Borovik - as the white mushrooms are popularly known - are considered the most delicious. And their appearance is quite presentable: plump leg, fleshy cap. White mushrooms are also loved because they do not change color, remaining light, even in the dried state.
But you need to be able to dry the white fungus correctly.
Preparation of white mushrooms for drying
Mushrooms that are collected for drying can be (and preferably) started to be processed while still in the forest. After all, these mushrooms do not wash. Since they instantly absorb water, like a sponge, and they simply can not be then dried. This especially applies to tubular fungi.
Therefore, cutting the mushroom, immediately inspect it for damage and worms. Then cut the lower part of the legs and cleaned it from dirt and sand. It is not recommended to collect very large mushrooms, which can be a lot of toxic substances. And since the mushrooms do not wash, these same toxins will remain in them.
Sticks are removed from the cap, moss.
The whole mushroom is carefully wiped with a slightly damp towel.
How to dry white mushrooms in the sun
The mushroom pickers, which, when harvesting mushrooms, are in the forest without a break for several days, begin to dry on the spot.
For this, it is desirable to have a special stand. Each of the mushroom pickers comes up with its own design, but the main thing is that the coasters have holes for the spokes or ramrods, which can be arranged both horizontally and vertically.
It is better to use a ramrod made of stainless steel or wood, because from contact with iron the mushroom can darken.
If the mushrooms are large, they are dried, separating the legs from the caps. They are strung on a cleaning rod, pierced in the middle, and distributed in such a way that the mushrooms do not touch each other. Stands strung with porcini mushrooms are exposed to the sun on the windward side. In order for the mushrooms not to be planted with flies, they must be covered with gauze or cloth, which well passes both the sun's rays and the air.
Thus, the mushrooms are dried for two or three days. But then they must be dried in a stove or oven.
How to dry white mushrooms in the oven
Some houses, especially in the villages, still have stoves. And so the mushrooms can be dried in them.
Mushrooms are cut before drying. Mushrooms of medium size are cut lengthwise into two halves so that each half consists of a leg and a cap.
If boletuses are large, they are divided into a leg and a cap. The legs are cut across the circles, and the caps - plates.
You can also dry the white mushrooms in the form of mushroom noodles. Boletus cut along the entire mushroom on thin plates. This method is good because the mushrooms are dried faster and stored better.
Small white mushrooms are dried completely.
For this baking sheet covered with straw. This must be done so that the mushrooms on the bare baking sheet are not burnt or blackened. Mushrooms are put on the straw: whole boletus mushrooms are laid out with the caps down, and the cut mushrooms are laid in one layer.
Baking tray put in the oven after cooking dinner, when the oven is well heated, but there is no strong heat.
The temperature at the beginning of the drying should be no higher than 50 °. When the mushrooms become easy to bend, the temperature is raised to 70 °. When the mushrooms (according to external signs) are practically dried, the temperature is again lowered to 50 ° and the mushrooms are dried.
During drying, the valve cannot be completely closed, because fresh air must flow into the oven. Otherwise the mushrooms will begin to dry and not dry. Qualitatively dried mushrooms should be without ash, coal, not burnt.
They should not expel moisture when pressed. Such mushrooms bend slightly, but do not break or crumble.
How to dry white mushrooms in the oven
The baking sheets are covered with parchment. They spread mushrooms in a single layer. Whole mushrooms put hats down.
The baking tray is placed in the oven and dried at a temperature of 50-55 ° for several hours. It is best to carry out the drying not at once, but in two steps. That is, when the mushrooms have dried out a bit, they need to be taken out, let them cool, and then put them in the oven again, increasing the temperature to 70 °. At the end of the drying, the temperature must again be lowered slightly.
If there are no openings in the walls of the oven for air circulation, then the door is kept ajar.
How to dry white mushrooms in a drying cabinet
Drying oven set over the stove. It has no bottom, and holes are made at the top.
Mushrooms are placed in special metal sieves, which are placed one above the other in the dryer. Since the mushrooms in the sieves dry out unevenly, the sieves are interchanged occasionally, that is, the lower sieve is placed up and the top is down.
Despite this inconvenience, in the drying cabinet mushrooms dry much faster.
Mushrooms are very good to dry in an electric dryer. It takes up little space, it is convenient to use. Mushrooms are cut with plates, laid out on drip trays and dried at 60 ° C for several hours. Drying time - from two to six hours - depends on the thickness of the sliced mushrooms.
How to dry white mushrooms in a microwave
Prepared porcini mushrooms are laid out on a special plate and placed in a microwave. The power of the furnace should be in the range of 100-200 watts. Turn the oven on for 18 minutes. Then the plate is taken out, the mushrooms are allowed to cool and air in fresh air, and then placed in a microwave again. This procedure is repeated until the mushrooms are completely dried. If the mushrooms are not sufficiently dried, they must be dried in the sun, in the oven or oven.
Dry mushrooms are stored in cloth or gauze bags. Or strung dried mushrooms on a fishing line and stored suspended in a dry, well-ventilated room, away from other products, especially with a pungent smell.
During storage of dry mushrooms monitor their condition. If the mushrooms have become wet to the touch, then they need to be put back on the trays and dried in any convenient way.
How to cook mushroom powder from dried porcini mushrooms
Mushroom powder can be prepared from dried mushrooms.
For this, the mushrooms are broken into small pieces and then crushed in a coffee grinder. After that, the powder is sieved through a sieve. The remaining large pieces are ground again.
Store the mushroom powder in well-closed glass jars in a dry place.
In ideal conditions, dry white mushrooms can be stored for several years.
