Experienced housewives do not throw away food, but keep everything for future use. For example, if some fresh mushrooms remain after cooking, they can be dried whole or in slices. You can use this product in dried form for cooking soups, roasts or tasty meats.
How to dry mushrooms at home
Fragrant dried mushrooms are an unusual ingredient for numerous first and second courses. They contain a lot of useful trace elements for the body. Modern housewives know many ways to prepare this product for the future. Drying mushrooms at home can be done using special equipment or in the sun. To calculate the time for the procedure, it is important to take into account the characteristics of a particular type and method of preparation.
What mushrooms can be dried at home:
- Tubular. This type is optimal for drying. Forest boletus, boletus, mushrooms, Polish mushroom and other edible varieties after such processing remain fragrant and very tasty. Under the caps, this species has a spongy layer of small tubules.
- marsupials. This variety includes white truffles and morels. They differ in their unexpressed shape and spores located in bags. White truffle is an expensive delicacy that is rarely used for drying. Morels are dried in the open air for several months. This time is needed for the evaporation of toxic substances. If you use the product earlier, it can be harmful to health.
- Lamellar - another popular type. This variety includes champignons, mushrooms, pods, oyster mushrooms and others. Under the cap, agaric mushrooms have characteristic plates located in the radial direction. It is not recommended to choose mushrooms, volnushki or russula for drying because of the high content of bitterness in the milky juice.
- Chanterelles. Many people confuse this species with lamellar ones. Chanterelles are characterized by folds of pulp, similar to plates. The dried product has a bitter taste.
- Polypores. This species is branched, it includes sheep and other varieties.
It is important not only to properly dry mushrooms or champignons, but also to select raw materials for harvesting. Some people think that only tubular ones are suitable for this. However, lamellar ones are also sometimes used for drying, for example, mushrooms are very common in Russia and are suitable for harvesting for the winter. In addition, it is important not to miss the moment when dried chanterelles or boletus are ready. An overdried product cannot be cooked, and an unprepared product quickly deteriorates. During the drying process, mushrooms lose 90% of their weight, so about 100 g of dry mushrooms or champignons come out of 1 kg of raw materials.
Another important step is the preparation for the procedure. The more carefully sorted and cleaned mushrooms or oyster mushrooms before drying, the tastier and more aromatic they will be after processing. Choose strong, dense specimens without damage. Be sure to clean the raw materials from contamination, wipe with a sponge, but do not wash with water so that the product does not lose its aroma and taste. In addition, you need to sort everything by size. For champignons and mushrooms, cut off the lower part of the leg. Boletus, boletus are separated from the hat. Mushrooms are cut into plates of 1-1.5 cm or slices.
In the oven
Considering ways to dry mushrooms, those who do not have special equipment should pay attention to the oven. Raw materials are prepared, cleaned, the legs are separated from the caps, cut. It is more convenient to dry mushrooms in the oven on a wire rack, which is placed on top of the baking sheet. The oven door is opened so that the moisture evaporates faster. The temperature is set at 40-60 degrees. Drying time up to 48 hours. Readiness is simply checked: a piece is bent, it should bend a little and break easily.
in the sun
Another option for harvesting is drying in the fresh air. To do this, choose sunny hot days. In case of sudden changes in the weather, the laid out raw materials on a tray must be brought into the room. It is important to cover the product from dust and flies with gauze. This option is suitable for how to dry the mushrooms completely, and how to dry them before processing in the oven. The procedure takes from two to seven days. Sliced, sun-dried mushrooms are removed after 48 hours so that they do not lose their natural color. Morels need to dry for at least 2 months.
In an electric dryer
Some housewives have in their arsenal such a convenient device as drying for mushrooms and vegetables. With its help, it is very easy to dry oyster mushrooms, mushrooms or champignons for the winter. How to cook delicious and fragrant dry mushrooms correctly so that they dry evenly? It is necessary to clean the raw materials, sort them out, cut them and arrange them on special grills of the device. Everything needs to be dried at 40-50 degrees, after which the temperature is increased to 80 ° C. In time, drying mushrooms in an electric dryer takes 4-6 hours, depending on the type of raw material.
in the microwave
If there is no special equipment for drying products, and it is not possible to decompose raw materials in air, a microwave oven can be used. Drying mushrooms in the microwave has its own characteristics. First, the raw materials are cut into thin slices of 5 mm each, laid out on a plate, and a timer is turned on for 20 minutes. After that, the door is opened for 10 minutes to evaporate excess liquid. Repeat the session 4-5 times.
On a string
One of the most ancient methods of harvesting boletus or boletus for the winter is drying on a fishing line or thread. For this method, you can use whole mushrooms or sliced. The prepared raw materials must be strung on a needle with a canvas thread (or nylon). You can dry mushrooms on a thread in any room with good air circulation, but protected from rain and dust. You can cover the product with insect gauze.
Mushroom Drying Recipes
There are many methods for preparing dried mushrooms, which can be added to soups and hot dishes in winter. Of great importance when choosing a method and mode of drying is the type of raw material. For example, morels should be dried in the fresh air for at least 60 days, and mushrooms are dried for 4 hours. How to cook the workpiece correctly, taking into account a specific variety, can be found in the recipes below with photos.
White mushrooms
The smell of dried mushrooms will not leave anyone indifferent, so this variety is especially popular with housewives for winter harvesting. To get a quality finished product, you need to properly prepare the raw materials. You can dry porcini mushrooms in any way possible: in the oven, on a thread, using a microwave oven. Ready dried mushrooms should barely bend, have a slightly springy structure. Below is an instruction on how to dry raw materials in the oven with a photo.
Cooking method:
- Mushrooms are sorted out, cleaned of dirt, cut off the lower part of the leg, wipe the hats with a sponge.
- Cut everything into thin slices.
- Lay out in one layer on a special grid.
- Set the rack over the baking sheet, turn on the oven.
- Dry the raw materials with the door open at a temperature of not more than 75 degrees for 2-3 hours.
Champignons
One of the most popular types of mushrooms are champignons. They are sold fresh and frozen all year round, so they are rarely dried. However, some housewives prepare some dried champignons for the winter, because the product is convenient to store and can be used at any time to prepare different dishes. There are several ways to dry mushrooms. Below is a step-by-step instruction with a photo on how to prepare raw materials with a thread in the fresh air.
Cooking method:
- Peeled mushrooms are sorted by size or cut into pieces.
- String raw materials on a thread so that the pieces do not touch.
- The resulting "beads" are hung in a room closed from water, dust, UV rays.
- Dry for several days until ready.
Oyster mushrooms
Oyster mushrooms contain flavoring, aromatic substances, potassium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, thiamine, vitamins A, D, valuable folic acid. All substances are preserved after drying, so many harvest this type of mushroom for future use. It is recommended to dry oyster mushrooms at home using a special dryer. However, if it is not there, then the oven will do, but this option is longer. In order for oyster mushrooms to retain their aroma, taste and nutrients, you should adhere to the recipe, which is presented below.
Cooking method:
- After harvesting, oyster mushrooms are sorted out, cleaned of dirt.
- Cut the raw material into slices or slices.
- A metal or wooden grid is placed on a baking sheet.
- Spread the raw materials on the grate.
- Dry at a temperature of 45-50 degrees, with the door ajar for about 8 hours.
- Spread on a tray in a well-ventilated room for 24 hours.
- Aired, dried raw materials are laid out on a wire rack, which is installed on top of the baking sheet.
- Dry at 70-75 degrees for 6 hours (if there is not enough time, increase the processing).
Aspen mushrooms
If the trip to the forest was successful, and you collected a lot of boletus, then the extra mushrooms can be dried. This version of the preparation is not inferior to marinated in taste and benefits. However, in order for the finished product to turn out to be of high quality and well stored, it is worth following the instructions. The plan of action depends on how the hostess decides to dry the boletus. It is important to sort the mushrooms by size and pre-clean from dust and dirt. In addition, the tubular ones separate the cap from the stem before drying. Below is a step by step microwave recipe.
Cooking method:
- Fresh, clean boletus cut into pieces of the same size.
- Lay out the raw materials in one layer on a flat plate, put in the microwave.
- Choose a power of 100-180 W, dry for 20 minutes.
- They take out a plate, drain the liquid from the boletus.
- Air the raw materials for 5 minutes, re-put in the microwave for 20 minutes. The cycle is repeated until the dried boletus is ready.
Oilers
Russian forests are rich in oils, so many housewives do not know what to do with them during the mushroom picking season. It is worth noting that this species has a good taste, contains a lot of essential oils, complete protein, amino acids, vitamins B and D. Dried boletus contributes to rapid recovery from illness. It is important to remove the skin from the mushrooms before the procedure, which is not eaten. You can dry butterflies in any way, depending on the equipment available. Below is a recipe for an electric dryer.
Cooking method:
- Freshly harvested butternuts are sorted, cleaned, and the film must be removed from the caps.
- Cut into slices 5 mm thick.
- Lay out on a special grill in one layer.
- Dry for 4-5 hours until the product is ready.
Video
When there are sooo many mushrooms, and you don’t even want to eat them freshly prepared, you can’t even :), the freezer is full of frozen mushrooms in fresh and boiled form, and in the refrigerator and underground there is no longer room for jars of pickled and salty, here you remember that mushrooms can still be dried!
You can dry mushrooms at home in different ways, and the method depends on the weather and whether you have certain gadgets, such as a vegetable dryer, microwave or oven :)
Most importantly, mushrooms should not be wormy. 1 gluttonous and prolific worm is able to ruin the entire baking sheet of mushrooms!
What mushrooms can be dried
As a rule, those mushrooms are dried that are suitable in dried form for mushroom soup. These are, first of all, white mushrooms, boletus, boletus, boletus. Soup from such dried mushrooms is the most rich and fragrant. They also dry mushrooms, and champignons, and mushrooms, and many other fungi. Most importantly, make sure that all of them are edible.
How to air dry mushrooms at home
If the weather outside is dry, even if not hot, even if not very sunny and even a little windy (the wind will also help us dry the mushrooms) - the choice is clear, we will dry the mushrooms in the simplest way: in the air. We clean mushrooms without water, noble mushrooms are usually almost clean, except that at the leg you will need to scrape off the ground with a knife, and remove the snotty skin from the oil. Slice mushrooms into 2mm thick slices. Spread out on a clean baking sheet in a single layer. We put the tray in the shade in a ventilated room, on a balcony or on the street. You can cover with gauze so that the dust does not sit. After a day or two, dried mushrooms are ready and can be poured into a storage bag.
Or we put mushrooms on a strong thread alternately with a hat-leg, hang them in the shade. It will dry out in a day or so. There is more work, but mushrooms dressed on a thread dry out much more evenly and faster, not only in the air, but also in the oven.
Honey mushrooms are definitely dried in this way, there is very little water in them, they will dry out anyway, there is nothing to transfer electricity to them.
Drying mushrooms in the oven
Again, we clean without water, because later it will be very difficult to get rid of it. We cut it depending on the humidity of the mushroom - the drier it is initially, the larger the pieces can be. The thinner you cut, the faster the drying will take place. Mushrooms can generally be dried in the oven as a whole. The fastest way to dry is to put on threads and hang them at the exit from the oven in several rows (tie the edges of the thread to the handles of the drawers, for example). We open the door slightly (the mushrooms should hang between the door and the oven). Turn on the smallest oven heat. Dried mushrooms are ready in an hour. 
If you are too lazy to put on a thread and decide to dry on a baking sheet, we cover the baking sheet with two sheets of parchment paper. Spread the mushrooms in one layer so that they do not touch each other. You should not put the mushrooms directly on the tray, the metal tray will get very hot and the mushrooms will fry and turn black. We heat the oven to 50 degrees C. A baking sheet in the oven. Leave the door well ajar to allow moist air to escape. In this mode, we dry the mushrooms until a dried film is formed, then the temperature can be raised to 60-70 degrees. In this mode, the mushrooms will dry for 6-12 hours, depending on their initial moisture content and the thickness of the cut.
If the oven has a mode with air circulation (convection), be sure to turn it on. At a temperature of about 60 degrees with convection, the drying of mushrooms ends after 30 minutes to an hour.
How to dry mushrooms in the microwave
Drying mushrooms in the microwave is quite a hassle, so be patient right away. We clean the mushrooms without water, blot excess moisture with a paper towel. If the mushrooms are too wet, they will cook in the microwave instead of drying out. Finely chop. Arrange on a wire rack or plate lined with parchment paper. We put it in the microwave, turn on the minimum mode (100-150 W) and set it for 15 minutes. At the end of the time, open and ventilate the oven from the moisture released from the mushrooms for 5-10 minutes. Repeat heating and opening 3-4 more times.
Drying mushrooms in an electric dryer
This device is designed just to dry both vegetables, fruits and mushrooms. We clean without water, cut into thin slices, lay out on removable pallets. We dry the mushrooms at a temperature of 30 to 70 degrees with a light breath. Therefore, it is better to choose an electric dryer with a fan and a thermostat that allows you to control the temperature.
How to dry mushrooms in air fryer
We clean, cut in the same way as above. We insert a skewer between the body and the cover of the device for the unhindered exit of moist air, select a high speed on the device. The temperature of the procedure is 60-70 ºC. The total drying time is one and a half hours.
How to dry worm mushrooms
To begin with, it is better not to dry wormy mushrooms. You can't eat them. Worms and larvae of other insects release poisonous metabolic products into the fruit pulp, so eating worm mushrooms can lead to food poisoning in the same way as eating old or poisonous mushrooms. Many housewives dip such mushrooms into salt water to drive out the worms. However, the decay products remain in the fruiting bodies of the fungus, causing various intestinal diseases. If you dry the mushrooms in the air on a thread, as some suggest, all the worms also do not immediately “fall out”, but first multiply, and you will dry just those products of their vital activity that were mentioned above.
But in case of a famine, it is, of course, also possible to dry such mushrooms. To begin with, cut them into thin plates and pour strong brine - a tablespoon of salt with a slide into a mug of water. We stand 30 minutes, longer is not necessary. Rinse thoroughly under running water to wash off all dead animals and their secretions. Spread on a thick paper or woven napkin, blot dry from water. Dry by any of the above methods using heat.
How to store dried mushrooms
Qualitatively dried mushrooms are light gray or brown, with a characteristic aroma, not brittle, but not wet. If they turn black, then either you overcooked them, or they were too wet. It is better to store dried mushrooms in closed paper bags or tied bags made of cotton or linen, always in a dry place. Often there is a need to store dried mushrooms in the kitchen, then you can use a glass package with a fairly tight-fitting lid to prevent moisture from entering. But periodically control, in this case, the condition of the mushrooms, and if necessary, dry them again.
And a few words about dried mushrooms
Yes, mushrooms can also wither. I'm not sure about the usefulness, but the flavor of the soup will be great. Mushrooms are not washed, cut into 2 times thicker than for drying, hang on a thread and leave not in a draft. On the second or third day, they will dry out a little, then, as it were, slightly wet, and on the fourth, if they have not dried up, we dry them in any convenient way.
Drying mushrooms is the best way to preserve the best that mushrooms give us. If you want to enjoy this wonderful product all year round, then drying is ideal for this purpose.
Mushrooms are a valuable source of protein, iodine, iron, potassium, phosphorus, zinc and vitamins D, C, PP.
It is important to note that only tubular mushrooms and some lamellar mushrooms can be dried (russula and dung beetles, for example, are not suitable for drying). Mushrooms with milky juice are not dried, as they have a very sharp and bitter taste.
For drying, they usually take champignons, mushrooms, boletus, autumn mushrooms, boletus, mossiness mushrooms, boletus and chanterelles.
Mushrooms for drying are harvested in sunny, dry weather.
Before drying, you need to clean the mushrooms from debris and earth. It is not recommended to wash them: most of the valuable substances and aroma will go away with water, the mushrooms will darken and may become sour. You can wash already dried mushrooms.
Large mushrooms must be cut into quarters or in half. Large legs are cut into strips of 1 cm. For small and medium mushrooms, the cap should be separated from the legs and dried whole. Very small mushrooms do not need to be cut and divided - they are dried whole. You can also cut all the mushrooms into strips (in case there are a lot of mushrooms and you don’t want to mess with them for a long time) - in this case it will proceed much faster. Mushrooms are best cut lengthwise.
You can also separate the mushrooms by type or size to make it easier to dry.
For drying mushrooms in the oven you need to prepare a baking sheet. Spread the already peeled and cut mushrooms on a baking sheet, lightly brushing it with oil. Also put baking paper on a baking sheet, then oil is not needed. You can lay out the mushrooms not on a baking sheet, but on a wire rack. In this case, you will need baking paper to place on the wire rack and arrange the mushrooms.
Mushrooms need to be laid out so that the caps look up, and there is a little space between the mushrooms (1 mm).
Another way to carry out drying mushrooms in the oven- drying on the needles. If you decide to dry mushrooms with knitting needles, you will need wooden knitting needles that are as long as the width of the oven. The ends of the knitting needles need to be pointed and mushrooms strung on them. When the needles are completely filled, they must be placed in the oven so that the ends lie on the horizontal ribs of the side walls of the oven.
If the oven does not have special ventilation holes, you need to leave the door ajar. If there is a fan, turn it on.
At the beginning of drying, a low temperature is set - approximately 50 ° C. The initial stage of mushroom drying should take place at a low temperature, because if the temperature is immediately high, white droplets will appear on the mushrooms - protein substances, the mushrooms will darken. As soon as you notice droplets, the temperature must be lowered, and the mushrooms removed from the oven.
After about 1.5 - 2 hours, the temperature is increased to 70-80 ° C. At this temperature, the mushrooms should be dried for about 2 hours, after which the temperature in the oven is lowered again to 55 ° C and the mushrooms are dried for another 2 hours.
During the drying process, do not forget to occasionally stir the mushrooms.
Dry mushrooms must be selected, the rest dried.
It's hard to say how long it takes drying mushrooms in the oven, since the drying time for each mushroom is different.
When dried, approximately 76% of water is evaporated from mushrooms.
If the mushrooms have not dried completely in the oven, they can be dried in the air or indoors.
Whether the mushroom has dried up is easy to check - you need to break the hat. If the inside of the mushroom is wet, it has not dried yet and drying must be continued.
Dried mushrooms are convenient and easy to store. They are stored for a long time and do not lose their taste and aroma.
You can store dried mushrooms at any temperature, in a dark place. It is good to store mushrooms in glass jars, clay pots, tin, wooden and plastic food storage boxes. It is not necessary to close the container with dried mushrooms hermetically. You can just wrap it in foil. Dried mushrooms are also stored in bags, but moths can start there.
After arriving from the Carpathians this year, I still go and look for grandmothers ... mushrooms. How many delicious dishes with them. Yesterday I was directly absorbed by the mushroom topic. It rained heavily and forest specimens appeared. By coincidence, today I had to read a lot of information, learn a lot and make the first experience in harvesting mushrooms for the winter. Tried to understand how to dry mushrooms in the oven . Because I read that you can not keep them for a long time. It is worth eating or harvesting on the day of collection, maximum mushrooms can stand for a day at a cool temperature, in a dry room.
When buying or picking mushrooms, be sure that you are well versed in them. This is the first rule. It is good to learn from experienced people who will tell and show everything. You can also learn from books. I look at the pictures, read the description and match the available mushroom with the one being described. They handed me a basket of Polish mushrooms and a few porcini mushrooms. polish mushroom - from the kind of flywheels, somewhere they equated it with white. The color of his hat is brown-brown, velvety.
Spores from light white to yellowish, sometimes even olive, the stem is yellow-brown. It is considered noble and suitable for drying and pickling. When you cut the hat in half, the white color is abruptly replaced by blue. When I sorted through the basket of mushrooms and got rid of plant debris, I checked this fact and confirmed for myself the authenticity of this mushroom.
We can derive the second rule. Bought or picked mushrooms - check each of them. Sort, remove rotten ones. If, God forbid, you see a poisonous mushroom in the basket, the entire basket will have to be thrown away! This is very important, because mushrooms are very unpredictable guys.
When starting drying, it is advisable to choose mushrooms of the same size. I personally did not select the first batch. I just took the top ones from the basket and laid them out on a baking sheet. At the same time, the oven has already turned on to warm up to 50 degrees. Fortunately, my mushrooms were dry, this has a very good effect on the quality and drying time. As far as I understand, if the mushrooms are wet, it is very difficult to get rid of this moisture later. That's why rule three: mushrooms are not washed before drying. They are simply cleaned and sent to dry. Spread on a baking sheet so that the mushrooms do not touch each other. Why is that? I judge by observations. When some mushrooms lay close to me, air did not circulate at the points of contact and, separating them later, it took additional time to dry those wet places. So, it is better to do everything right at once.
We send it to the oven. The first 2 hours the mushrooms are dried at a temperature of 50 degrees. Rule #4: Leave the oven door open. To do this, roll the potholder into a tube or fold newspapers and insert from the edge of the oven. Why the open door? Mushrooms during drying lose their moisture, which initially in the fungus is about 80-90%. If the door is closed, there will be a steam room in the oven, droplets may appear on the mushrooms, which means that you made some kind of mistake. You can periodically look into the oven and separate from the grate. Now we look. If the mushroom is not sticky, touching another does not stick, proceed to the next stage. Raise the temperature to 70 degrees.
After two hours of drying at 70 degrees, in some places they write to reduce the temperature again to 50 degrees and continue to dry for another two hours. I had a case at night, I reduced it, as I read and went to bed. At 50 degrees, they dried for me with the door open for another 4 hours. In the morning, waking up, I looked and the mushrooms, well, just a little more dried up, but it was still far from the final. I again increased the temperature to 70. You know, in general, you can play with the temperature not by time, but by the appearance of the mushrooms. If they look dry, you can raise the temperature, if droplets appear, reduce and wait until they dry. In the morning, I decided to take the mushrooms out of the oven and cut into small plates, separate the legs from the caps. For some reason, I immediately threw them on the grate and the baking sheet whole, but I was convinced later that such large mushrooms would dry for three days. Even small ones are best divided into two parts, so the process will go faster.
Then I sped up the process even more. I tried to turn on the ventilation mode in the oven, but at the same time I still kept the door ajar. After a couple of hours in this mode, some mushrooms have already reached readiness. How to determine it, the readiness of dried mushrooms? They should not crumble into pieces, they should retain at least a drop of elasticity and resilience. Check each piece of dried mushroom and put those that have already dried into an airtight jar.
And why didn't I turn it on right away? Things went like clockwork, a batch of mushrooms on the grill began to dry out in 30 minutes! She did so. I put it on a wire rack, dried it for 30 minutes at a temperature of 60 degrees (by the way, I set this temperature and didn’t change it again in the ventilation mode), I transfer it to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The grate is freed - again fresh mushrooms on it, etc.
In total, I stocked up for the winter a couple of jars of dried Polish mushrooms and cooked delicious ones with them. A very good experience, now I know by what principle my oven dries, I can prepare not only mushrooms, but also dried fruits for compotes for a child.
The simplest, most convenient and affordable type of mushroom processing is drying. The mass of mushrooms is reduced by 10 times, while new taste and aromatic properties appear, and mushrooms in this form can be stored for years. Dried mushrooms are very easy to store: tied in a cloth bag, put in a dark place - that's all storage. And in terms of nutritional value, protein content and digestibility, dried mushrooms are superior to all others. So, how to properly dry mushrooms in order to enjoy your favorite delicacy for a long time? Let's talk further.
Most often tubular mushrooms are dried, as marsupials, and most agaric mushrooms contain bitterness, which does not disappear during the drying process. At home, you can dry porcini mushrooms, boletus, boletus, boletus, mossiness mushrooms, goats, oaks, Polish mushroom, morels, morel cap, stitches, truffles, raincoats, chanterelles, honey agarics, champignons, etc. When dried, the taste of morels and stitches, white fungus, and boletus are noticeably improved.
For drying, choose only fresh, healthy and strong mushrooms, without wormholes. There is a lot of debate about whether or not to wash mushrooms before drying. does not recommend doing this, because wet mushrooms, firstly, dry longer, and secondly, they can darken and become simply ugly. Before drying, it is enough to simply wipe the mushrooms with a brush or cloth, having cleaned them of needles, leaves, moss, sand, and earth. To speed up drying, it is better to cut large hats into slices, cutting off the stem at a distance of 2-3 cm from the hat. The legs of porcini mushrooms, boletus and boletus are cut into columns 3-4 cm long or wheels up to 2 cm thick. In butter, mossiness mushrooms, honey mushrooms and chanterelles, only hats are used for drying, and morels and lines are dried entirely.
How to dry mushrooms? We offer several ways.
At home, mushrooms can be dried in the open air or in the sun, in a Russian oven, in an oven, on a gas or electric stove, in special dryers. It is important at the same time that the drying begins gradually, the mushrooms dry out, and not boil. At the same time, they must be dried quickly at a relatively high temperature and constant air circulation, since mushrooms can deteriorate with slow drying.
Sun drying is the most ideal way to dry mushrooms.
This method of drying is called air drying. It is clear that mushrooms can be dried outdoors only on sunny days, in hot and dry times. In order for the mushrooms to dry well in the sun, they must be strung on a fishing line, thread or metal rods so that the pieces do not touch each other, and put them in the sun, covered with gauze from dust and flies. It is better if the mushrooms are dried somewhere under a canopy, this will allow them to be protected from dust and rain. In the sun, mushrooms can only be dried, and drying is completed in the oven, this is especially useful if the weather starts to deteriorate.
Drying in the sun usually takes 5-7 days. Those mushrooms that you cut thinner into slices will dry faster: in 2-3 days. They should not be overdried, otherwise they will darken and lose their flavor.
Natural air drying.
Mushrooms can also be dried outdoors under a canopy. To do this, they should be spread out in a thin layer on the straw lined on the floor, on baking sheets, grates, frames - in general, on any available substrate. In this case, the main thing is not to overdry, so you should periodically turn the mushrooms over, remove the already dried ones and bring the rest to the desired condition.
You can not overdry the mushrooms, as they become tasteless and lose their aroma, do not soften and do not boil when cooked. At the same time, under-dried mushrooms are poorly stored, begin to mold at the slightest dampness and quickly deteriorate. Well-dried mushrooms (with a moisture content of 12-14%) feel dry and light to the touch, break relatively easily, but do not crumble, bend slightly. They taste and smell like fresh mushrooms.
Drying in the oven
When drying in the oven, mushrooms are laid out in a thin layer on specially made grates, installed in place of ordinary baking sheets. Drying should begin with an oven temperature of 45 ° C. Only in this case they will not darken. Then the temperature can be raised, but it should be in the range of 60-70 degrees, and in order for the air in the oven to constantly circulate, the door should be kept ajar. As the mushrooms dry, the sieves are reversed from top to bottom.
Electric dryer
Modern technology greatly simplifies the life of housewives, and it is also an excellent assistant in drying mushrooms. This device saves a lot of time and does not require constant monitoring and presence. Mushrooms should be laid out in one layer. Fortunately, in many dryers there are from 3 to 8 tiers, so many mushrooms can be dried in one “seat”. We recommend choosing a drying temperature of about 55 degrees, and the drying time will take from 2 to 6 hours. Drying time is affected by the thickness of the sliced mushrooms. The thinner the mushroom is cut, the faster it will dry. As soon as the mushroom plates begin to spring slightly when bent and look dry, the device can be turned off.
Drying in the microwave
Not quite the usual way of drying, but no less effective for this. For such drying, mushrooms should be cut into a thickness of approx. 5 mm., arrange on a wire rack or plate and put in the microwave. Set the machine to approx. 150W for 20 minutes.
After the end of the time, open the microwave door, steam will come out. Leave to ventilate for 10 minutes, and then repeat the procedure 3 times. After such manipulations, the mushrooms will either dry out completely or be ready for further shrinkage, at least you will dry them in the oven for a couple of days less. The downside is that in this way you can dry a small amount of mushrooms, and spend a lot of time.
Store dried mushrooms in tightly closed glass jars or in moisture-proof bags, in a dry, dark and cool place. Under these conditions, mushrooms can survive for years. If during storage the mushrooms become damp and moldy, they need to be sorted out and dried, and the spoiled ones should be removed.
Another way to dry, see the video:
Fender
07.10.2016 18:54
Drying mushrooms is very simple. Near the ajar (for airing) kitchen window I place a floor dryer for clothes. I cover it with a mosquito net (sold in household goods), stretch it and fix it with clothespins around the perimeter. I scatter chopped mushrooms in one layer. Everything is ready in two days. You can periodically ignite the gas if the humidity is high or blow it with a fan (air circulation is very important). I store it in glass jars under capron. In winter I check for humidity.
Luda
22.09.2016 18:58
I recommend an electric dryer for vegetables and mushrooms. Wonderful thing!
Yuri
26.08.2016 08:55
Essentially the question. The best option for time and temperature: 4 hours at 45-50 degrees. then a break for 4 hours and dry at 75-80 degrees from 4 to 6 hours. I dry myself in a bathhouse at the dacha in a steam room on a triangular frame, I place thin stainless steel ponds. Very comfortable, nothing slips or sags.