The refrigerator is a reliable way to store mushrooms. How to store champignons and where is the best place to do it

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It is best to buy any mushrooms at a time and cook immediately after that, if you do not plan to dry or pickle the product. But just in case, it is recommended to figure out how to store fresh champignons in the freezer or refrigerator in order to preserve their freshness and delicate texture for the longest possible time. In addition, you need to learn how to choose really high-quality ingredients.

Despite the fact that today champignons can be found literally in any supermarket, this does not mean that they are all the same. Namely, how long they can remain as tasty and healthy as in the first hours after harvest depends on the initial state of the food components.

How to choose champignons?

Only the freshest and highest quality mushrooms are allowed to be placed in the refrigerator. Mushrooms with seemingly minor flaws are not only stored for a minimum period, but also lose their taste qualities within just a few hours. Long-term preservation of the quality of mushrooms can only be expected if they have passed all the stages of proper selection:

• Let's look at the hat. It does not have to be pure white, specimens with a pinkish or beige tint are of good quality. The presence of spots, cracks, darkening or breaks is not allowed.

Tip: If you don’t need to store champignons, and they will go straight into cooking, you still shouldn’t buy mushrooms with browning on the hat. This is a clear sign of an overripe product. Even if high-quality and long-term heat treatment is carried out, the desired degree of softness cannot be achieved.

• Next, look under the hat. Its edges should be even or fit snugly against the leg (depending on the variety of mushrooms). The presence of spots is again unacceptable.
• No matter how hard sellers try to disguise the expiration date of the product, they will not be able to do anything with a hollow leg. Lightly squeeze this part of the mushroom with your fingers, there should be no voids.
• If the champignons do not emit a fresh, but a sour smell, or their surface is covered with mucus, it is safe to say that all the shelf life of the component has long ended.

It is not recommended to purchase mushrooms laid out on substrates. In them, a quality product often hides damaged copies. It is better to take the components by weight. This will allow you to take exactly as much as you need according to the recipe and not store leftovers in the refrigerator. This approach also allows you to evaluate the quality of each element.

Rules for storing champignons in the refrigerator

Experts say that the shelf life of a very fresh product in the refrigerator compartment can range from a day to 10 days. You will have to install them yourself, regularly inspecting the components for this purpose and sifting out the damaged ones. You can count on maximum performance only if the mushrooms are provided with the following conditions:

1. The temperature is within 2-4º. If it is possible to withstand it in the range from 0 to 2ºС, then the duration of safe storage can be up to two weeks.
2. Components must be hermetically sealed in plastic containers or ziplock bags. In extreme cases, we wrap them with cling film, but it is recommended to change it every day to get rid of excess moisture.
3. It is impossible to save pre-peeled and washed champignons. In just a few hours, they will be completely useless.

No matter how long the product lies in the refrigerator, at the first signs of the appearance of dark spots, mucus or a sour smell on the surface of hats and legs, it must be disposed of immediately, and not subjected to urgent heat treatment.

Product freezing features

If the given terms do not seem sufficient, and you want to save the mushrooms fresh, then you will have to resort to freezing them. Components can be fried, boiled or not processed at all. But in any case, they will have to be washed, cleaned and cut beforehand. In this case, the shelf life of products is already 6-8 months. Re-freezing champignons is highly discouraged.

And yet you need to understand that no matter how long the mushrooms lie in the refrigerator, even if only for a few hours, this will leave a noticeable imprint on them. You should not count on pronounced tenderness and persistent aroma.

Champignons are the most common safe mushrooms. They became famous in the 16th century, when the French began to grow them for cooking in the most prestigious restaurants and cafes. To date, champignons are available to the consumer in free sale. They are used in cooking, both as an independent dish and as a side dish. It is also a popular ingredient in cream soups, pizza, pastries, salads, julienne, etc.

Champignon as a storehouse of vitamins

In addition to the relevance of this product, champignons are distinguished by their exceptional usefulness:

• They contain a large amount of vitamin D2, which has a positive effect on the renewal of bone tissue, prevents the development of osteoporosis. Lack of D2 in the body provokes rickets, bone fragility.
• If you store fresh champignons at home and eat them regularly, they will become an indispensable resource of sodium, which has a beneficial effect on the kidneys, nervous and muscular systems.
• Vitamin B2 is useful for the nervous system, internal organ systems, and mucous membranes.
• Potassium helps to debug the correct functioning of the cardiovascular system.
• The product contains phosphorus, which promotes accelerated metabolism, relieves fatigue and irritability, and gives an energy boost to the body.
• The content of Omega-6 and other fatty acids has a preventive effect against atherosclerosis already in a day of using the product.
• Mushrooms are not inferior to meat in protein content, and fish, meat, and eggs win in the qualitative composition of useful elements.

An element such as pyrocatechin is invaluable, which will allow you to start recovery processes, cleanse the body of heavy metals, and normalize the functioning of the digestive tract.

Although champignons contribute to weight loss, but still not when they are in pizza

To get the maximum benefit from their use and ensure a beneficial effect on the general condition of the body, you need to know the basic rules for cooking, as well as how much champignons are stored.

How many days they can be stored at home will depend on the quality of the champignons. Where to buy the product? In a store, in a spontaneous market - any option will do. The main thing is that the product is fresh.

There are several simple rules with which champignon dishes will always delight with their taste and vitamin content:

• First of all, you need to pay attention to the mushroom cap. A “healthy” color for champignon is a slightly pinkish or beige color. Cuts and stains are not allowed. A champignon with a darkened cap will not last long, this is an indicator that the mushroom is overripe.
• You should look under the hat - it should sit tightly on the leg. How fresh the champignon can be understood by the dark spots near the stem or if the cap is wrapped.
• There should be no void in the leg, elasticity is the main sign of the freshness of the mushroom.
• In choosing, it is also important to take time for each mushroom, because even one that is not fresh will accelerate the deterioration of the “neighbors” in the total mass. At home, champignons can be stored in the refrigerator, freezer, dried or pickled.

Refrigerator - a reliable storage of fresh mushrooms

The simplest and most common way to store food is the refrigerator. How long can mushrooms be stored in the refrigerator?

They can be left open for 2-3 days, after which the mushrooms will darken. The shelf life of fresh champignons wrapped in cling film or polyethylene increases to a week. After this period, it is better not to continue to store the product, because all its useful qualities can be transformed into harmful ones.

To increase the storage time of champignons in the refrigerator, it is necessary to ventilate the container with mushrooms, thereby preventing condensation. The absence of condensate will ensure long-term storage, due to the lack of conditions for decay. It is recommended not to wash the mushrooms before placing them in the refrigerator.

How to save champignons in the freezer

Mushrooms are stored in the freezer in large quantities, with a margin. And no wonder, because this is the best option for long-term savings:

• boiled,
• fresh,
• fried mushrooms.

How to store mushrooms fresh?

Boiled mushrooms will be stored for a long time if they are washed before processing, all impurities are removed and each mushroom is cut into slices. You need to cook until cooked in salt water, it is advisable to decompose the cooked product into bags and freeze.

For frying and drying, cut large specimens into thin plates.

Mushrooms fried in a small amount of oil can also be sent to the freezer compartment of the refrigerator. After frying, they need to be cooled and decomposed into containers or bags. It is optimal to store the product in portions, repeated freezing will lead to rapid deterioration and rotting. Using the methods described above, the shelf life of champignons in the freezer can be extended up to six months.

Drying mushrooms as a storage method

Another storage option is drying. However, it is important to understand here that the total volume of the product will decrease significantly after drying: about 90% of the original weight is lost in the mass. Useful properties are fully preserved.

Drying mushrooms at home is not at all a complicated science, and such a product can be stored for about a year. All that is needed is to dry the mushrooms in the oven or outdoors, in the shade. Mushrooms are pre-soaked in cold water for about three hours.

Storage option - pickled mushrooms

A very tasty way to extend the shelf life of champignons is marinade. Marinating them is quite simple:

1. Wash thoroughly, if large - can be cut.
2. For cooking, you need finely chopped garlic.
3. The spiciness will be added by adding cloves and coriander.
4. Pour water into a medium sized saucepan. Add spices, bay leaf, sugar there. Boil the mushrooms in this water for about 7 minutes.
5. Vinegar should be added to the total mass - it will add spice to the dish. Cook for five more minutes.
6. Mushrooms are ready! Now they are sent to jars, filled with cooked marinade and rolled up.

This method allows you to keep your favorite product in the pantry for at least a year. With proper preparation, the time is increased.

Depending on the method of processing or preparation, these mushrooms have a different shelf life:

• room temperature allows the quality of the product to be preserved throughout the year, the refrigerating chamber increases this period;
• dried mushrooms can be stored for at least 8-12 months;
• without packaging, the product will be stored in the refrigerator for about 4 days, in tight packaging for up to a week;
• storing champignons in the freezer increases the period to 40 days, but if they are boiled or fried, you can safely keep the product for up to six months.

How long you can store your favorite mushrooms, the hostess determines on her own, depending on personal preferences, the chosen storage method and the need. Champignons, the shelf life of which has expired, must be disposed of without pity.

Step by step recipes and life hacks

Champignons are very popular mushrooms and are easy to find in grocery stores. They have a pleasant taste and useful properties, often used for cooking homemade dishes. Champignons are classified as safe mushrooms. They can be consumed even raw, without being subjected to heat treatment.

In this article, we will talk about how to properly store store-bought champignons so that they stay fresh longer.

How to prepare mushrooms for storage

Mushrooms will last longer and will not darken if you do not wash them and generally exclude any contact with water. The shelf life of washed mushrooms is reduced several times. Also, to keep them fresh longer, do the following:

1. Cut off the leg;
2. The hat is carefully cleaned of debris, barely touching with a knife;
3. Inspect the mushroom from all sides, cut off spoiled places;
4. Mushrooms smeared with soil are wiped with a soft dry cloth.

Storage methods

In a refrigerator

Mushrooms without special packaging, open, can be kept in the refrigerator on the middle shelf for up to 3 days. In this case, the temperature must be maintained within the range from 0 to +2 °C. Longer storage in the open air leads to the fact that mushrooms lose most of their moisture, their surface darkens, they become tasteless.

If pre-prepared, peeled mushrooms are placed in plastic containers or a plastic bag, they will retain their properties for a week. At the same time, it is important to periodically provide oxygen access to the package, otherwise the collected condensate will cause spoilage and rotting of the product.

You can also do this: put the mushrooms in the vegetable storage compartment in one layer. From above they will need to be covered with a cotton cloth or paper towel. This will keep them fresh for up to 5 days.

In the freezer

If you freeze champignons, then their shelf life will increase significantly. Before sending the mushrooms to freeze, they are pre-cleaned (as described above). Then they are laid out in hermetically sealed containers or in bags that are tightly tied. Mushrooms are stored in the general compartment at a temperature of -18°C for 1 month. Mushrooms are not subject to re-freezing, so they are divided into portions, each of which will need to be consumed at a time.

On a note: it will be more convenient and faster to pick up mushrooms for cooking if they are sorted by size. Small mushrooms can be frozen whole, large ones can be cut into pieces.

In room

If you do not have time to immediately process all the raw materials, use this option. But remember that this is a short-term storage method - no more than 12 hours. They do this: the mushrooms are carefully placed in an enameled basin or a plastic bucket. Clean the filled container in a cold place, for example, in the cellar, basement or bathroom.

Long-term storage of champignons

Boiled

The shelf life in this case is increased to 6 months. Freezing technology is as follows:

1. Mushrooms are cleaned, washed under a tap, cut into pieces.
2. Put the pan on the fire, add a little salt to the water.
3. When the water boils, lower the mushrooms into it and cook for 10 minutes.
4. Throw the finished product into a colander, allow the liquid to drain.
5. Spread out paper towels, on which the mushrooms are then neatly laid out.
6. Mushrooms must be completely dry, after which they are laid out in containers or packaged in bags.
7. Sent for storage in the freezer.

fried

Mushrooms, pre-fried, will be perfectly preserved in the freezer for 6 months.

What should be done:

1. Clean and wash the mushrooms.
2. Take a deep frying pan, put the prepared raw materials into it, add a little vegetable oil.
3. Fry until all the moisture, mushroom juice has evaporated.
4. Place fried mushrooms on paper towels. They absorb excess fat.
5. Pack the cooled mushrooms and send to freeze.

Dried

Mushrooms can also be dried. Then they can be stored, like many other mushrooms, in cloth bags. The storage room is chosen dry, cool, well ventilated. A dry product, subject to storage conditions, does not deteriorate within 1 year.

Pickled

Mushrooms in the marinade, placed in the refrigerator or cellar, will remain edible for 1 year. There are many ways to marinate, there are also simple ones. They are united by the fact that vinegar is necessarily added at the end before seaming. Mushrooms are stored in pre-sterilized glass jars.

Video

In order not to go shopping every day, many housewives are looking for secrets on how to store champignons and other products for a long time. At the same time, it is not just about preserving freshness, but also about their useful qualities.

Raw storage

How to store champignons? You can save time on shopping trips. The product must be properly selected and prepared. If the hostess plans to store mushrooms for a long time, then she should pay attention to their freshness at the stage of purchase. Mushrooms should be elastic, not have spots, and the leg should have a fresh cut, weathered ones should not be taken, even if the hostess is going to cook them on the day of purchase.

The shelf life of champignons significantly depends on the initial freshness. Only fresh, odorless champignons can be stored in the refrigerator, creating special conditions. Purchased mushrooms can be carefully transferred to a clean vegetable tray lined with paper napkins.

From above, mushrooms should also be covered with a paper napkin or towel; in such conditions, they will not deteriorate for 3-5 days.

If you need to store mushrooms for more than 5 days, you can use plastic trays for storing vegetables. Such containers are used by supermarkets selling packaged fruits and vegetables. After placing the semi-finished products in a container, it is recommended to tighten the upper part with cling film. Poke small holes in the top of the film with a knife or toothpick.

Excessive pressure causes a decrease in the shelf life of champignons, therefore, when storing products in vegetable trays, it is recommended to stack them in one layer. Under no circumstances should they be washed before storage.

The freshness determines how long the champignons are stored in the refrigerator. Intact, firm-fleshed caps can be placed in a paper bag and sealed tightly to keep fresh for up to 6 days. After 2-3 days after the start of storage, it is recommended to take the bag out of the refrigerator to review its contents. If individual specimens turned out to be crushed and began to deteriorate, then they should be removed. Transfer the rest of the mushrooms back into the bag and place in the refrigerator.

Instead of a paper bag, you can use linen bags, since it is recommended to store fresh champignons in a package made of breathable materials.

If there is no suitable container, then you can pack fresh food in plastic bags, and then carefully make holes in them.

Freeze

Fresh champignons are stored for no more than a week. Housewives who find that the amount of purchased products is much larger than the volume that can be cooked can freeze the leftover product. In the freezer, the shelf life increases up to 3 months.

Before placing in containers for freezing, it is necessary to prepare the product. In this case, it is allowed to wash the mushrooms, cut off all spoiled places and chop. After washing, the mushrooms should lie on a paper towel so that excess water can be drained or absorbed. Excess moisture during freezing destroys the fibers, so such pieces lose their shape after defrosting. Their taste is also deteriorating. Not many mushrooms can be frozen with water.

It is necessary to pack pieces or slices in portions. The thawed product is not subject to storage, therefore, there should be as many mushrooms in one container as the hostess cooks at a time. Freezer containers are ideal for packaging. If there is no such container, you can take ordinary small plastic bags to put the prepared product in them.

You can freeze them by scattering slices on a tray. After the pieces turn into ice, they are poured into containers. How long you can store champignons in the refrigerator does not depend on the method of freezing.

Freezing of unprepared mushrooms is allowed. Opinions differ on this method. Some housewives believe that thawed ones are more difficult to clean from dirt, others claim that much more taste can be preserved without washing before freezing.

Champignons can be boiled before storing in the freezer. This method takes a little longer, but once thawed, mushrooms cook faster than raw mushrooms.

To help the hostess quickly prepare the dish, you can pre-fry the mushrooms in a pan with the addition of oil. The main rule in this case is not to add salt, otherwise the semi-finished products will start up the juice and turn into porridge when frozen. If the mushrooms are not salted in advance, then they can be stored at home in the freezer for up to six months.

Knowing how to properly store mushroom semi-finished products, you can preserve the taste and aroma of the product for a long time.