Proper cleaning of mushrooms
Mushrooms are unique organisms that have many beneficial qualities and diversify our daily menu. Before the cooking process, it is important to find out if mushrooms need cleaning, how to properly clean forest and purchased species, how to choose mushrooms.
Proper cleaning of mushrooms
Description of the species
The most common mushrooms that grow in Russia are champignons. They are found in all areas, grow throughout the season and come in many varieties:
- sh. ordinary, or pechin, or w. real, or w. meadow;
- sh. field, or w. sidewalk;
- sh. garden;
- sh. forest;
- sh. August;
- sh. royal;
- sh. curve, or w. distinctly nodular;
- sh. two-ring, etc.
Champignons have many varieties
These species differ in appearance and taste. But they also have common features:
- a dense massive hemispherical cap in a young organism, which becomes flat with age;
- the diameter of the cap is from 2 cm to 12 cm;
- pink plates change color to beige;
- the pulp is fragrant, with an aniseed note;
- the color of the pulp is white;
- the structure of the leg is dense;
- there are no cavities in the stem.
The color of the cap depends on the species. Sometimes it is white, and sometimes it is brown or brown. The surface of the cap is flaky, but always dry and pleasant to the touch.
When collecting champignons in the forest, they are sometimes confused with inedible or poisonous counterparts: red or yellow champignon, pale toadstool, or white fly agaric.
Selection of champignons
If mushrooms are collected in the forest, they must be carefully sorted out and separated from poisonous ones.
When buying in a store, choose only dense mushrooms with a light milk, white or brown cap (depending on the type chosen), intact and with a pleasant aroma. If there is a slippery coating on the surface, this is a sure sign that it is spoiled by bacteria, and you cannot eat the mushroom, no amount of cleaning will help get rid of the toxins that these bacteria release.
The choice of the type and size depends on the further use and individual taste preferences. Any kind is suitable for frying. Small fruits with brown caps are suitable for salad or pizza. They are fragrant and will look good.
When buying in a store, choose only dense mushrooms with a light milk, white or brown cap
Cleaning process
During processing, many questions arise: peel raw or frozen, forest or purchased, small or large mushrooms, is it worth peeling them at all, if then the mushrooms are fried in a pan, etc.
Before cooking, all the mushrooms must be washed well, cleaned from dirt and sand. Even cultured specimens are not always sterile.
Small mushrooms
Store-bought small raw mushrooms are the easiest to peel. Their age is 2-3 days, so they did not have time to get dirty. To peel champignons of this size, it is better to start with the cap.
Before cooking, wipe the hat with a wet cloth.Separate from the leg with a knife 2 mm from the bottom edge (refresh the cut) and wash in running water. They do this quickly so that the water does not have time to be absorbed into the pulp. The cap and leg of each fruiting body are blotted with a tea paper towel. Then they can be fried or boiled.
Large mushrooms
In the process of cleaning them, it is important to get rid of not only dirt, but also of the skin. It doesn't take a lot of time and labor to peel a wild mushroom.
The skin is removed like a stocking. If a piece of skin remains somewhere, then you need to scrape it off and clean the leg from the "skirt". Then the leg is separated from the cap, washed with running cold water and laid out on a paper towel so that all the liquid is glass. The remaining moisture is soaked and cooked according to the basic recipe.
Before cooking, all mushrooms must be washed and cleaned well.
Forest species
All forest mushroom species need mandatory cleaning and rinsing with water. You will have to clean mushrooms from the forest in any case, because they have a lot of sand, adhering leaves or small twigs.
Do not soak them in water. The structure of the mushroom is such that they absorb moisture and become watery and tasteless. When frying, this water will begin to come out, and they will turn out not to be fried, but steamed.
If the mushrooms were collected during the rain, then it is incredibly difficult to clean the mushrooms from the dirt. First, we rinse them with running water from the tap so that large debris disappears, then we put them in a saucepan and fill them with boiling water. After that, the dishes should be covered with a lid and allowed to cool completely in this state. Then we drain the water and clean it again with running water. There will be no traces of debris.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
It is customary to peel champignons if the diameter of their cap exceeds 3 cm, because the skin on it already becomes tough and rough. But in order to understand whether it is necessary to clean the mushrooms during cooking, a ruler is not needed. Simply, during washing, try to move the skin with the pad of your finger - if it has come off, then it must be removed.
The mushrooms are cleaned before cooking in the following cases:
- if the mushrooms are intended for baking: for this purpose, large specimens are taken and the skin must be removed from their caps, otherwise it will become tough and ruin the whole impression of the dish;
- if the mushrooms are planned to be used raw. For your information. In its raw form, only the freshest champignons, whose fruit bodies are no more than 5 days old, will be suitable for food.
Because mainly we buy champignons either on the market or in the supermarket, then the issue of cleaning is very relevant. Forest mushrooms are all the more in need of cleaning.
Little tricks
The film under the cap, which covers the hymenophore (plates), is best removed from individuals larger than 2.5 cm, if it is not removed, then it will be too hard in the finished dish.
After storage in the refrigerator, the fruit bodies dry out, therefore, they must be renewed before cooking.
It is better to make a purchase in stores that are already familiar and sell only fresh products.
For frying, the fruit bodies must be cut into thin slices or small pieces and put in a frying pan without oil. Only after the liquid has evaporated are oil, spices, salt and onion added. The champignons will not overcook and will be more aromatic.
For grilling, fresh champignons must be washed under running water and cleaned of dirt. The hats are not cleaned, they look good baked. They are separated from the legs so that the food is baked evenly.
Storage rules
To keep wild or store-bought mushrooms beautiful and fresh, it is imperative to store them correctly.
It is best to use a cool dry place for this. This could be a refrigerator or a cellar. Mushrooms are pre-packed in an airtight bag or a tightly closed container. Mushrooms darken from oxygen, their appearance becomes unattractive. They lose their taste and become moldy. In the refrigerator, it is better to place them on the lower shelf for storing vegetables.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
When storing champignons in a loosely tied bag, the mushrooms begin to darken, because there is no tightness. Such mushrooms can be eaten, provided that there are no traces of rot or mold on them and that they have been stored for no more than 7 days.
Without loss of valuable useful qualities, they are stored for no more than 48 hours. For long-term storage, they are sprinkled with lemon or lime juice. After storage, they are washed again and the edges of the legs are cut off by 1-2 mm.
Benefit and harm
Woodland and home-grown mothers have many beneficial ingredients, trace elements, vitamins and amino acids that help improve blood circulation, regulate blood sugar levels, improve overall well-being and stimulate immunity. In addition, mushrooms act as natural antibiotics that help fight viruses and bacteria.
They are high in fiber but low in calories. Therefore, this product is used in the dietary menu. For vegetarians, they replace animal products.
Forest mushrooms behave like sponges. They absorb all the toxins from the environment, so they can be harmful to people with stomach problems. It is a heavy product and is difficult to digest. They should not be abused by people with individual intolerance. Also, do not load the stomach with mushrooms in the evening at dinner. Better to eat them in the morning or afternoon.
Conclusion
All rules for collecting, sorting and pretreating mushrooms should be observed. To delight family and friends with delicious meals, it's best to stick to proven recipes. Little tricks will help make the dish unique and delicious.
