Mushrooms For The Winter: Dry, Salt, Freeze

Autumn is the season for mushrooms. So, we will collect, fry with onions, cook in soups, salt and dry for the winter.

Autumn is the season for mushrooms. So, we will collect, fry with onions, cook in soups, salt and dry for the winter. How to properly process, dry or freeze mushrooms, whether mushrooms should be boiled before frying, how mushrooms are salted ... Answers to these and other questions in our article.

 

Fresh mushroom processing

Before cooking, the mushrooms are cleaned with a knife and a dry cloth. They remove the skin from oil and russula, because it is bitter in ready-made mushrooms. Mushrooms are quickly washed in a colander under running water, if required. In no case do not soak them in water - the mushrooms will absorb water and lose their taste. When rinsed, leave in a colander, let the water drain, or put on towels.

Many people ask if mushrooms should be boiled before being fried or otherwise cooked. It is not necessary to cook the following mushrooms before subsequent cooking with heat treatment: mushrooms, chanterelles, champignons, mushrooms, variegated umbrella mushrooms, ringed caps, honey mushrooms.

Cook the rest of the mushrooms. Mushrooms are cooked if they sink to the bottom and stop foaming. It is recommended to boil the mushrooms for 10 minutes, then drain the water, pour in a new one and cook for another 10-20 minutes.

Be sure to boil in a large amount of water for 20 minutes bitter and conditionally edible mushrooms - lines, milk mushrooms, etc. Drain the broth from such mushrooms, and wash the boiled mushrooms again.

Cooked dishes from fresh mushrooms should be eaten within 48 hours and stored in the refrigerator.

How to freeze mushrooms?

Put the whole, cleaned of debris and earth, washed and dried fresh mushrooms in one layer on a tray and put in the freezer for 10-12 hours. Then arrange in special containers or packages. Store in the freezer all winter. If there is not enough space in the freezer, cut the mushrooms into slices.

We freeze boiled mushrooms like this. Boil the mushrooms cut into pieces, put in a colander, cool. Fold in containers and send to the freezer.

If you want to freeze fried or oven-roasted mushrooms, do so. Fry the washed and sliced ​​​​mushrooms in a pan or bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Cool and arrange in small portions in bags or containers, put in the freezer.

After defrosting, mushrooms should be used immediately, so place frozen mushrooms in small bags or containers. So the portion will be small and you will immediately use the mushrooms. Mushrooms cannot be re-frozen.

How to dry mushrooms?

 

Drying mushrooms requires high temperature and free air circulation.

Clean the mushrooms with a cloth, rinse under running water only if it is really necessary. Dry them in a colander or on a towel. Chop large mushrooms so they dry out faster.

Mushrooms can be strung on a thick thread and hung in a warm, ventilated place. This drying process takes time.

In the oven. Lay the prepared sliced ​​mushrooms in a single layer on a baking sheet. Put the baking sheet in the oven and turn on the temperature at 60-70 degrees. Dry with the door ajar.

Dried mushrooms should be brittle and break easily, they should not be wet. If they do not crumble, they look like an eraser, dry further

Mushrooms are dried in a dehydrator for 6-8 hours. It is convenient to leave them overnight.

Store dried mushrooms away from sun and moisture in a well-ventilated area in cardboard boxes or linen bags.

How to cook dried mushrooms?

Put the right amount of dried mushrooms in a bowl and cover with hot (but not boiling) water. After 20 minutes, the mushrooms are ready to use. Select the mushrooms and save the "broth". This flavorful liquid can be frozen into cubes and used to flavor a sauce or soup. Use soaked mushrooms in the preparation of pasta, stews, sauces, soups. To enhance the flavor of the mushrooms, saute them quickly with onions, then add other ingredients or stock and continue cooking.

Dried mushrooms can also be ground into a powder and added to vegetable and meat dishes.

How to pickle mushrooms?

Here is a simple mushroom marinade recipe.

You will need (yield - about a liter of marinade):

mushrooms; glass of water; 30 ml of vinegar 9 percent; 3 peas of black pepper and a clove bud; 1.5 st. l. salt and sugar.

Boil the peeled mushrooms by pouring a glass of water until tender (they should sink to the bottom and stop foaming, about 20 minutes). Put the mushrooms in sterilized jars, and add salt, sugar, pepper and cloves to the broth. Bring to a boil and remove from stove. Then pour in the vinegar, mix and pour the mushrooms in jars. Screw on the lids. Keep cold.

 

How to salt mushrooms?

All mushrooms are salted, with a few exceptions. Porcini mushrooms do not salt out due to their dense structure, therefore, like mushrooms, they are marinated with vinegar and rolled into jars. But butternuts require daily soaking in cold water, while 3 times you need to change the water, adding salt each time.

Most suitable for salting are edible agaric mushrooms (saffron mushrooms, milk mushrooms, russula, volnushki, champignons) - they are washed, then salted. It is not necessary to cut such mushrooms, otherwise they will fall apart.

You can salt the mushrooms and "raw", but you must be sure that the mushrooms are edible. It's always better to boil for every fireman.

Boil the sorted and washed mushrooms for 10-15 minutes (add a glass of water per 1 kg of mushrooms), drain the water, and rinse the mushrooms again with cold water. Cool mushrooms at room temperature. Boil the brine in a separate saucepan: per liter of water, based on 1-1.5 kg of mushrooms, add 50-70 g of salt, bring to a boil, put a few peppercorns, 3-4 cloves, bay leaf. Put the mushrooms in a jar, put currant leaves, dill, garlic on top, pour hot or cold brine to the top, close the jar with a plastic lid. You can put the mushrooms in a pan or tub, cover with a plate and press down with oppression. Leave the jar until the next morning at room temperature or on the balcony, then store in the cellar or refrigerator. Try mushrooms not earlier than in a month, ideally - after 45 days.

Pickled mushrooms should be eaten during the winter, do not store them for more than a year!

Salted chanterelles

 

This method is suitable for salting any mushrooms. And the marinade recipe is universal. If you wish, use it to cold pickle mushrooms. To do this, you need to pour the washed mushrooms with cold marinade and put them under oppression in the cellar for a month.

Ingredients for salting chanterelles in a hot way:

1.5 kg of chanterelles; 2 tbsp. l. salt; 4 cloves of garlic; 5 bay leaves; 6 cloves; 8 peas of black and allspice; 1 liter of water.

Rinse the chanterelles, cut large mushrooms into several pieces. Pour water into the pan, add all the spices, salt, peeled garlic. Bring to a boil, then add mushrooms. Cook the chanterelles for 20 minutes over medium-low heat, skimming off the foam. Then spread the chanterelles in sterilized jars, pour hot brine and tighten the lids. Or you can leave the chanterelles in the pan, pressing with oppression, and put in the cellar.

Vegetable caviar with mushrooms for the winter

 

Hearty appetizer of tomatoes, bell peppers, onions and mushrooms. Vegetables and mushrooms can be chopped coarsely or chopped into caviar, choose your own way. All vegetables are fried and stewed, then rolled into jars and sterilized.

Ingredients:

500 g of mushrooms (champignons or oyster mushrooms); 500 g of tomatoes; 3 bell peppers; bulb; 1 st. l. salt; 2 tbsp. l. vegetable oil.

Remove the skin from the tomatoes, to do this, dip them in boiling water for 20 seconds. Peel vegetables and mushrooms and cut into equal cubes. In a frying pan in oil, fry the onion with mushrooms for 10 minutes over medium heat, then add the bell pepper, after 5-6 minutes - the tomatoes and salt. Cover and simmer over low heat until the vegetables are soft and the mass thickens. Pour into sterilized jars, cover with lids and sterilize for 10 minutes. Once completely cooled at room temperature, store in a cool place.

Quick pickled champignons

 

This appetizer is good because it can be prepared all year round. And we will pickle champignons with allspice and cloves.

You will need:

500 g of small champignons; 1 st. l. salt; 1.5 st. l. Sahara; 40 ml vinegar 9 percent; 1-2 bay leaves; 3 black peppercorns; 2 peas of allspice; 2 cloves; 500 ml of water.

Wash the mushrooms, dry with a paper towel. Pour water into a large saucepan, add salt, sugar, spices. Bring to a boil. Send the mushrooms to the pan, cook for 5 minutes, then pour in the vinegar and cook for another 7 minutes. Arrange the mushrooms in jars, pour the marinade, cool and refrigerate. In a day, the snack will be ready!

Chanterelles in oil for the winter

 

Chanterelles in oil in winter can be served as an appetizer with fresh, thinly sliced ​​onion, used for stuffing pies, served with potatoes or on bread.

Ingredients:

500 g chanterelles; carrot; bulb; a teaspoon of salt and sugar; 30 ml of vinegar 9 percent; 50 ml of vegetable oil; Bay leaf; 3 black peppercorns.

Fry the washed chanterelles in a pan, adding a couple of tablespoons of oil. Cut the peeled onion into cubes, grate the carrots. Fry vegetables in oil separately from mushrooms until soft, add pepper, salt, sugar, bay leaf, vinegar, mix. Mix vegetables with chanterelles and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes. Arrange the finished snack in sterilized jars, tighten the lids, cool and store in the cold.

Appetizer with mushrooms on bread

 

For an appetizer, you will need black bread, cottage cheese or melted cheese, pickled mushrooms and a couple of green onion feathers.

Bread, if desired, can be cut with cookie cutters. Lubricate the slices of bread with cheese, put a few salted or pickled mushrooms on top and sprinkle with chopped green onions or other herbs.