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Oyster mushrooms are popular mushrooms along with champignons. These gifts of the forest are suitable for almost any type of culinary processing: they are fried, boiled, stewed, frozen, pickled. Having decided to prepare a dish from this ingredient, the housewife may have a question about how to clean oyster mushrooms and whether such a procedure is necessary.
Do I need to peel oyster mushrooms?
Many experienced cooks claim that it is not necessary to peel oyster mushrooms. However, this is a controversial issue, since after harvesting any mushroom crop must be subjected to special processing, and only then used for cooking. In most cases, store-bought fruits have already been processed, but oyster mushrooms collected by yourself must be cleaned before cooking.
How to clean fresh oyster mushrooms
The cleaning process is quite simple to perform and involves removing dirt and forest debris, as well as removing damaged or dried parts of the mushroom. This variety is very rarely affected by worms, but still this procedure should not be neglected. Damaged specimens will not cause any harm, but they can ruin the appearance of the overall dish. To peel oyster mushrooms, you will need a sharp knife and a clean dish sponge. There is a whole algorithm of actions that describes the entire process of cleaning oyster mushrooms:
- Clean the mushroom from dirt, dust and forest debris using a soft sponge, using light movements.
- Use a knife to remove dried or damaged areas, and cut off the tip of the stem. Some housewives recommend leaving only the cap, since the lower part of the mushroom is quite hard, especially if we are talking about an old fruit.
- If the oyster mushrooms were purchased at a supermarket or market, it is advisable to trim the dried sections thinly.
Do I need to wash oyster mushrooms?
It is necessary to wash oyster mushrooms before any type of culinary processing: frying, boiling, salting. In addition, this procedure is recommended to be carried out 2 times: before cleaning the forest products and after it. It is worth noting that when drying or freezing mushrooms, the processing algorithm is identical. It is also important to thoroughly dry each specimen after washing the oyster mushrooms.
How to wash oyster mushrooms
Mushrooms absorb a large amount of moisture, so they need to be washed either under a thin stream of water, or simply wiped with a damp cloth
Before cleaning the forest products, they must be washed. If there are a large number of mushrooms, oyster mushrooms can be processed in portions. Place a certain portion of the fruit in a colander, place it under a thin stream of water, simultaneously removing various leaves and twigs, then place in a common bowl. Repeat the above steps with the remaining copies. It is known that many other varieties of forest fruits can be soaked in water for 30-60 minutes and only then cleaned. This method is not suitable for oyster mushrooms, since they absorb all the moisture and begin to deteriorate faster. Thus, the first method is considered the most convenient.
When the damaged areas have been removed, you can proceed to the next step in processing oyster mushrooms: the mushrooms must be carefully rinsed under a weak stream of water, being careful not to damage them. Then place the fruits in a colander to drain all excess liquid. The final stage will be the obligatory drying of the forest’s gifts with a cloth or paper towels. This is what needs to be given special attention, since excess moisture in mushrooms increases the cooking time. If the forest fruits are not heavily contaminated, instead of this procedure, you can wipe the fruiting bodies with a damp cloth.
Conclusion
It is necessary to wash and clean oyster mushrooms from dirt and other forest debris. Having figured this out, you may wonder if you need to boil them before cooking. Here the housewife is given the right to choose, since pre-boiling the mushrooms is not necessary. However, this will not be superfluous if there are doubts about the freshness of the product.In addition, eating oyster mushrooms raw is extremely prohibited, since it contains chitin, which can negatively affect the human condition. That is why preliminary heat treatment is necessary to remove harmful substances.
