How to dry mushrooms

How to dry mushrooms

Mushrooms are not only very tasty, but also a very useful product. However, only under the condition that after harvesting, most of the microelements that are so necessary for the organism of any person are preserved in them. Approximately 70% of all methods of conservation deprive mushrooms of useful substances, while drying only evaporates moisture.

Drying mushrooms is quite simple, although this simple procedure has its own secrets. In order for the gifts of the forest to retain their flavor, excellent taste and a rich set of vitamins, several important rules should be followed when drying them.

Which mushrooms can be dried

First you need to find out which mushrooms can be dried and which ones can not. Practice shows that if thus russula is harvested, milk mushrooms or chanterelles, that is, mushrooms with plate-shaped caps, they will have a bitter taste. Therefore, dried, as a rule, tubular species of mushrooms, which do not have such a specific feature.

To begin with, the entire collected “harvest” of these forest delicacies should be carefully cleaned from the remnants of pine needles, leaves and earth with a knife. Peel from the caps of mushrooms that are intended for drying should not be removed. In addition, they are not recommended to be washed, because of the tubular cap, these mushrooms absorb moisture very easily. As a result, they will have to dry much longer. When mushrooms are prepared and processed, they should be sorted by size. This is done to ensure that each batch is dried evenly and equally. Otherwise it may happen that small mushrooms can already be packed for the winter, and large ones will have to be kept in the oven or over the gas, waiting for the remaining moisture to evaporate from them. Sorted mushrooms must be cut in two. If we are talking about aspen, boletus, boletus and oil fishes, then in this case it is necessary to carefully separate the leg from the cap at the base with a plastic knife. White mushrooms, called boletus mushrooms, are cut along with the stem and cap across. This is done not only to speed up the drying process, but also to get rid of worms. It is no secret that even a very strong-looking mushroom inside can turn out to be rotten, and in this case it is best to give up its preparation for the winter. But most often, the presence of parasites inside the forest beauty can only be guessed, and if the mushrooms are cut, then during drying the worms will surely crawl out. As for the plastic knife, then working with it, of course, is not very convenient. However, in contact with the metal, the roots and caps of the mushrooms instantly oxidize. As a result, this has a very negative effect on the taste of the product.

Choosing a method of drying mushrooms

When the mushrooms are prepared, it remains to determine the easiest and most convenient way to dry them. If the weather allows, and you are not in a normal apartment, but in the country, it is best to dry the mushrooms outdoors. To do this, you need to arm yourself with a needle with a big ear and a strong rope or line, on which you should string the mushrooms so that they do not touch each other. Then the garlands prepared in this way should be hung out on the street, choosing the most sunny place. On top of the mushrooms must be covered with gauze or thin cotton cloth to protect from dust and insects. Dried mushrooms in the open air for about a week, after which they must be carefully removed from the rope or fishing line, and then folded in a glass jar and tightly sealed.

Dry the mushrooms in the oven

In an ordinary apartment for drying mushrooms the oven is ideal, which needs to be heated to about 45 degrees. Then, on a metal grid (a baking sheet for this purpose will not work), you must put prepared mushrooms in one row and send them to dry. At the same time, the oven door must be left open so that the moisture from the mushrooms can evaporate easily enough. About an hour later, when the mushrooms are slightly dried up and stop sticking to the grid, you can increase the temperature in the oven at 70-80 degrees. In this mode, the mushrooms should be dried for at least 4-5 hours, turning over periodically. However, it should be borne in mind that caps, as a rule, dry up much faster than the legs, and they will have to be removed from the oven earlier by about 1-1, 5 hours.

Dry mushrooms on gas

If desired, mushrooms can be dried and on gas, for which they need to be strung on a rope and hung over the stove almost under the ceiling. This method is good only if in the next few days you are not going to cook anything, otherwise the mushrooms will easily absorb the steam and flavor of the food. Above the stove, if it is turned on 24 hours a day, the mushrooms completely dry in 2-3 days. If you dry them intermittently, periodically removing from the kitchen while cooking other dishes, the whole procedure may take about a week.

In the microwave

Those who want to speed up this process should use a microwave, setting the relay at 100 degrees. Then you should put the mushrooms on a plate and send them to the oven for 20 minutes. After that, the door should be opened and within 7-10 minutes be allowed to air the microwave by removing moisture, and repeat the procedure again. As a rule, it takes about an hour to dry one batch of mushrooms in this way.

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