Emma Miller
Mushrooms are the summer and autumn gifts of nature, which can be gathered in the forest or bought in the store. They make delicious dishes and preserves, as well as this delicacy, can be dried for the winter.
How and which mushrooms can be dried – a list
There are several proven ways to dry mushrooms. Experienced housewives know that each of them has its own nuances and peculiarities, so we recommend familiarizing yourself with the proposed options, so you can choose the most suitable for you.
How to dry mushrooms on a string
To dry mushrooms in the sun, you need to thread them and hang them on the sunny side. The second option is to spread them out on paper or on a tray and put them on a window sill. A prerequisite is a good wind blowing. If you do everything correctly, then in 3-4 days the mushrooms will dry. The second name of this method is “natural drying of mushrooms.
How to dry mushrooms in a dryer
This is the easiest way, and it uses a dehydrator – a special device for drying mushrooms. You need to put mushrooms inside it and set the temperature at 40-50°C. In 10-12 hours you will get ready dried mushrooms.
How to dry mushrooms in the oven
An alternative option is to put the prepared mushrooms on a baking tray and put them in an oven heated to 70-80°C. Leave them to dry for 5-6 hours with the door ajar or by turning on the convection mode.
People who live in villages can dry mushrooms in the oven. Put the mushrooms in a cooled structure, the temperature of which is about 50-60 ° C. In 3-4 hours, the mushrooms will become soft, but that’s not all – you will have to send them into the oven again after the furnace. Then the temperature will be about 80-90°C, which will allow the mushrooms to dry.
It is worth understanding that not all mushrooms can be dried in a dehydrator. In order to get the desired result and not regret the wasted time and products, remember the list of what mushrooms can be dried in the dehydrator:
- Tubular: boletus, butter mushrooms, moss mushrooms, aspen mushrooms, goat mushrooms, oak mushrooms.
- Mucilaginous: truffle, morels.
- Trutoviki: ram’s mushroom, trutoviki.
- Plate mushrooms: chives, champignons, obscene, mushrooms, saffron milk capsules, oyster mushrooms.
- Chanterelles: gray, faceted, and velvet chanterelles.
Mushrooms such as milk mushrooms, boletus, bullheads, and russets become bitter, so do not dry them in a dehydrator. Podberozovikoviki during drying can turn black, and butter mushrooms – to crumble.
How to choose the right mushrooms
It is best to use only fresh and healthy mushrooms for drying and cooking. Some people think that wormy mushrooms are a bad option. In general, this is true – the question of using wormy mushrooms is only aesthetic because the presence of worms does not make the mushroom poisonous. Eating mushrooms with worms is not a good option, so soak your products in a saline solution for 3-4 hours to kick out the parasites. By the way, during sushi, the worms themselves leave their former place of residence, so do not worry about this.
Do I need to wash mushrooms before drying – preparation
Take mushrooms that are not damaged in any way, and carefully clean them with a knife from excess skin and dirt. It is better to cut the mushrooms into slices of no more than 10 mm in thickness. Remember that mushrooms such as butter mushrooms or mokhoviki become brittle when dried, so they need to be cut coarsely. Do not wash the mushrooms before drying if you want them to dry evenly.
How to store dried mushrooms in the apartment – options
In order to extend the shelf life of dried mushrooms, it is ideal to use a vacuum cleaner. Such a device completely removes air from the bag with mushrooms, so the product can be stored for several years.
If you do not have the opportunity to vacuum mushrooms, you can store them in bundles in the attic. The room, in this case, should not be heated, but it must be insulated to avoid drafts and temperature drops. It is also important that there is good ventilation in the attic. It is important to keep the temperature there between 11 and 15ºC.
The second option is to store dried mushrooms in wooden crates or boxes, and between the layers of mushrooms should be lined with sheets of paper. You can put such containers with mushrooms in the pantry. Some housewives, for the lack of a pantry or boxes, store dried mushrooms in glass jars or cloth bags – and these options are considered the most convenient for city dwellers.
