What mushrooms can be dried? If the year turned out to be especially mushroom-filled and you have had your fill of all kinds of mushroom dishes, then the question naturally arises of how to stock up on these useful gifts of the forest for the winter and what mushrooms can be dried. There are several ways to prepare mushrooms for future use: drying, pickling and salting. Drying mushrooms is the most common and simplest method of harvesting. In terms of digestibility and nutritional value, dry mushrooms are preferable to pickled and salted ones. If stored properly, they can be stored for up to two years and will retain almost all the nutrients and flavors. But not all edible mushrooms are recommended to be dried.

Of the tubular ones, the undisputed leader is white. Boletus, boletus, goat, morels, boletus, and moss mushrooms are also dried. True, morels can only be consumed three to four months after drying.

If you are not bothered by the bitterness of agaric mushrooms, then you can dry autumn, winter and summer honey mushrooms, champignons, and honey mushrooms.

Chanterelles are dried - common chanterelle.

Preparing mushrooms for drying

First of all, the mushrooms must be carefully sorted and sorted. It is known that mushrooms can be very dangerous, since they can contain bacteria dangerous to humans, causing severe poisoning. They will be especially dangerous if they get into the jars you are closing. Remove mushrooms damaged by slugs and rodents. Remove any debris and rinse the mushrooms two or three times in running water. Washed mushrooms will take a little longer to dry. Sometimes clean, healthy porcini mushrooms, boletus and aspen mushrooms are not washed, they are simply wiped with a cloth.

Sort mushrooms by type and size. It is better to prepare different types of mushrooms separately. It is also advisable to separate the legs and caps. Thick legs are cut into circles of 2-3 centimeters. Large caps are cut into several parts.

How to dry mushrooms?

There are several ways to dry mushrooms. The most preferable method is natural drying - drying in the open air. Drying in the oven, on gas and electric stoves is also common nowadays. There are special dryers for mushrooms, and in villages there is still the old proven method of drying mushrooms in a Russian oven.

Mushrooms are dried outdoors on dry sunny days. In urban environments, a balcony can be a place for drying. The mushrooms are strung on a fishing line or strong thread so that they do not touch each other and hung on the balcony. To prevent dust from getting on them and flies from landing, they should be covered with gauze. Depending on the weather, natural drying may take about a week.

During the day, you can dry the mushrooms in the oven. To do this, you should have several gratings made of strong wire with large cells. You can make them yourself. The mushrooms are placed on a wire rack and placed in the oven. Leave the oven door slightly ajar to allow air circulation. Set the temperature to 60 degrees. Drying mushrooms in the oven takes 8-12 hours.

Dried mushrooms make up 10 percent of the mass of fresh mushrooms. A well-dried mushroom should be dry, elastic and light. It will smell and smell like fresh. If the mushroom is wet, it means it is not fully dried. Under-dried mushrooms will quickly become moldy. If the mushroom breaks easily and crumbles, it means it is overdried.

You can also dry hallucinogenic mushrooms. Eg . But this is a separate topic for those who need to bewitch their betrothed or destroy their rival.

Drying mushrooms at home

I am always glad to have guests and regular visitors to my site. We kindly ask: please click on the TWITTER and GOOGLE +1 BUTTONS!

As you know, almost every type of mushroom has its own unique taste.
and aroma, and for each you need to choose “your own key”: which ones to fry, which ones are better to salt or marinate, and which ones to dry. The last harvesting method is the simplest and most reliable. Even novice housewives can do it. In addition, you can use porcini mushrooms, boletus and boletus mushrooms, as well as more democratic ones: honey mushrooms and chanterelles. The main thing is to carefully study the technology of drying mushrooms at home.

What mushrooms can be dried at home? In general, all types of tubular edible mushrooms are suitable for drying: porcini mushrooms, boletus mushrooms, boletus mushrooms, boletus mushrooms, and fly mushrooms. Lamellar mushrooms - milk mushrooms, saffron milk caps, volnushki and others - are not recommended to be dried. They may acquire a slight bitter taste during drying. The exception is honey mushrooms and champignons.

How to prepare mushrooms for drying?

There are several basic rules to follow:

• Mushrooms should not be washed before drying. Remove soil, pine needles, and moss with a knife and then wipe with a slightly damp cloth, sponge or cloth.
• Sort by size and cut into thin slices. Experienced mushroom pickers recommend drying only the caps of chanterelles, honey mushrooms and butter mushrooms, and the stems of more noble mushrooms. It is better to leave very small mushrooms whole.
• The sorted mushrooms need to be strung on a strong thread. Just take your time.

How to dry mushrooms on a thread?

Prepared mushrooms can be dried indoors and outdoors. At the dacha or in a country house, mushrooms are usually dried in the attic or in a warm, ventilated room - closer to the stove. At home, you can dry them in the kitchen, not far from the stove. In this case, the mushrooms are hung at a distance of 50-60 cm above the cooking surface. If you have the fortunate opportunity to dry mushrooms outside, dry them in the sun or in diffused light for 1-2 days, and then dry them in an oven or in a dehydrator (electric dryer for vegetables and fruits) at 70 °C.

Drying mushrooms in the microwave

There is also an express method when mushrooms are dried in the microwave. They are placed on a wire rack and cooked in the microwave for 20 minutes at a power of 100-180 W. After turning off the stove, drain all accumulated liquid and open the door for 5 minutes. Then repeat the drying operation again, and so on several times. After checking the readiness - the mushrooms are moderately elastic, bend, but do not break immediately, but only with a little effort - we can assume that drying was a success. There is a “but”! This is still a high-speed drying process, and it is very easy to overdry mushrooms. They can even burst into flames in the microwave! To maximize flavor and aroma, mushrooms are dried for a long time and gradually.

Until the next harvest

It is recommended to store dried mushrooms in paper bags or small cardboard boxes in a dry (so as not to become damp) clean place, preferably at a constant temperature. They cannot be stored in the basement or next to fresh vegetables, fruits, berries, nuts, pickled and salted preserves. If the mushrooms become damp during storage, they must be immediately sorted, the spoiled ones removed and dried again. The optimal shelf life of mushrooms is up to 1 year.

Right way

Now you have several bunches of dried mushrooms that are just asking for battle:
in soup, in stew, in sauce, in casserole... What's next? There are two ways to use them further. The first is to use dry mushrooms instead of fresh ones, after soaking them. The second is to prepare mushroom powder and add it to dishes as a seasoning.

How to cook dried mushroom soup? Let's tell you everything in order.

Mushrooms are soaked for 20-30 minutes in a large amount of lukewarm water (for 30 g of mushrooms use 1 liter of water). Remember that instead of 200-300 g of fresh mushrooms indicated in the recipe, it is recommended to use 30 g of dried ones. After infusion, they are washed under running water. Further more. Based on dried mushrooms and the resulting infusion, you can prepare a wonderful broth. To do this, strain the infusion through the finest sieve, or better yet, through a coffee filter. Prepare a roast of carrots, onions and a small piece of celery root and add it to the mushrooms. Add a few sprigs of parsley and thyme. Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the broth from the heat, let it sit for 30 minutes, and strain. Select and use mushrooms for soup, pancake or pie filling, pasta sauce, gravy for meat or poultry, in risotto, omelettes, and warm salads. The broth itself is quite strong and can be diluted with vegetable broth or water if desired.

It is also good to make caviar from dried mushrooms. Rinse them under running water and boil for 1-1.5 hours. Drain in a colander or sieve and pass through a meat grinder or grind in a blender. Add finely chopped and fried onions and some carrots to the resulting mass, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Dilute with vegetable oil to the desired consistency and add mushroom infusion to enhance the taste. If you do not plan to store the caviar for a long time, let it brew in the refrigerator for several hours and serve.

Fashionable thing

Mushroom powder is a very effective preparation. It is often used by chefs as the final finishing touch when serving a dish. When drying and storing mushrooms, losses often occur: mushrooms break and crumble. Don't rush to throw away such trash! Grind the mushrooms in a coffee grinder, herb and spice grinder, or crush them in a mortar. Sift the powder through a sieve. If necessary, grind and grind large particles again. Store the powder in airtight jars in a cool, dark place. It can be mixed with other spices and salt. The powder retains its natural mushroom aroma for a very long time, and you need to add it to the dish - in its pure form - a few minutes before it is ready. Or in a mixture - when served in a separate salt shaker or in a small bowl.

Almost every person eats mushrooms. This is not only tasty, but also healthy product. But not everyone understands how to dry mushrooms at home. Dried, they are very nutritious, have unusual taste, and most importantly, take up much less space than frozen. You need to figure out what is needed for this and how to do it correctly.

Drying the product is considered one of the best ways to prepare the product for the winter. They retain all the nutritional and beneficial properties that are revealed during cooking. Dried, they are perfectly absorbed by the body without causing unnecessary heaviness in the stomach. This is an ideal solution for soups and salads. But many people do not know that not every product is suitable for drying.

What mushrooms are suitable for drying?

There are a huge variety of types of raw materials, but not all can be dried for the winter. Some types simply need to be soaked to remove toxins. Otherwise, you can get severely poisoned. Let's figure out which mushrooms can be dried and which ones should not.

• • Tubular - this is the family in which spores are hidden in tubes under the cap, in appearance it resembles a sponge. Almost all products of this family are suitable for drying: porcini mushroom, aspen mushroom, boletus, oak mushroom, boletus mushroom

• Lamellar - under their caps there are plates, inside of which there are spores. Most of them develop a bitter taste when dried. Therefore, you can only dry honey mushrooms, champignons, honey mushrooms, and deer mushrooms. We must remember that milk mushrooms, russula and volushki should not be dried; they are soaked before cooking to get rid of bitterness

• Chanterelles – they can be confused with the previous type, but you should not do this. Instead of plates, they have pulp under the cap. You can use chanterelle for drying, but the bitterness will still remain in it

• Marsupials – these have no shape, they are all lumpy and wrinkled. Truffles and morels are considered the most prominent representatives. Truffle is a rather expensive mushroom, so ordinary summer residents will not dry it. Morels require special treatment before consumption, so they need to be dried for at least two months.

In order for it to turn out delicious, you need to know how to properly prepare for drying.

Preparing to dry mushrooms for the winter

Before drying such raw materials, you must follow some rules. First, you need to decide whether you will wash them before processing. Many professional mushroom pickers advise not to allow contact with water at all. Therefore, it is best to take a damp cloth and wipe each piece.

Secondly, you need to select the strongest, intact mushrooms that are not damaged. Butterflies, honey mushrooms and chanterelles must have their legs cut off. Then you need to select mushrooms of the same size or cut them the same way. This is done to ensure that all mushrooms are dried equally.

Now you need to figure out how to properly dry mushrooms, which method is best.

Methods for drying mushrooms

The first drying method is the use of sunlight. To do this, you need to take a strong rope, string whole mushrooms or plates on it so that they do not touch each other, and hang it somewhere in sunny, hot weather. It is advisable to cover with gauze to prevent dust and insects. The ropes need to be kept in place for about a week. Instead of rope, you can use trays covered with paper. Also, using the sun's rays, the mushrooms can be dried a little, and then finished in the oven.

The second cooking method is to use the oven. We need to figure out how to dry mushrooms in the oven. It is best to place the thinly sliced ​​product on a fine rack, then it will not crumble. If it is not there, then you need to place the mushrooms on a baking sheet covered with food paper.

After which the baking sheet is placed in the oven and turned on at 45 degrees. When the product has dried a little, you need to turn it on at 60 degrees. During the entire cooking process, you need to constantly change the grates in order to completely dry the mushrooms.

It is also permissible to dry mushrooms in the microwave - this is the third drying method. First you need to thinly slice, place on a wire rack and place in the microwave. Next you need to set the power to 100 W and turn it on for 15 minutes. Then open the door and ventilate the oven for 5 minutes.

Advice. This operation needs to be done about 6 times, then you can actually get the finished product almost immediately.

A Russian oven can also handle drying mushrooms. It is best to place bricks under the grates. The product can be placed caps down on a wire rack or threaded onto small skewers. The product must be placed at a temperature of 60 degrees, no more, but no less. It is worth moving the damper a little for proper air circulation. It is also worth opening the pipe at the beginning of the process, gradually closing it towards the end of cooking. In order for all the mushrooms to turn out perfectly dried, you need to gradually put the cooked ones aside and dry the uncooked ones.

Another method is drying in an electric dryer. To do this, you need to cut the product no more than a centimeter and place it in the dryer. After that, you just need to close the lid, turn on the timer, select the right program and wait until the machine does everything itself.

How to tell when mushrooms are ready

To do this, it is worth looking at the resulting product. As a result of cooking, the mushroom should bend well, but should not break and have moisture. It is best for him to be elastic and dense. The color of the product must be uniform, without burnt spots.

Storing dried mushrooms

In order for the finished product to last for a long time, it is necessary to use the correct container. The dried raw materials should be placed in a glass jar, the neck should be treated with alcohol, set on fire and the jar should be quickly closed. This creates a vacuum in the jar, which will help store dried mushrooms longer.

There is an option to store them in cotton bags, but this will require a separate room. Because the smell of dried ones is very strong. Moisture should not be allowed to appear in them; to do this, they must be sorted out.

Advice. Do not place a product with strong-smelling components.

How to dry some types of mushrooms at home

Porcini mushroom is considered one of the most delicious dried foods. In order to dry porcini mushrooms, no specific features are required. It is also necessary to cut off the legs, string them on a thread, and hang them in a ventilated place in sunny weather. They can also be placed on a baking sheet. In about three days they will be ready.

To cook champignons, you can dry them in an air fryer. To do this, you will need to place the product on special trays and turn on the required program. Sometimes you need to take out raw materials to ventilate them. This device is perfect for drying mushrooms at home.

Often people specifically go to the forest to collect mushrooms for further preparation. But it is very important to know how to dry them correctly. Then, as a result, the whole family will enjoy delicious, aromatic and unique dishes with mushrooms.

How to properly dry mushrooms at home Mushroom pickers will tell you in our article and share their secrets. It’s not enough to just pick mushrooms; you need to know which ones can be eaten fresh, which ones to salt, and which ones to dry. In today's article we will talk about the rules for drying mushrooms. New mushroom pickers will learn practical tips that will help them master this craft. Experienced people may also gain important information.

One of the most successful ways to harvest mushrooms is drying. They are well preserved with beneficial properties and even become more aromatic and rich. At the same time, mushrooms in this version are absorbed better than pickled or salted ones. In addition, they are irresistible in soups. I would especially like to mention the porcini mushroom.

Having collected a certain amount of mushrooms, you should not immediately dry them. Some types produce a bitterness that will intensify when the fruit dries. Therefore, you should understand which mushrooms are more suitable for drying.

Which mushrooms to choose for drying?

Mushrooms are divided into several types:

• tubular;
• lamellar;
• tinder fungi;
• Chanterelles;
• marsupials.

Let's look at each of the categories separately.

Tubular

Representatives of this family can be identified by the spores, which are located under the cap in a layer of small sponge-like tubes.

Almost all edible tubular mushrooms are suitable for drying. But the best ones are:

Lamellar

This family, under the cap, has radial stripes of dense plates in which the spores are located. Most agaric mushrooms contain a milky sap that will add bitterness if dried.

Here are the varieties of lamellar mushrooms that can be dried:

• winter, summer and autumn honey mushrooms;
• Champignon;
• variegated umbrella mushroom;
• deer mushrooms;
• pendants;
• flakes are fleecy.

Important! Only russula, milk mushrooms and trumpet mushrooms are not dried, as they can taste bitter.

Chanterelles

They may look similar to lamellar ones, but instead of lamellar ones they have folds of flesh. For a long time, science could not assign them to any species, so it separated them as their own family.

This species is dried only little fox ordinary, but it also contains a little bitterness.

Marsupials

They look wrinkled, lumpy and shapeless. The spores of this species are stored in a separate special bag.

From this family are dried white truffles, which are a rare and expensive delicacy, and morels.

Morels should be consumed with caution. In order for them to be edible, they must be processed correctly. Dry for about 2 months, or better yet, even longer. During this period, toxins are removed from them and they become safe. They need to be dried only in the open air, and not in a living room.

Now, understanding what can be dried and what should not be dried, let’s discuss the next question, how to do it.

Preparatory stage for high-quality drying

The final result depends on proper preparation. You should try to make the vegetables tasty, healthy and aesthetically attractive. To do this, you need to carefully prepare the product.

The first, and one of the main questions, is how to clean the mushroom without resorting to using water. If mushrooms are wet, they will absorb water and take longer to dry than usual.

You must use a knife for this process. With its help, the caps are cleared of remaining leaves and grass. There is no need to remove the skin; they are dried with the skin on.

Sand can be removed using a soft, dry brush. All contaminants that remain will be washed off immediately before preparing the already dry mushrooms, which are soaked in water.

At the next stage, the mushrooms are separated by size. Separately put small, medium and large. This is necessary so that they dry evenly over a certain period of time.

It happens that a vegetable looks whole and elastic, but worms live inside. No matter how beautiful and large the mushroom is, if inhabitants are found in it, it should be thrown away.

boletuses, Boletus mushrooms, flywheels and boletus are cut longitudinally so that the stem is separated from it at the very base of the cap.

Divide the boletus mushrooms in half, cutting them crosswise.

Advice! When peeling and cutting mushrooms for drying, it is better to do this with a plastic knife. Unlike metal, it does not oxidize. Although it is not entirely convenient to use and is difficult to adapt to, it is preferable.

If a metal knife has been in contact with the fruit and the stems or caps have oxidized, then the taste of the finished product will be much lower.

Basic Rules

There are basic rules that must be taken into account to ensure that dried mushrooms are tasty and aromatic.

Methods for drying mushrooms

On the street

It will take about 7 days to dry mushrooms outdoors in the sun in hot weather. Mushrooms, sliced ​​or whole, are strung on a thick thread and hung in the sun. You need to string them so that they do not touch each other. You can cover them with gauze to prevent flies and dust from landing.

You can place the chopped mushrooms on cardboard or baking paper. As a last resort, place it on clean wooden boards, and then dry it in the oven or Russian oven.

In the oven

Mushrooms are laid out on a wire rack in a thin layer. It is comfortable and there is no need to adjust anything to prevent the mushrooms from falling out. You can do this on a baking sheet, but then you should put baking paper on it so that the vegetables do not burn. They need to be laid out so that they do not touch each other.

Initially you need to set the temperature to +45 degrees. When the mushrooms have dried, but so that they do not darken, you will need to increase the temperature to + 60 +70 degrees. It is necessary for air to circulate; to do this, you need to open the door to the width of your palm. Periodically swap the grates during the process so that the raw materials dry evenly.

Watch the video! How to quickly dry porcini mushrooms in the oven

In the microwave

• To use the microwave, you need to cut the mushrooms into pieces about 5 mm thick.
• They should be placed on a plate or wire rack and set for 20 minutes at a power of 100 W.
• After this, open the door and check for 7 minutes.
• This process must be done 4-5 times.
• You can cook mushrooms in the microwave, but it will take a little effort.

In the Russian oven

It would seem that what is the difference between an oven and a stove. But the owners of both know for sure. The oven has its own, special atmosphere. Air supply and drying quality are somewhat better in the oven.

Grandmothers always dried mushrooms in the oven. Bricks were placed under the grate so that they did not come into contact with the hot surface.

• Mushrooms can be placed on a wire rack with their caps facing down or strung on knitting needles or skewers. You can also lay them out on straw the old fashioned way.
• You can put it in the oven when the temperature drops to +60 degrees.

Advice! If you dry mushrooms at high temperatures, they can burn, turn black and spoil. If the temperature is too low, they sour and disappear.

• It is necessary for air to circulate; for this, the damper must be slightly open. Be sure to ensure that the chimney is open.
• Initially, the valve should be opened 75% even a little more. But by the end of drying it should be completely closed.
• Mushrooms may dry differently due to the fact that the caps are different sizes. If you overdry them, they will be poorly processed, and if underdried, they will quickly deteriorate. Therefore, it is gradually necessary to remove the already dried caps and dry the rest.

In an electric dryer

This option is for the lazy. The main thing here is to cut the mushrooms correctly. The plates should be at least 1 cm, but you can dry them whole, as you like. Everything is simple here: the time and temperature are set and the process begins.

You can experiment a little and add temperature, but reduce time. The effect will be the same.

Watch the video! How to dry mushrooms in the dryer

Above the gas stove

This is not a convenient method, but if you have no choice, you can use it. The burners should burn continuously for 2-3 days. And if the cooking process continues during the drying period, the vegetables will absorb steam and the smell of the cooking food.

Mushrooms are strung on a rope and hung above the ceiling, the burners are lit. If the gas is not turned off and drying is continuous, the product will be ready in 3 days.

How do you know when dried mushrooms are ready?

Properly dried mushrooms have a uniform color, they are light and do not have scorch marks or burnt parts. They should be elastic, bend, but not break. The texture will be dense and not wet.

How to store

Half the job is done and the mushrooms are dried. Now it's time to do the second half - save them for the winter. To do this, you will need jars and containers that screw well. Mushrooms easily absorb odors and moisture, so they easily spoil and become moldy.

Some housewives place well-dried mushrooms in a sterilized jar, which is immediately closed. You can coat the edges of the jar with alcohol, set it on fire and immediately close it. then there will be a slight vacuum in it, which facilitates the storage of mushrooms.

Alternatively, you can use cotton bags to store dried mushrooms. But for this you need to choose the right room in which they will be located. To store dry vegetables, it is necessary that the air circulate well, because the smell of mushrooms is very strong. They should not be stored with other strong-smelling vegetables, such as onions and garlic. If the mushrooms have absorbed moisture, they can be sorted and dried.

So today we looked at how to properly dry mushrooms at home and methods of their preparation. Let the mushroom reserves delight lovers of these fragrant fruits all year round.

Watch the video! How to dry mushrooms at home

Drying is the ideal way to harvest wild mushrooms. Firstly, the most natural taste and rich mushroom aroma are preserved, secondly, on hot summer days you don’t need to spend a lot of time at the hot stove, and thirdly, space in the freezer and jars with lids for other types of preservation are saved. I have long ago answered the question of what is the most convenient way to dry mushrooms at home. In the oven, of course. It's both fast and reliable. Again, an ideal method for those who have not purchased a special drying unit, which occupies half an apartment and is used for two weeks a year. I will show you how to properly dry mushrooms in the oven using the example of boletus mushrooms, which we brought a whole basket from the forest. Beautiful, even, strong, it was even a pity to cut them into slices, but such large mushrooms still cannot be dried entirely. And there is no point in this. Just a handful of dried whites is enough to cook a whole pan of the most aromatic soup or make a saucepan of mushroom sauce for buckwheat.

You will need:

• good quality mushrooms, ideally porcini.

How to properly dry mushrooms at home

Mushrooms should be dense, without wormholes. Mushrooms brought from the forest, collected away from roads and highways, need to be sorted out, large debris, leaves, twigs, sticks and blades of grass removed. Without regret, cut off the lower part of the legs, the “root”. The mushrooms themselves will need to be peeled using a small knife. Since mushrooms cannot be washed before drying, because they will absorb moisture like a sponge, then spend maximum effort and time carefully scraping off or cutting off a thin layer of dirt, dents with sand.

Cut the peeled mushrooms into arbitrary pieces. Thin plates will dry faster, thick ones - a little longer. It is desirable that the pieces are approximately the same size, so that there are no very large and very small ones.

Place mushrooms in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. It is advisable that the slices do not touch.

Place in a slightly ajar oven and dry at 40 degrees until lightly crisp. This process may take approximately 6-8 hours. Dried mushroom slices should break easily and become light, almost weightless.

As for storing mushrooms, there are recommendations to store them in linen or paper bags. There is also an unusual method - to roll up a jar of dried mushrooms like a regular preserve. In any case, mushrooms need to be checked periodically to ensure that they do not harbor insects or mold. And if something happens, still have time to slightly dry the workpiece.