How to dry mushrooms at home

What mushrooms can be dried

Various types will do. Most often, tubular ones are sent for drying - those that look like a sponge under the hat. For example, mushrooms, boletus, boletus, boletus, mossiness mushrooms, goats, Polish. By the way, with the help of drying, it will be possible to process old and overgrown tubular mushrooms, which are not suitable for pickling and salting.

From the lamellar (with plates under the hat), mushrooms are dried, oyster mushrooms, umbrellas, champignons, mushrooms. But milk mushrooms, russula and volnushki are not suitable for this, because in the process they become bitter.

You can also process chanterelles, tinder fungi, morels in this way.

How to prepare mushrooms for drying

It is not recommended to wash the mushrooms before drying, so that they do not absorb excess moisture. It is enough to remove debris from them with a brush or a slightly damp cloth and clean the legs with a knife.

If you want to leave the mushrooms whole, choose about the same size so they dry evenly. If you cut into pieces, try to make them the same as well.

Keep in mind that when drying, the volume of mushrooms decreases very significantly, so do not cut them too finely. The optimal thickness of the pieces is about 1 cm. You can divide the mushrooms into hats and legs, cut into halves or quarters.

How to dry mushrooms in the oven

Arrange the mushrooms on the wire rack in a single layer so that they do not touch each other. If the holes in it are too large, spread the baking paper. Place the rack in the oven preheated to 50°C.

The door should always be ajar by 10-15 cm. After 1.5-2 hours, increase the temperature to 75°C. Leave the mushrooms for another 2 hours, then lower the heating intensity to 55 °C and wait again for 2 hours. Then break one of the pieces in half. If inside it is dry, mushrooms can be removed, if wet, keep them in the oven at 55 ° C until cooked.

After such dehydration, remove the grates with blanks and let them cool completely at room temperature.

How to dry mushrooms in the microwave

Arrange the mushrooms on a plate or wire rack in a single layer. It is desirable that the pieces do not touch each other. Send them to microwave for 20 minutes by setting the power to 100 watts.

Then open the door and ventilate the chamber for 7-10 minutes to get rid of excess moisture. Turn on the microwave oven again for 20 minutes, and then ventilate for 7-10 minutes. In total, four or five such cycles should be carried out. Remove the finished product and cool at room temperature.

How to dry mushrooms in an electric dryer

Lay the pieces in a single layer on special pallets. Set the temperature to 40-50°C. The process will take from 6 to 12 hours - it all depends on the size of the mushrooms and the characteristics of the device itself.

It is useful to first read the instructions and set the settings recommended by the manufacturer for the dehydration of this product.

How to dry mushrooms on a thread

This is the longest, but the cheapest way in terms of costs for electricity. String whole or chopped mushrooms on a rope or copper wire, keeping a small distance.

Hang the "garland" in a dry, warm and ventilated area.

The duration of such drying depends on the size of the mushrooms, but on average the process takes a week. Remove the finished product from the thread and send it to storage.

How to store dried mushrooms

Mushrooms quickly absorb foreign smells. Dried pieces or whole specimens should be stored in tightly sealed containers to preserve the true flavor.

Suitable glass jars with screw or plastic lids, food containers or bags with a slider closure. Also, special bags will fit as packaging, from which air is pumped out with the help of a vacuum cleaner. Dried mushrooms stored at room temperature for about 3 years.