Storing and preparing mushrooms: tools needed by a mushroom picker

Traditional methods of drying mushrooms, such as drying them in the open air or in a Russian oven, are becoming less popular, as they take a long time and require special conditions that are not always available. For example, drying in the air or in a well-ventilated room (think of mushrooms strung on threads or string) can take up to three to four days. This requires certain conditions: sunny weather, no precipitation, and low humidity. It is also important to ensure that the mushrooms do not attract insects. To protect against them, you can use special mesh dryers designed for outdoor drying.

Traditional methods of drying mushrooms, such as drying them in the open air or in a Russian oven, are becoming less popular, as they take a long time and require special conditions that are not always available. For example, drying in the air or in a well-ventilated room (think of mushrooms strung on threads or string) can take up to three to four days. This requires certain conditions: sunny weather, no precipitation, and low humidity. It is also important to ensure that the mushrooms do not attract insects. To protect against them, you can use special mesh dryers designed for outdoor drying.

Drying in a dehydrator is the simplest and most effective way to prepare mushrooms. Prepared mushrooms are laid out on trays, a temperature of 50-70 °C is selected, or an automatic mode for mushrooms, which is available in some modern models. Drying time varies from 5-7 to 10-12 hours depending on the model. When testing the Starwind SFD6431 dryer, we selected the maximum power and increased the drying time to 14-16 hours to make sure that all the moisture was completely gone from the porcini mushrooms.

Here's an idea: Even if the mushrooms don't look too appealing (like overgrown honey mushrooms), you can put them to good use. Dry them until they're completely dehydrated, then grind them in a coffee grinder or with a stationary blender. The result is «mushroom powder» — a great seasoning. Just one level tablespoon of this powder per 4-5-liter pot of soup, and the whole kitchen will be filled with a rich mushroom aroma.

An air fryer, which is essentially a compact convection oven, can be used to dry mushrooms, although you can dry less at a time than in a regular oven or dehydrator. An air fryer is also great for cooking mushrooms. The greatest number of recipes are associated with champignons, especially stuffed caps. However, forest mushrooms can also be baked or stewed in pots using this device.

Older models of air fryers with a glass flask can be useful for sterilizing jars when preparing marinated and sterilized mushrooms.

A regular grill — whether it is an outdoor gas grill or an indoor electric grill — is great for cooking mushrooms, although the best results are obtained with champignons. After testing various grills and cooking mushrooms on them often, we came to the conclusion that due to the high moisture content of mushrooms, they are difficult to fry well on low-power grills.

An example of a device that copes well with this task is the Redmond RGM-M805 electric contact grill with a power of 1800-2100 W and a plate measuring 310 × 240 mm. It is important to consider that the power should correspond to the size of the grill. For example, for effective frying of mushrooms on the compact GFgril GF-012 model with a working surface of 262 × 168 mm, a power of 1200 W is quite sufficient.

When it comes to mushrooms, chopping equipment is not usually the first thing that comes to mind. However, it is necessary for making mushroom caviar. In our lab, we tested the Polaris PHB 1583L Silent silent immersion blender by making mushroom caviar. To do this, 400 grams of wild mushrooms were fried in butter, then cooled and chopped in a blender bowl using the pulse mode at maximum speed to get small pieces rather than a pate. Mushroom caviar is great as a spread for sandwiches, filling for zrazy, pancakes and other dishes.

The same can be done with a meat grinder, and a mini chopper is great for making mushroom seasoning from dried mushrooms. With its help, mushrooms can easily be turned into powder, which can be used for sprinkling and adding flavor to various dishes. This method is especially good for noble mushrooms, such as porcini, Polish, birch and aspen mushrooms.

Of course, you can cook mushrooms and almost any dish on an induction hob or stove. In our tests, we used the Gemlux GL-IC3513 induction stove to sterilize jars for pickled mushrooms using the fast boiling mode. We boiled the mushrooms, put them in sterile jars, poured in a marinade based on mushroom broth and rolled up with sterilized lids. As a result, in three hours we received 16 jars of preparations.

For long-term storage of sliced ​​raw or boiled mushrooms, as well as ready-made mushroom caviar, a freezer is used. Vacuuming helps to extend the shelf life of mushrooms. To do this, mushrooms are packed in vacuum bags or containers using a vacuum packer. To freeze mushrooms so that they do not stick together, you can use a special shelf (in refrigerator freezers and freezers) or a tray in chest freezers. If you do not have such devices, you can use baking sheets or trays, laying the mushrooms in one layer.

If you plan to use a vacuum sealer for mushrooms, it is better to choose a model with separate modes for dry and wet products. The wet mode automatically turns off the pump when moisture from the product approaches the weld to prevent liquid from getting into the seam. Dried mushrooms can also be vacuum sealed, which will protect them from mold in high humidity conditions. For those who like to marinate mushrooms before cooking, the marinating mode is useful. This mode periodically turns the device on and off, removing air from the container, adding it back and removing it again, which effectively replaces several hours of regular marinating and allows you to quickly soak the product in marinade.

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Although the technology for processing and preparing mushrooms is not as diverse as the mushroom world itself, it is important to know how to properly use various devices and discover their hidden capabilities. We tried to summarize our experience of testing such devices and tell how they can help us enjoy mushrooms not only in season.