Pickled wild mushrooms

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 1 kg mushrooms (wild mushrooms)
• 3 liters of water
• 1 tbsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 200 g sugar
• 500 ml vinegar (wine vinegar)
• 125 g salt
• 1 m.-sized onion(s)

Instructions

Working time approx. 50 minutes; Total time approx. 50 minutes

a Sorbian recipe, also suitable for cultivated mushrooms.

For a long time, I’ve been trying to come up with a simple recipe for delicious pickled mushrooms, especially wild mushrooms. This one won us all over. Wash the wild mushrooms, preferably still firm, and cut them into small pieces. Boil the mushroom pieces in salted water and drain them in a sieve. Do not overcook them. Meanwhile, prepare the pickling broth as follows: Bring the water to a boil with the vinegar, sugar, salt, quartered onion, and spices. The amount of mushrooms you’ll need is rarely predictable before pickling. Therefore, it’s advisable to boil a larger batch. For every 3/4 of the mushroom mixture per jar, pour 1/4 of the still-hot broth into the prepared preserving jars. The mushrooms should be covered by the broth. Fill the jars only 3/4 full, then seal the jars. Depending on the size, boil for 30-60 minutes at 98°C. Instead of the quartered onion, I like to use small leeks or pearl onions. If you like a touch of paprika, you can add small, diced raw bell peppers to the broth. It also looks a bit more colorful. The cooked mushrooms absorb the spices better and are therefore much more digestible.