooms are dried at a temperature of 45°C. At a higher initial temperature, protein substances are released on the surface of the mushrooms and then dry out, which worsens the further course of drying and gives the mushrooms a dark color. In this case, the mushrooms become so soft that they cannot be used as food. Only after the surface of the mushrooms has dried and they stop sticking can the temperature be raised to 75-80°C.
The duration of drying and drying of mushrooms cannot be determined accurately. If the mushroom caps and plates are the same size, they dry at the same time. Dry mushrooms are removed, and the rest are dried, turning them over from time to time.
Drying mushrooms in the microwave
When drying mushrooms in the microwave: peeled and chopped mushrooms are placed on a plate or wire rack, the minimum power is set to 100-180 W and left for 20 minutes, then the oven is opened and ventilated for 5-10 minutes. During this time, excess moisture intensively evaporates. Then the operation is repeated 2-3 more times. As a result, you can end up with either a finished product - dried mushrooms, or a semi-finished product for further drying, it depends on the specific mushrooms.
This method of drying mushrooms is quite troublesome. Convenient only if your microwave has a large capacity. On small cars the process is very tedious and lengthy, although quite realistic.
Drying mushrooms in a Russian oven
Where else today would one find this very “Russian stove”... Well, okay, that’s not about that now.
Mushrooms prepared for drying are laid out with their caps down on racks, braids, or strung on knitting needles. Loaded devices should be placed in the oven when the temperature in it after firing drops to 60-70°C. At a higher temperature, it is not recommended to start drying, as the mushrooms can steam or fry, burn and become very black. At temperatures below 50°C they dry very slowly, turn sour and deteriorate.
Before loading the mushrooms under the stove, you need to sweep it so that there is no ash left on it. There should be no containers containing food or water in the oven at the time of drying.
If the grates or wickerwork do not have legs, then bricks should be placed under them, placed on edge, so that the mushrooms do not come into contact with the oven floor.
During drying, it is very important to ensure that the moisture that evaporates from the mushrooms is removed. To do this, the damper should be placed on 2 bricks, leaving a gap between them for air flow from below. The upper part of the damper should not tightly close the forehead of the stove so that moist air is removed all the time.
At the beginning of drying, the stove pipe is opened by 0.75 valves, as the mushrooms dry, it is gradually pushed back and closed tightly at the end of drying. Mushrooms dry unevenly, small caps dry faster, large caps dry more slowly, so the dried ones must be removed in a timely manner, otherwise they will lose their aroma and become tasteless. Under-dried mushrooms begin to mold at the slightest dampness.
Drying morel mushrooms
Morel mushrooms, which belong to the category of conditionally edible, are dried only in air
. They are strung on threads, placed loosely in gauze bags, old nylon stockings and dried in a ventilated dry room for about 5-6 months. During this time, oxygen in the air cleanses toxins and neutralizes the stitches - the mushrooms become suitable for consumption.Storing dried mushrooms, canning dried mushrooms
Dried mushrooms are very hygroscopic: they absorb moisture from the surrounding air (especially if they are prepared in the form of mushroom powder), and easily become damp and moldy. In addition, they quickly absorb foreign odors. Therefore, dried mushrooms should be stored in dry, well-ventilated areas and, best of all, in moisture-proof bags or tightly closed glass or metal jars. Dried mushrooms can also be stored in gauze or linen bags, but strictly in a well-ventilated place and separately from products with a strong odor.
If for some reason the mushrooms become wet, they should be sorted and dried.
To preserve mushrooms for a long time, it is more convenient to place the mushrooms immediately after drying (while they still retain their fragility and warmth) in hermetically sealed glass jars. Jars are sterilized at a temperature of 90°C: half-liter jars for 40 minutes, liter jars for 50 minutes.
To suck air out of cans, you can use the following method. Pour a little alcohol onto the inner surface of the lid, light it and immediately close the jar. When alcohol burns, almost all the oxygen in the jar is consumed, as a result of which the mushrooms will not become moldy, even if they were not sufficiently dried and were placed in a damp room.
Before preparing food from them, the mushrooms are washed with a brush, removing dust and dirt, and filled with water for several hours to swell, and then boiled in the same water.
More It is better to soak dried mushrooms in milk or half and half milk and water. Mushrooms that have turned black during drying should be rinsed well before adding to the soup so that they do not give the soup a black color. The decoction of morel mushrooms is poured out without tasting; in other cases, it is left to settle possible sand, filtered and used to prepare soups, sauces or gravies.
Well-dried or overdried mushrooms can be chopped and ground into a fine powder in a coffee grinder. When crushed, poorly digestible films of coarse fibers are destroyed, and mushrooms in this form better reveal their taste and aroma and are more easily absorbed by the body. Dry porcini mushroom powder is especially good.
When grinding the mushroom powder, add 5-10% by weight of fine salt for preservation. You can also add ground spices to taste: allspice, cumin, dried celery and parsley leaves, etc.
Mushroom powder is very convenient for adding to food or at the very end of cooking - no more than 0.5-1 minute before the end, or for direct addition to hot and cold food - salads, soups, main courses. It is added to omelettes when beating the egg mass. Store in a glass jar with a tight lid, protected from light. Shelf life with virtually no reduction in quality is up to 1 year.
People started drying mushrooms a long time ago. Drying is one of the best ways to prepare them. Because after simple manipulations they can not only be stored longer than fresh ones, but also acquire a very pleasant and interesting taste and aroma that will add zest to the dish. In addition, dried mushrooms are much more nutritious than salted or pickled ones. And due to the fact that they dry, lose weight and decrease in size, they are much more convenient and easier to store.
In order for the preparations to repeatedly delight you and your loved ones with their wonderful taste in various dishes and to be stored for a long time, it is very important to know how to properly dry mushrooms.
Why are dried mushrooms needed and where to use them?
It would seem, why would you need dried mushrooms that look completely unappetizing? Well, they may not look very beautiful, but when cooked they can turn the most ordinary dish into a real culinary masterpiece.
Dried preparations can be used for stews or casseroles. They are also ideal for making soups. In addition, dried mushrooms can be ground in a blender to obtain a powder from which you can make delicious sauces and gravies.
If you want to prepare a light and satisfying soup, then there is nothing better than this kind of seasoning, which will give your dish a delicate aroma and rich taste. And besides, the dried product is not as heavy as fresh mushrooms.
It is also good to use the powder for preparing those dishes in which mushrooms are not usually added, but in which a slight specific flavor would be very useful. For example, borscht and puree soups.
It is very easy to use this preparation. Simply pour warm water over the dry powder and let it sit for about thirty minutes. After this, it can be added to dishes during cooking.
What to dry?
Have you decided to dry mushrooms and don’t know where to start? Of course, from sorting everything that you have collected. Knowing which types are suitable for harvesting is no less important than knowing how to dry mushrooms. Yes, not all of them are suitable for drying, because they contain a bitterness that does not disappear, and then the dishes acquire an unpleasant aftertaste. If you want your preparation to be not only aromatic, but also tasty, you need to figure out what mushrooms are dried.
Tubular and marsupial mushrooms are ideal for this. These include white boletus, boletus, boletus, and moss mushrooms. You can also dry boletus, morels, truffles, chanterelles, honey mushrooms and many others. There is no difference between drying chanterelle and porcini mushrooms. You can choose the method that seems most suitable to you.
Pay due attention to product sorting. Mushrooms should be fairly fresh, not old, strong and healthy.
How to dry mushrooms correctly
The most important thing is to prepare the product correctly. This is the key to success. Let's look at the basic rules.
- The first thing to do is, of course, to clean the selected mushrooms from various dirt: soil, leaves and grass.
- Next you will need a dry cloth or napkin. It is necessary to wipe them very carefully and gently so that they become dry. There is no need to wash them before drying.
- All prepared mushrooms need to be cut into small thin slices half a centimeter thick.
- These slices need to be put on a fishing line or any strong thread and hung in those places where there is the most sun. The mushrooms dry for at least a week.
Remember that this procedure can only be carried out outdoors on hot, clear and sunny days, otherwise the product will not dry to the desired condition.
Other options
In addition to the above, the simplest method, there are other options for drying mushrooms. For example, this can be done in an oven, an ordinary oven that is found in every home. Or you can purchase a special electric dryer.
But the best way is considered to be when the fungi are first lightly dried in the sun, outside, and then dried in the oven. This way they turn out more tasty, and it takes much less time to prepare. However, this method cannot be called economical. Why? Let's consider.
Using the oven to dry mushrooms
The oven is a universal device. You can not only fry chicken and bake cakes in it - it is also perfect for drying a particular product. Let's figure out how to dry mushrooms in the oven.
We carry out all the steps described above, cut the mushrooms into plates, but do not string them on a thread. We will need a baking sheet covered with parchment, on which we need to carefully place the slices so that they do not touch.
Now all that remains is to put the container in the oven, heated to 45 degrees, and wait until the mushrooms begin to stick a little to the paper. After this, the temperature must be increased to 70 degrees. The most important thing is not to close the door all the way so that air can circulate.
Drying in the oven lasts two days, with breaks for cooling. As you can see, this is not a very convenient method. Firstly, the stove will have to work for a long time, gas or electricity is consumed, depending on who you are. And secondly, when the house is hot, a preheated oven heats the air even more, because the stove door cannot be closed all the way.
Drying mushrooms in an electric dryer
If preparing the product in the oven and on the street is not the method you need, then let's look at how to dry mushrooms in an electric dryer. First of all, let's figure out what kind of device this is. An electric dryer is a special household appliance designed for drying vegetables and fruits. It's also great for mushrooms. This is the most convenient and economical way.
The electric dryer is very easy to use. Prepare the mushrooms: clean them of dirt and cut them into thin slices. Place evenly at a short distance from each other on special trays. Close the device, set the required time - and that’s it, all you have to do is wait. After about six to eight hours, your mushrooms will be dry.
It’s very easy to check if it’s ready: take one slice and bend it. If it bends, but does not crumble, and has elasticity, then the product is ready, that is, dried. Just check the readiness carefully. If you do not dry the mushrooms well, they will not be stored for long, they will become moldy and quickly spoil.
Rules for storing workpieces
We have already figured out how to dry mushrooms. It turned out that it is quite simple, and then how many delicious dishes can be prepared!
But it’s not enough just to dry the product, you also need to know how to store it correctly. After all, most likely you will not use up everything you have prepared at once. Improper storage can cause mushrooms to become soggy and moldy.
In addition, you need to remember that they absorb odors very quickly, so you can only keep them in rooms with fresh, not musty air, and away from products that smell strongly. The room should be well ventilated and dry.
Porcini mushrooms and morels are best packed in boxes or boxes. Other types can be placed in bags or bags.
Also, if there is not much dry product, you can store it in clean, tightly closed jars. If everything is done correctly and all storage conditions are met, then they can remain like this for several years.
The best temperature for storing dry mushrooms is no more than seven degrees above zero. And air humidity should not exceed seventy-five percent.
