How much to dry porcini mushrooms. How to make mushroom powder from dried porcini mushrooms

Ecology of consumption. Life hack: Consider ways to dry mushrooms in the microwave, on a Russian oven, in the sun, in the oven, as well as the method of making mushroom powder...

Consider the methods of drying mushrooms in the microwave, on a Russian stove, in the sun, in the oven, as well as the method of making mushroom powder.

Drying is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to harvest mushrooms. Dried mushrooms keep well for a long time. In terms of nutritional value and digestibility, they are superior to salted and pickled mushrooms.

However, not all edible mushrooms can be dried. Many agaric mushrooms contain bitterness that does not disappear during the drying process. Such mushrooms are not suitable for drying.

At home, it is worth drying the following types of mushrooms:

• from tubular- porcini mushrooms, boletus, boletus, all kinds of oil, mossiness mushrooms, goats, oaks, Polish mushroom;
• from marsupials- morels, morel cap, white truffle;
• from tinder fungus- mushroom ram, tinder fungus variegated and branched;
• from lamellar- autumn honey agaric, summer and winter honey agaric, variegated umbrella mushroom, champignons, fenugreek, fleecy flake, deer mushroom;
• from chanterelle- common fox.

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You can dry mushrooms:

• outdoors (in the sun),
• in a Russian stove (or simply - stoves),
• in the oven,
• over a gas or electric stove,
• on exotic heating devices - a primus stove or a kerosene stove,
• using modern microwave ovens,
• on central heating batteries, etc.

Air drying mushrooms possible only in hot, dry times, on clear sunny days. In cloudy damp weather, it is impossible to dry mushrooms in the open air, as they can deteriorate and there is nothing for them to dry with. Natural drying of mushrooms in the sun lasts about a week. Mushrooms are strung on strong, harsh threads, thin twine or fishing line and hung in sunny places so that they do not touch. You can make special coasters for this, place mushrooms strung on threads or metal rods on them and expose them to the sun, covering them with gauze from dust and flies.

Fresh, strong, healthy mushrooms, not damaged by worms, are selected for drying.

Peeled mushrooms are wiped with a clean, slightly moistened soft cloth (preferably nylon), having cleaned them of needles, leaves, moss, sand, earth and sorted by size. Large mushroom caps, to speed up the drying process, it is better to cut into slices, cutting off the stem at a distance of 2-3 cm from the cap. 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, mainly only hats are used for drying, and morels and lines are dried entirely. It is impossible to wash mushrooms before drying, as they absorb a lot of water, dry out very slowly and can deteriorate.

To avoid contamination, it is better to dry the mushrooms on special devices: sieves, gratings, wickerwork, strung on a thread or on pins, mounted on wooden racks or on the knitting needles of a mushroom dryer.

Mushrooms are considered dried if they feel dry, light, bend slightly, and break with some effort. Well-dried mushrooms taste and aroma resemble fresh ones. The “yield” of dry mushrooms averages 10–14% by weight of raw peeled ones. Thus, out of 10 kg of fresh mushrooms, only 1–1.4 kg of dried mushrooms are obtained.

Dried mushrooms, and first of all, small caps dry out, must be removed in a timely manner from time to time, and the remaining ones should be dried 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.

In the Russian oven, you can dry all tubular and agaric mushrooms, tinder fungi. You can not dry morels in the oven.

DRYING MUSHROOMS IN THE SUN

On hot days, mushrooms can be dried in the sun or only dried to dry them completely at a higher temperature on the stove or in the oven.

For this purpose, mushrooms are placed on drying trays, thick paper or a dry board. In no case should mushrooms be placed on an iron baking sheet, as mushrooms can bake and turn black on it.

Drying is carried out in a place protected from rain and dust and well ventilated. It is very important that the mushrooms, previously cut into slices, be dried or dried completely within a period of no more than 1-2 days. In this case, they retain their natural color.

Properly dried mushrooms bend; overdried crumble - it is better to soak such mushrooms and use them in the form of mushroom powder.

DRYING MUSHROOMS IN THE OVEN

When drying in the oven, the mushrooms are laid out in a thin layer on specially made or ready-made grills, installed in place of ordinary baking sheets. The temperature in the oven should be between 60-70 ° C, and in order for the air to circulate in it constantly, the door should be kept ajar. As the mushrooms dry, the grates are reversed from top to bottom.

In urban settings and for modern cuisine, this method of drying mushrooms is probably the most common and simple: ovens (and grates in them) are in every home. If there are few grates (or there are none, it happens), then you can independently make 2-3 grates according to the size of the oven so that they can be installed instead of baking sheets. Lattices can be made from any large-mesh wire mesh.

You can also use baking sheets if you don't have wire racks. Mushrooms are selected by size (large ones are cut into pieces) and laid out on baking sheets. In this case, the mushrooms should not come into contact with each other, and in the oven it is necessary to ensure air circulation (open the door ajar).

First, the mushrooms are dried at a temperature of 45 ° C. At a higher initial temperature, protein substances are released on the surface of the mushrooms and then dry, which worsens the further course of drying and gives the mushrooms a dark color. Mushrooms at the same time become so soft that it is impossible to use them for food. Only after the surface of the mushrooms dries up and they stop sticking, the temperature can be raised to 75–80 ° C.

The duration of pre-drying and drying of mushrooms cannot be determined exactly. If the caps and plates of mushrooms are the same size, they dry out at the same time. Dry mushrooms are removed, and the rest are dried, turning them over from time to time.

DRYING MUSHROOMS IN THE MICROWAVE

When drying mushrooms in the microwave: peeled and chopped mushrooms are laid out on a plate or grill, the minimum power is set to 100–180 W and set for 20 minutes, then the oven opens and ventilates for 5–10 minutes. During this time, excess moisture evaporates intensively. Then the operation is repeated 2-3 more times. As a result, you can get either a finished product - dried mushrooms or a semi-finished product for further drying, it depends on the specific mushrooms.

This method of drying mushrooms is quite troublesome. Convenient only if your microwave has a large capacity. On the "subcompact" the process is very tedious and lengthy, although quite real.

DRYING MUSHROOMS IN A RUSSIAN OVEN

Mushrooms prepared for drying are laid out with caps down on lattices, braids or strung on knitting needles. Loaded devices should be placed in the furnace when the temperature in it after the furnace drops to 60–70 ° C. At a higher temperature, it is not recommended to start drying, as the mushrooms can become steamed or fried, burn and turn very black. At temperatures below 50 ° C, they dry very slowly, turn sour and deteriorate.

Before loading the mushrooms under the oven, it is necessary to sweep so that there is no ash left on the floor. At the time of drying, there should not be any dishes with food or water in the oven.

If the grates or wickerwork do not have legs, then bricks placed on edge should be placed under them so that the mushrooms do not come into contact with the oven bottom.

During drying, it is very important to ensure that the moisture evaporating from the mushrooms is removed. To do this, the damper should be placed on 2 bricks, leaving a gap between them for air flow from below. The upper part of the damper should not tightly close the forehead of the furnace so that humid air is constantly removed.

At the beginning of drying, the chimney is opened by 0.75 valves, as the mushrooms dry out, it is gradually pushed in and closed tightly by the end of drying. Mushrooms dry unevenly, small caps dry faster, large ones slower, so dried mushrooms must be removed in a timely manner, otherwise they will lose their flavor and become tasteless. Under-dried mushrooms at the slightest dampness begin to mold.

STORAGE OF DRIED MUSHROOMS, CANNING OF DRIED MUSHROOMS

Dried mushrooms are very hygroscopic: they absorb moisture from the surrounding air (especially if they are prepared in the form of mushroom powder), easily become damp and moldy. In addition, they quickly absorb foreign odors. Therefore, dried mushrooms should be stored in dry, well-ventilated areas, and best of all in moisture-proof bags or in tightly closed glass or metal jars. Dried mushrooms can also be stored in gauze or linen bags, but, strictly, in a well-ventilated place and separately from products with a pungent odor.

If for some reason the mushrooms become wet, they should be sorted out and dried.

To preserve mushrooms for a long time, it is more convenient to place the mushrooms immediately after drying (while they still retain their fragility and heat) in hermetically sealed glass jars. Banks are sterilized at a temperature of 90 ° C: half-liter - for 40 minutes, liter - 50 minutes.

To suck air out of cans, you can use the following method. A little alcohol is poured onto the inner surface of the lid, it is lit and the jar is immediately closed. When burning alcohol, almost all the oxygen in the jar is consumed, as a result of which the mushrooms will not grow moldy, even if they were not dried enough and they were laid in a damp room.

Before cooking food from them, mushrooms are washed with a brush, cleaning dust and dirt, and poured for several hours with water to swell, and then boiled in the same water.

It is even better to soak dried mushrooms in milk or milk mixed with water. Mushrooms blackened during drying should be washed well before being put into the soup so that they do not give the soup a black color. A decoction of mushrooms is left to settle possible sand, filtered and used to make soups, sauces or gravies.

MANUFACTURE OF MUSHROOM POWDER

Well dried or overdried mushrooms can be crushed and ground into a fine powder in a coffee grinder. When crushed, poorly digestible films of coarse fibers are destroyed, and mushrooms in this form better reveal their taste, aroma and are more easily absorbed by the body. Powder from dried porcini mushrooms is especially good.

When grinding, 5–10% by weight of fine salt is added to the mushroom powder for preservation. Ground spices can also be added to taste: allspice, cumin, dried celery and parsley leaves, etc.

Mushroom powder is very convenient for adding to food or at the very end of cooking - no more than 0.5–1 minute before the end, or for direct addition to hot and cold food - salads, soups, main courses. It is added to omelettes when beating the egg mass.

Store mushroom powder in a glass jar with a tight lid, protected from light. Shelf life with virtually no reduction in quality - up to 1 year. published

White mushroom is the king of mushrooms, it has not only a unique aroma and taste, but is also very useful. No wonder it is called "forest meat". And that is why you so want to keep mushrooms for a long time, in order to feast on them also in the middle of winter, and not only in the season of its fruiting. Learn how to dry porcini mushrooms at home, because this is how you can preserve their aroma, taste and nutritional properties.

When collecting porcini mushrooms, try not to take too large specimens for drying, as it is not very convenient to work with them. It is also better to collect mushrooms in dry sunny weather so that they are not too damp.

Dry mushrooms should be immediately after harvest. Under no circumstances should they be washed. Boletus is a tubular fungus that easily absorbs water, and excess moisture will have a detrimental effect on the drying process.

Before drying the fruiting bodies of mushrooms, they should be prepared. Sorting is carried out according to size and quality - spoiled or wormy ones should be thrown away immediately, and small ones should be separated from large ones.

All mushrooms should be wiped with a soft cloth. The fabric can be slightly moistened, but you should not be zealous with this. All needles and sand, moss and other debris are carefully removed from the skin.

Large fruiting bodies are cut into several parts in the form of plates or into two halves along, depending on the size, small ones can be dried entirely. It is also recommended to cut especially large hats into slices, and the legs into slices about 2 cm thick. Sometimes mushrooms are completely dried in the form of “noodles” - they are cut into a mass of thin slices. Thus, mushrooms are dried much faster and better and stored better.

In dried mushrooms, more protein is stored than with any other method of harvesting for the winter.

How to dry on a thread

Usually mushrooms are dried in the traditional and one of the oldest ways - they are strung on threads, fishing line or thin knitting needles so that the fruiting bodies do not touch each other.

A canvas or nylon thread is threaded into a thick needle and each fruiting body is pierced with it. In large mushrooms, the leg is cut off by 2/3 and cut into circles, which are also strung on a thread.

"Garlands" of mushrooms are hung on the street or in the house where there is good ventilation and warm enough (for example, over a hot stove). If the fruiting bodies are dried outside, this method can only be used in dry, hot weather.

If whites are dried on knitting needles, then they are placed on wooden stands. To protect the mushrooms from flies and dust, they are covered with gauze. The period of natural drying is about 5-7 days.

Dry whites in the oven

You can easily dry mushrooms in the oven. To do this, they are cut into plates and laid out in even rows in one layer on baking sheets covered with parchment. You can also dry mushrooms on a stainless steel grate - then there will be better air circulation. Whole small fruit bodies are placed on hats.

The oven warms up to 55-60 ⁰С, prepared mushrooms are placed in it. The door does not need to be closed tightly so that there is free access of air. When the mushrooms begin to stick to the parchment (several hours will pass), the heating temperature is increased to 70 ⁰С. At the end of drying, the temperature is reduced.

In general, the drying of whites in the oven lasts at least 24 hours - the baking sheets with them are periodically removed, the mushrooms are mixed, ventilated and cooled (the procedure is carried out at least once). Thanks to these manipulations, it will be possible to preserve the beautiful color of the fruiting bodies and avoid overdrying or burning them.

Under-dried mushrooms at the slightest dampness begin to mold.

Drying in the microwave

Drying porcini mushrooms can also be done in the microwave. To do this, cut into identical slices (it is important that they dry out evenly), mushrooms are laid out on a glass plate and kept in a device turned on at a power of 100-200 W for about 18-20 minutes. During this procedure, mushroom juice will stand out, which should be drained, and let the whites cool by opening the microwave door. Then the cycle is repeated 3-4 times until the fruit bodies are completely dry. You can dry them both in the oven and in the air.

How to dry porcini mushrooms in an electric dryer

For harvesting dry mushrooms, you can also use an electric dryer. This device greatly facilitates the life of avid mushroom pickers. It does not heat the air (the temperature inside the device is set at only 55 ⁰С), during its use, electricity costs do not increase much, and the process of harvesting mushrooms takes place without human intervention.

To use an electric dryer, it is only important to know how to properly dry mushrooms. They are cut into slices and laid out in special trays, the lid is closed and the system is programmed depending on the type of mushrooms. Drying time takes from 3 to 8 hours. If not all pallets are installed in the dryer, then the mushrooms dry faster.

Rules and terms of storage of dry mushrooms

It is easy to determine the readiness of mushrooms - the dried boletus is moderately elastic, it bends hard, but it does not become covered with cracks. A poorly dried mushroom is excessively soft - it will become moldy during storage, while an overdried one, on the contrary, is fragile and breaks easily.

It does not matter if, due to inexperience, you overdried mushrooms - you can make a fragrant seasoning from them by grinding with a blender and adding salt.

Dried porcini mushrooms are stored wrapped in clean paper and placed in wooden boxes. If their number is small, then you can simply pour them into a paper or linen bag. You can also leave them suspended on a fishing line.

Freshly dried mushrooms are sometimes placed in sterilized glass jars, which are hermetically sealed, which will not allow the mushrooms to deteriorate. To do this, the edges of the jar are smeared with alcohol or water, set on fire and immediately twisted with a lid. By carrying out these manipulations, a small vacuum is created in the bank. The shelf life of dried mushrooms is from 12 to 18 months.

The place where dried mushrooms are stored should be dry, without foreign odors, and well ventilated. You can put a salt shaker near the fruiting bodies - the salt will absorb excess moisture. It is also important to periodically check the condition of the mushrooms - whether there are insects, whether they are moldy or damp. In the latter case, they can be dried in any way described above.

By the way, during drying, mushrooms lose a lot in mass - out of 10 kg of fresh mushrooms, only 1.5 kg of the workpiece will be obtained. Dried whites should smell like fresh ones. Before further use, they should be soaked in water, except when they are used to make mushroom powder.

The skill of drying porcini mushrooms will come only with experience, do not worry if the first batches are spoiled. Choose the method that suits you best from the above.

One of the best ways to harvest porcini mushrooms is drying. No other mushroom can be compared with its qualities in dried form with mushrooms. But in order to get a really great product, you need to know how to properly dry porcini mushrooms.

mushroom preparation

For drying, you can use mushrooms only strong, not loose, without serious damage. The material must be thoroughly cleaned of leaves, needles, earth. It is impossible to wash mushrooms intended for drying, they absorb moisture, take longer to cook and lose their qualities. Can be wiped with a cloth or soft bristled brush.

The cleaned mushrooms are disassembled and sorted according to quality and size. In whites, before drying, they cut off, unlike other mushrooms, only the lower part of the legs. Then each mushroom is cut along with the cap and stem along the entire length. Pieces should be 10-15 mm thick. The cut slices are laid out in one row on a sieve, tray or other drying device.

The legs of porcini mushrooms can be dried separately from the caps. In this case, they are cut into plates 4-6 mm long. During large preparations, the legs can be passed through the mushroom cutter. For taste, you can add a tenth of the caps of porcini mushrooms, cut into thin plates, to the dried legs.

Drying methods

There are many of them: in Russian stoves, dryers, in the sun, in ovens, etc. However, not all of them can be called acceptable. In villages, porcini mushrooms are often dried on a bare hearth in Russian ovens. As a result, the beautiful material deteriorates: the mushrooms become covered with ash, become dirty, dry out unevenly, become tasteless and have little flavor. Another method, in which mushrooms are strung on a rod and put into the oven with an edge, is also not good. The lower edges touching the hearth dry out, burn and get dirty. It is clear that such methods should not be used.

How to dry Russian oven porcini mushrooms

To prevent the mushrooms from burning and getting dirty, the oven must be heated and cleaned. After a while, rye straw is laid on the floor, on which mushrooms are laid with hats down. You can use iron pans covered with straw.

On the first day of such drying, the mushrooms are dried, and on the second day (with the preservation of temperature) they are dried.
Drying should be monitored and periodically take out small specimens that dry faster.

Drying in the oven

The baking sheet is covered with thick paper, on top of which clean twigs do not fit tightly. On top of the rods - mushrooms down with hats in one layer. The temperature should be such that the mushrooms do not burn, and the door should be ajar.

Over a hot stove

You can dry mushrooms at home and at the hot wall, over the stove or at the Dutch oven. Mushrooms are strung on twine or thread and hung next to a heat source.

In carousel fruit dryers

The material for drying is poured onto galvanized meshes placed in the drying chamber. First, at a temperature of 37-50 ° C, drying takes place, then the temperature rises to 60-80 ° C for final drying. The duration of the process is 4-6 hours.

Porcini mushrooms can also be dried in the sun, but in most regions of the country, they can only be dried in this way, and the final drying can be done using one of the above methods.

During drying, regardless of which method is used, it is necessary to ensure a constant supply of air and that there is an opportunity to remove the released moisture.

If the mushrooms crumble during drying or storage, the crumbs can be used to make mushroom powder, which makes excellent broths and soups.

For drying, choose strong and healthy mushrooms without pests and without rotten spots.

It is not recommended to wash the mushrooms before drying, but it is necessary to clean them from dirt, sand and earth. If the mushrooms are almost clean and dry, then you can walk with a brush for fruits and vegetables, but if the mushrooms are wet and a lot of fine dirt has stuck to them, then I recommend using a damp cloth or paper towel slightly moistened with water. The leg can be cleaned with a knife.

Clean mushrooms need to be cut. We cut off the leg at a distance of 2-3 cm from the cap. Depending on the size of the mushroom, we cut the caps into plates of the same thickness (1-1.5 cm), and the legs into rings or plates in length. Small mushrooms can be simply broken into a hat and a leg.

We spread the chopped mushrooms in the dryer trays. We turn on the device.

I do not recommend drying mushrooms at night, as you will not be able to control the process. The trays will need to be swapped from time to time so that the mushrooms dry more evenly. Drying times are approximate. This will depend on the mushrooms themselves, on your electric dryer, on the thickness of the slices and the size of the mushrooms, on the number of trays, and other factors.

Hats, especially small ones, dry first. You need to follow the process, and remove the finished mushrooms from the trays, and those that need to continue to dry, turn over or just stir. Mushrooms should not be overdried, otherwise they will lose all their flavor.

Dried mushrooms feel dry to the touch, bend slightly, and if you press harder, they break. In color they are white or grayish, as in the photo. Store them in an airtight container or in a jar with a lid in a cool, dry place.

I had the imprudence to put one batch in the evening, but after three hours I turned it off so that they would not dry out at night. It was a mistake, because in the morning they had this color, they were wet to the touch, they smelled very unpleasant. Subsequent drying did not improve the situation, the mushrooms had to be thrown away. So it is better not to interrupt the drying process.