Freezing champignons at home

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Champignons are considered one of the most popular edible mushrooms in the world. They are used in culinary recipes from different countries and are great for artificial cultivation. In winter, it is easier to use frozen mushrooms: they do not lose their useful properties and are easy to prepare.

Freezing champignons at home

Beneficial features

These mushrooms are a generally recognized delicacy for their pleasant taste and delicate aroma that persists during any culinary treatment. Even if you freeze fresh chopped champignons, it will not impair their taste. They are a storehouse of protein, vitamins and trace elements: zinc, potassium, iron, phosphorus, and also contain 18 types of amino acids. By the way. Many of the amino acids that make up mushrooms are considered essential - they are not synthesized in the human body, but come exclusively with food.

They consist of 90% water, the calorie content per 100 g does not exceed 27 kcal, for which this product is valued in vegetarian cuisine and dietary food, especially with a salt-free diet.

Beneficial features:

• lower cholesterol and blood glucose levels;
• improve memory and mental abilities of a person;
• strengthen immunity and increase resistance to disease;
• reduce weight and improve metabolism;
• treat migraines and headache attacks;
• oil extract heals wounds well, treats psoriasis and other skin defects.

Irina Selyutina (Biologist):

The presence of a large amount of vegetable protein in the pulp of the mushroom allows the feeling of satiety to compare champignons with meat. This is possible due to the fact that the percentage of protein in mushrooms is much higher than that in meat and chicken eggs. Promoting quick satiety, mushrooms prevent weight gain. This property allows them to be used in different types of diets. Because Since mushrooms have the ability to lower blood cholesterol levels, champignons will be indispensable in the diet of people suffering from atherosclerosis (the presence of atherosclerotic plaques in the blood vessels), as well as those who are at risk for the development of cardiovascular diseases, including heart attack.

You can also freeze fresh mushrooms at home. Freezing mushrooms is one of the most popular ways to prolong their freshness and use them throughout the winter.

How to choose mushrooms for freezing

Freezing mushrooms at home begins with their purchase. You should choose fresh specimens, small champignons are tastier and more convenient to process. Large mushrooms are chosen if they plan to stuff their caps with filling.

When choosing, be guided by the following signs of freshness:

• fresh mushrooms are white, sometimes with a pinkish tinge, while overripe mushrooms are brownish and after cooking they will be tough;
• dark spots or dents on the caps are a sign of deterioration and improper storage;
• the film between the leg and the cap in small ones is intact, without damage, in medium ones it may have small tears, and in large ones it may be absent;
• the aroma is rich, pleasant, intensifies when cut, without the smell of dampness;
• fresh surface is matte, smooth, elastic; in stale ones, it is sticky, resembles a sponge in consistency.

It is necessary to approach the choice of this product for preparation responsibly, so as not to spoil the prepared dish later.

Storage at temperatures from 2 ° C to 4 ° C allows them to preserve their freshness for up to 5 days, while storage at room temperature will significantly reduce this period - up to 6 hours.

Freezing methods

Chop the mushrooms before freezing

It is possible to freeze champignons correctly by observing all the stages of their preparation for this process:

• Wash them under running water at room temperature, then drain and dry thoroughly.
• The next stage of preparation for freezing mushrooms for the winter is their inspection and removal of dirty and damaged places, the remnants of the root system.
• It is better to separate the cap from the leg - this will make it easier to pack and avoid breaking. After that, it is decided whether this product will be subjected to heat treatment and in what form the mushrooms will be frozen: whole or cut.

Before freezing champignon mushrooms at home, it is important to prepare a storage room. Attention! There should be no meat or fish next to vegetables in the freezer section of the refrigerator.

Champignons can be frozen:

1. Boiled: they are boiled for 10 - 15 minutes in salted water, then cooled, laid out in a container and sent to the refrigerator directly into the freezer.
2. Fried: for this, the prepared mushrooms are fried over low heat with the addition of vegetable oil until the moisture evaporates, cooled, packaged and stored in the refrigerator at a low temperature. As a result, after defrosting, such semi-finished products do not require additional heat treatment and reduce the cooking time.
3. Dried.
4. Fresh:

• whole: for this they are laid out in containers or small plastic bags and tightly closed. Then you can freeze the mushrooms in the freezer using the quick freeze mode. In the future, during use, they should not be thawed so as not to darken.
• chopped: the advantage of this option will be their compactness and time savings during subsequent preparation for use. To do this, they are cut into plates, laid out on a flat surface and sent to the freezer, after which the frozen chopped champignons are poured into bags and put back in the freezer. In this form, it is convenient to cook soup from them, add when cooking potatoes or meat.

Advice. Freeze champignons (and any other mushrooms too) in portions. In this case, you do not have to worry about what to do with the unnecessary part of the thawed food.

Defrosting rules

Champignons, frozen in the freezer or fresh, are popular among culinary experts. To prevent frozen mushrooms from losing their taste, it is important not to exceed the shelf life and defrost them correctly. In the freezer in their raw form, they are stored at a temperature of -18 ° С for no more than 8 months, at -20 ° С - up to one year. The shelf life of fried or boiled is much shorter - no more than 3 months.

Frozen mushrooms should be defrosting gradually naturally on the lower shelf of the refrigerator (it is better to place them there in the evening) or using the appropriate microwave setting, in small portions so as not to freeze again. From this they become hard and lose their taste. And when preparing some dishes (soups, casseroles and other hot snacks), you should not defrost them to avoid moisture loss.

Conclusion

Freezing mushrooms at home is quite simple. The process allows you to preserve their taste and useful properties to the maximum.

Like any other mushrooms, they should be used with caution by people who have problems with the digestive system, suffering from pancreatitis, ulcers, and liver dysfunction. Mushroom dishes cannot be introduced into the diet of children under 5 years of age.