Not everyone knows that the cute orange mushroom is not only tasty, but also incredibly healthy. Unfortunately, mushrooms do not grow all year round, so you need to stock up on them in the summer and early autumn. In the off-season, chanterelles best retain their properties in dried form.

Mushroom pickers have probably noticed that chanterelles are not wormy. This anomaly occurs due to their composition, the taste of which is completely disliked by various pests.

The positive effect of these mushrooms in the treatment of the liver and pancreas has long been proven. They are even good for vision - a real universal medicine!

Let's quickly find out how to dry chanterelles.

Preparing mushrooms

As already mentioned, you won’t find wormholes in chanterelles during the day with fire. Therefore, they need to be cleaned as much as possible only from external contaminants. Do not use water under any circumstances - mushrooms, like a sponge, will quickly absorb it, which is absolutely not required. In case of urgent need, you need to take a clean dish sponge or soft cloth, moisten it with water, squeeze it well and wipe the chanterelles in this form.

For traditional drying, mushrooms must be left whole. If you plan to dry them in any other way, then after cleaning they need to be cut in half or into 4 parts along the fibers, that is, from top to bottom.

After preparation, weigh the raw materials.

Drying chanterelles with “beads”

Of course, you can dry mushrooms the old-fashioned way - string them whole on a thick thread and hang them in a dry, ventilated place, for example, near the stove. Mushroom beads need to be rotated periodically so that moisture leaves evenly from all sides.

This drying method is the most obvious, but the longest - the process will take at least a week. In addition, you need to protect chanterelles from flies and other insects. Therefore, it is better to leave such drying for those cases when it is possible to hang such beauty on the street and not at home.

Drying chanterelles on the cabinet

Another way to dry chanterelles naturally is to lay the pieces out on a large horizontal surface (usually a closet, but if living space allows, it can also be on the floor). First, of course, this surface needs to be covered. You can use newspapers, but it would be better to use clean paper, since newspapers contain a lot of lead from printing.

Spread all the raw materials on paper in a thin layer and cover the top with paper, but do not press it. This “cover” is needed as protection from random insects. The room in which drying occurs must be well ventilated, but use a mosquito net.

Drying chanterelles in the oven

At home, chanterelles are most often dried in the oven.

To do this, the prepared mushroom pieces need to be properly laid out on a baking sheet - in a thin layer; it is better to use baking paper or foil for the backing. If there are a lot of chanterelles, you can use 2 baking sheets at the same time; if there are a lot, you will have to dry them in several stages.

The oven needs to be heated to 50 degrees, place a baking sheet in it and hold the door with an oven mitt or towel so that it does not close completely. Through the remaining gap, liquid from the mushrooms will escape in the form of steam. If you close the door tightly, all the water will get back into the mushrooms and they will not dry out.

After the air in the kitchen is filled with the aroma of dried mushrooms (after 1.5-2 hours), you can increase the temperature in the oven to 60 degrees, but no more.

After another hour and a half, you can begin to periodically open the oven, take out a baking sheet and sort through the mushrooms: turn them over and take out the finished ones. If such sorting is not done, then the smaller pieces may dry out and even burn, while the larger pieces will not release all the moisture and may subsequently become moldy.

Nobody knows how long it is to properly dry chanterelles in the oven, since this time is influenced by many factors - the number and size of the pieces, the age of the mushrooms and even the conditions for their collection (after rain they will have a lot of moisture).

Drying chanterelles in the microwave

Drying in the microwave is faster than in the oven, but there is more hassle. In addition, this method is only suitable for a small number of mushrooms - for example, if the main supplies have already been made, and at the end of the mushroom season there is still a small family of chanterelles.

First, you need to spread the pieces in a thin layer on a flat plate and let them evaporate at 180 W for 20 minutes. Then remove the plate and drain the resulting liquid. Leave the microwave door open for 5-10 minutes. Then put it back on the same mode for 20 minutes, drain the liquid again and wait a while. Do this as many times as needed for the chanterelles to be ready.

Drying chanterelles in the dryer

The easiest way to dry mushrooms is to do it in a fruit and vegetable dryer, there are such devices.

A decent amount of chanterelles will fit here, and it only takes labor to put the pieces in and take them out.

The drying time depends on the specific dryer, but there can be only 2 options - if there is a special “mushroom” mode, and if there is none. If there is such a mode, then most likely you will just need to turn it on and leave the mushrooms to dry for 7-8 hours.

If the dryer does not have specialized programs, then it with mushrooms inside should be turned on at 50 degrees for 3 hours. After this, take out the chanterelles, let them lie on the table for a couple of hours, and then dry them until ready at a temperature of 60 degrees.

Readiness: how to determine?

The readiness of a dry piece of chanterelle can be easily determined by trying to break it. Under no circumstances should it crumble in your hand. Properly dried chanterelles should bend between your fingers, but break only when force is applied. The fracture site must be absolutely dry.

Another way to determine the readiness of dried mushrooms is simple weighing. After drying, the chanterelles will become 9-10 times lighter than they were at first. If they have lost less weight, they need to be dried.

Chunks or mushroom powder?

You can store chanterelles in pieces - in this case it is better to put them in a canvas bag and tie them.

Many people like to make their mushroom powder and add it to any dishes - then the finished chanterelles need to be ground in a coffee grinder, avoiding dust. Mushroom powder is stored in closed glass or ceramic jars.

Chanterelle mushrooms - medicinal properties

1. Dried mushrooms need to be made into a powdery consistency.
2. Next, take 3 teaspoons of this powder and dissolve it in 150 ml of vodka.
3. It will take 2 weeks to infuse; you need to shake the product periodically.

Since chanterelle mushrooms may not always be on hand, and stocking up on fresh mushrooms is not so easy, experts advise pre-preparing dried raw materials. It is forbidden to wash mushrooms before drying, so any dirt on them must be removed with a brush. Mushrooms can be laid out on racks or hung on thin but durable cords. Depending on the temperature at any given time of the year, the drying process can take approximately 3 weeks.

In addition, you can dry mushrooms using the oven. During the drying process, the oven door should be opened slightly to check the temperature inside. It should not be higher than 45 degrees so that the quinomannose fungi and anthelmintic properties are not destroyed. If when pressing on the mushrooms they do not break, then the dried chanterelles are ready.

Contraindications and side effects

When collecting mushrooms, it is very important to be able to correctly distinguish chanterelles from other similar mushrooms, for example, from false chanterelle, olive omphalot, yellow hedgehog. If a person is not included in the group of people for whom the drug is contraindicated, treatment with chanterelles does not imply any side effects.

Mushrooms are generally considered one of the most valuable foods, and chanterelles are used not only for cooking and treating various diseases. However, mushrooms do not grow all year round, so you should stock up on them in the off-season in advance. There are several ways to dry chanterelles at home so that they do not lose their beneficial properties. They are prepared in the dryer, on the cabinet, in the oven, in the microwave, on a thread - whatever you like, as long as you follow the rules for drying mushrooms. It should be remembered that these mushrooms become quite hard when dried, so you need to carefully follow the drying technology.

Experienced mushroom pickers know that chanterelles differ from other mushrooms not only in their bright orange color, but also in the complete absence of wormholes. Pests do not like them because they cannot tolerate the quinomannose contained in chanterelles. Thanks to this, the collected mushrooms do not suffer any damage. Is it possible to dry chanterelles so that they retain all their beneficial properties? It is possible, only without exceeding the temperature and following the preparation process:

• Cleaning from external contaminants – stuck leaves, litter, small blades of grass.
• You need to clean chanterelles without using water - the porous spongy structure quickly absorbs liquid, and the mushrooms become fragile.
• Heavily contaminated mushrooms are wiped with a damp, thoroughly wrung-out clean cloth.
• The chanterelles are carefully wiped and left whole if the mushrooms are dried according to the traditional method - on a harsh thread.
• For other drying methods, chanterelles are cut in the direction of the grain into two or four parts.
• The prepared mushroom raw materials are weighed. It is important that for harvesting, take recently picked mushrooms with dense, tight caps.

To dry chanterelles in the open air, the mushrooms are strung on a harsh thick thread. The drying process will take at least a week, provided there is good sunny weather. Otherwise, mushroom beads can be dried in a well-ventilated area with low humidity, periodically unfolding them in different directions. Many culinary recipes are based on the use of dry chanterelles.

Drying raw materials naturally

In addition to the traditional preparation on a thread, they use the method of laying out prepared mushroom raw materials on a spacious, flat surface - in a closet or on a floor covered with clean paper sheets:

1. The wooden cabinet is emptied of its contents. The shelves are covered with clean paper (it is not advisable to use newspapers).
2. The prepared chanterelles are laid out in one layer, evenly, so that there is natural access of air and the mushrooms do not become moldy.
3. Dry until the product is thoroughly dry. It may take a week or ten days - it all depends on the temperature and humidity conditions in the room.
4. In the same way, you can dry mushrooms on a laid floor, covering the top with paper. It’s good if you close the entrance to the room with a mosquito net.

Dried chanterelles, prepared naturally, perfectly retain all their beneficial properties. After this, they can be used to prepare very tasty dishes or used for treatment according to folk recipes of alternative medicine.

Household drying equipment

A popular way to dry chanterelles is to use the oven. This allows you to quickly prepare them for the winter, but the process must be performed correctly:

1. Mushrooms are cleaned of contaminants and cut into pieces.
2. The oven is heated to +50°C, a baking sheet with raw materials is placed in it.
3. The oven door is left ajar to allow evaporating moisture to escape.
4. After 1.5-2 hours, the temperature in the oven is increased to +60°C, but no more.
5. After another two hours, take out the baking sheet and turn the pieces over.
6. The procedure is repeated several times, all the time sorting the raw materials - the dry pieces are removed, and the rest are dried further.

This is the only way to carefully prepare dried chanterelles in the oven. In a similar way, mushrooms are dried in the microwave, but only in small batches. The raw materials are left at a power of 180 V for 20 minutes, the liquid is drained, the microwave is ventilated for 5 minutes, and the liquid formed from evaporation is drained again. The procedure is repeated until the mushrooms are completely ready, from which you can subsequently prepare a variety of dishes.

You can speed up the drying of chanterelles using a special device - a vegetable dryer. It will contain a large batch of raw materials. Many dryers have an automatic mode for harvesting mushrooms. If there is no such program, the raw materials are placed at +50°C for 3 hours, after which the pieces are laid out on the table and allowed to cool for 2 hours, the process is repeated until completely dry. In addition to drying, chanterelles can also be used to prepare delicious dishes.

Beneficial properties of dried mushroom

Harvested dried chanterelles are used to treat diseases at home. The product contains many useful substances and elements:

The use of chanterelles against worms

1. Mushrooms are prepared using a natural drying method. In case of heat treatment in an oven or oven, the temperature should not exceed 50°C.
2. The prepared raw materials are thoroughly ground. You can use a coffee grinder.
3. Take 1 tsp. powder and add 100-150 ml of warm water. Infuse ground mushrooms for 30 minutes.
4. Stir and immediately take orally, once or twice a day for a month. The medicine is taken on an empty stomach.

Dried chanterelles in cooking

A soup made from dried chanterelles, vegetables and cream is very tasty and healthy. The dish should be prepared from the following ingredients:

• 100 g of mushroom raw materials;
• 3 pcs. potatoes and 1 pc. carrots, onions;
• 200 ml of any cream;
• 2 tbsp. olive oil;
• 40 g butter;
• 2 liters of water;
• herbs, salt and pepper to taste.

To prepare the soup, dried chanterelles are soaked for 30 minutes. in cold water, then boil for 20 minutes. Prepare potatoes, onions and carrots. Remove the mushrooms from the broth and add chopped potatoes. Heat butter in a frying pan, combine with olive oil, add chopped onion and grated carrots. After five minutes, add the mushrooms, cover and steam for about 10 minutes. Fried vegetables and mushrooms are added to the broth, boiled for 5-7 minutes, and cream is added. After 5 min. The dish is ready, all that remains is to decorate it with herbs. The soup recipe is very simple, tasty and healthy.

Dried chanterelles

All summer we wait for the onset of fertile autumn days, when we can get out into the forest to pick berries or mushrooms. The latter are an excellent source of proteins, vitamins and amino acids. There are a huge number of options for mushroom preparations: pickling, marinades, drying, soaking. The most reliable and time-tested method is drying. The product remains usable for a long time; the mushrooms do not lose their rich aroma. What would a soup be without dried mushrooms! In our article we will talk about how to perfectly dry mushrooms, with special attention to chanterelles.

• chanterelles

Methods for drying mushrooms

First, you should select mushrooms suitable for drying. It turns out that it is better to pickle plate-like ones, for example, russula, milk mushrooms or champignons, because dried they will retain a bitter taste. But boletus, boletus, boletus, honey mushroom, tinder fungus and chanterelle are suitable for a dry soup set.
Now about the methods. The first, simplest and most reliable is drying in the open sun. If it’s clear outside, then feel free to string the mushrooms on a strong thread and hang them outside. The place should be ventilated and inaccessible to insects. Dampness and moisture are detrimental to our product. This process will take about a week.
A more affordable and reliable method of drying includes the use of a Russian stove, oven, or gas burners. Let's prepare the product: thoroughly clean the mushrooms. There is no need to wash them, otherwise the pulp will absorb a large amount of water. The next stage is cutting: we separate the caps from the legs, especially the massive legs, cut them into 1-2cm circles. Place the mushrooms on a wire rack; in extreme cases, you can use a baking sheet. Heat the oven to 45 ºС, after the mushrooms have dried slightly, gradually increase the temperature. Don't forget to open the door slightly so that air can circulate freely. The small caps dry out first; do not forget to remove the finished mushrooms in a timely manner.
A microwave oven is an excellent help for modern housewives; it can also be used for drying mushrooms. Slice the mushrooms and place them on the wire rack. At minimum power, they simmer in the oven for about 20 minutes. Then we ventilate the oven for 5 minutes, during which time the water actively evaporates, and again we set the microwave timer for 20 minutes. The process is quite long and is only suitable for a small number of mushrooms.

How to dry chanterelles

Drying chanterelles

If you brought such wonderful mushrooms as chanterelles from the forest, then quickly start preparing them. Many people do not like to dry them because the plates are too hard. Pre-soaking will help to cope with this problem. Dried chanterelles give off a wonderful aroma, are great for making soups or sauces, and can even be used as medicine.
They contain a special substance - quinomannose, which destroys helminths and so on. The first stage is sorting. We remove all damaged and old copies. Cut out the dark spots and clean the mushrooms. Try to use as little water as possible, because the mushroom pulp will immediately absorb it. It is not necessary to look for the “movements” of worms, because they do not like chanterelles.
It is preferable to dry the chanterelles in the open air: hang them outside so that the sun's rays warm the golden mushroom barrel. If this is not possible, then you can hang “mushroom beads” over the gas stove. Make sure that the temperature is not too high and do not forget to remove the finished mushrooms in time.

How to dry chanterelles: video

The following video describes in detail the process of drying chanterelles. From the video you will learn how to quickly and efficiently dry these delicious mushrooms.

A simple recipe for drying chanterelles at home

How to dry chanterelles at home

Chanterelles are delicious forest mushrooms. They tolerate drying well. During drying, chanterelles dramatically lose their weight. From 1 kilogram of chanterelles you will get 100-140 grams of dried mushrooms. This is very beneficial, since you can dry a lot of mushrooms and they will take up little space.

Before cooking, dried mushrooms are soaked in water at room temperature and they again absorb moisture. Choose strong, fresh chanterelles without wormholes for drying for the winter. Chanterelles are dried in the fresh air, in the oven, in the microwave, over a gas stove and in a vegetable and fruit dryer. The last method is the best, since mushrooms dry very quickly in the dryer, and this is very important. There you can set the required temperature and there is constant air circulation. To speed up drying, large chanterelles can be cut into several pieces.

Chanterelles are considered properly dried if, when compressed, they bend a little, spring slightly and do not break. Monitor the degree of drying of the mushrooms, since under-dried mushrooms can become moldy, and over-dried mushrooms then do not absorb moisture during cooking and are poorly cooked. Under-dried mushrooms should be dried, and over-dried mushrooms should be ground in a coffee grinder and added in powder form to various dishes or used for medicine.