Methods for preparing dried mushrooms
It is important for honey mushroom lovers to preserve the mushroom harvest for the winter. The way out is to dry them. Dried mushrooms perfectly retain their nutritional value and taste. There are several ways to dry mushrooms at home.
Methods for preparing dried mushrooms
Preparation for drying
Regardless of the chosen technology for drying mushrooms for the winter at home, you should first prepare them correctly. In preparation:
- they are selected according to the degree of maturity, choosing small and strong ones, since the amount of nutrients in young mushrooms is greater than in overgrown ones;
- discard, separating rotten and worm-affected specimens;
- cut off, because usually only mushroom caps are used for drying, removing the legs, stepping back 2 cm from the cap, the smallest are dried entirely.
During the drying process, mushrooms lose about 90% of their weight. From 10 kg of raw mushrooms, the yield of dried is about 1.5 kg.
In order to avoid the accumulation of excess moisture, the specimens selected for drying are not soaked; the contamination is carefully removed with a damp cloth. It is not required to pre-soak the mushrooms.
Drying on a thread
To dry mushrooms on a thread, you need to pick up a twine or a strong thread, which is also suitable for a fishing line. The process includes simple manipulations:
- prepared mushrooms are strung on a thread cut to the desired length, leaving a distance of 0.5-1 cm between them to ensure sufficient air circulation and uniform drying;
- threads with strung mushrooms are pulled in a place with sufficient sunlight and good ventilation: on the balcony loggia, behind the window, above the kitchen stove;
- to avoid the ingress of dust and insects, cover the top with a dry gauze cloth.
Mushrooms are harvested for subsequent storage after 7 days. Drying honey mushrooms on a string is permissible only in established warm and sunny weather.
Drying in the oven
Drying honey mushrooms at home is also permissible in the oven, spreading it out on a wire rack or baking sheet. The disadvantage of this method of harvesting dried mushrooms for the winter is the need for periodic stirring of the mushrooms so that they do not burn and thus ensure uniform drying. With this method:
- the mushrooms are laid out in an even layer and put in the oven for 2-3 hours at a temperature of + 40 ... + 50 ° С, at a lower temperature, the mushrooms will cook, at a higher temperature, they will be baked;
- when the sticky layer on the mushroom caps dries, the temperature in the oven is raised to + 75 ° C, in ovens with a convection function, this mode is turned on to ensure constant circulation of the air flow, in the absence of such a function, air circulation is provided by opening the oven door slightly;
- turn the mushrooms periodically so that they do not fry.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
The temperature is not raised above + 75 ... + 80 ℃, because the taste data of mushrooms may suffer from this. In addition, the exact drying time cannot be named. It depends on the size of the mushrooms and the amount of moisture in them.To determine whether mushrooms are ready for storage or not, simply check by touch and remove the already dried ones from the baking sheet. Send the rest back to the oven to dry.
Depending on the thickness of the layer and the amount of mushrooms, the drying time in the oven varies from 7 to 12 hours. Readiness is determined by light brittleness without crumbling.
Microwave drying
Drying mushrooms is easy
The microwave drying method is used when you need to dry a small amount of mushrooms:
- the mushrooms are laid out on a flat plate and placed in the microwave, setting the power to 100-180 W and setting the timer for 20 minutes,
- after the time has elapsed, the resulting liquid is drained, the microwave oven is ventilated to remove the moisture that has appeared,
- the number of approaches is repeated until each portion of the mushrooms is completely dry.
By the way. When preparing for drying mushrooms in the microwave, in addition to sorting by size, be sure to dry them slightly, or at least wither in the sun or under a powerful lamp.
Mushrooms, ready for storage, become flexible, without the characteristic traces of moisture on the mushroom cap.
Drying in an electric dryer
An electric dryer is the best device for drying mushrooms for the winter at home. Modern technology is equipped with tiers with grates that provide optimal conditions for high-quality drying, maintain the required thermal regime and air circulation.
The optimum temperature at which small mushrooms can be dried in an electric dryer is + 55 ° С.
Drying time - 2 hours.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
In addition to the above methods, drying of mushrooms (including honey agarics) in an airfryer is gaining increasing popularity among housewives. True, this option is suitable for a small amount of mushrooms. Prepared mushrooms
- laid out on lattices and the drying mode is selected. At the same time, it is important not to forget what you need:
- as with drying in the oven, it is imperative to leave a gap between the lid and the capacity of the airfryer;
- remove the grates with mushrooms several times for cooling, and then put them back into the working container.
If you dried low mushrooms not only in the air, but also in an oven or electric dryer, you can send them for storage without removing them from the strings.
From dried mushroom fragments, you can make mushroom powder, which is perfect for soups, sauces, or stews.
Additional drying
The need for additional drying often arises during storage. In order for the mushrooms to remain usable throughout the winter, they are dried and stored away from ethers, vegetables and fruits, since mushrooms have hygroscopic properties and accumulate moisture and foreign odors.
During storage, the product is inspected, spoiled specimens are selected. The surviving ones are sent to an oven heated to + 60 ° C for 30 minutes.
The shelf life of dry mushrooms is 1 year.
So that you do not need to dry mushrooms again, suitable storage containers are tight-fitting containers made of glass, ceramics and tin. In rare cases, paper or cloth bags are used, since such containers are often a medium for the appearance of food moths and bugs.
Conclusion
There are several ways to dry honey mushrooms at home for the winter. This can be done on a string, in an oven, microwave oven or electric dryer, after sorting out the mushrooms and selecting strong specimens for this purpose.
Dried mushrooms must be properly stored so that they are suitable for cooking and do not require repeated heat treatment. To do this, they are folded into tight-fitting glass, ceramic or tin containers.
