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Drying umbrella mushrooms is easy. The process does not require special skills or dexterity, but the finished product pleases with its taste and benefits. The umbrella is a mushroom of the genus Champignonaceae. It has low carbohydrates and a small amount of calories, so it is considered a dietary product. Due to its taste, it is widely used in cooking. It is not only dried, but also salted, pickled, fried, and frozen. It goes well with potatoes, sour cream, garlic and butter. Looks great on the table and is liked by all mushroom flavor lovers.
Soups made from dried umbrellas are especially tasty.
Is it possible to dry umbrella mushrooms?
Many housewives prepare umbrellas for the winter using the drying method. And then they are used to prepare first and second courses, gravy and sauces. In addition, mushroom powder is prepared from dried fruiting bodies, which is used as an aromatic seasoning.
When collecting umbrellas in the forest, you should know how they differ from poisonous specimens. The difference is that when the cap is broken, a pleasant, nut-like smell is felt, and the ring on the stem moves freely, while in toadstools it is fixed. Only certain species of the genus can be eaten: white, maiden, conrad, motley.
When opened, a good umbrella has a cap diameter of about 40 cm and a height of 30 cm.
How to prepare umbrella mushrooms for drying
Before drying umbrella mushrooms for the winter, they must be sorted out of debris, rotten specimens and spoiled by animals. Then the stuck pine needles and tree leaves should be removed from the cap and cut into 2-4 parts. Clean the young legs and remove the old ones.
How to dry an umbrella correctly
There are several ways to dry umbrellas, everyone can choose the most suitable and convenient for themselves:
- In the dryer. Place the prepared fruiting bodies in the bowl of an electrical appliance for drying vegetables and herbs, set the temperature and time, and wait for the process to complete.
- In the sun. Place the umbrellas evenly on a board or baking sheet, cover with cooking paper, and place in direct sunlight in a well-ventilated place. Dry for 7-10 days.
- In limbo. Place mushroom slices on a thread or wire, cover with gauze to protect from flies and dust, and hang in a dry, ventilated area for a couple of weeks.
- In the oven. Place the prepared umbrellas on a baking sheet lined with baking paper or foil. Place in an oven preheated to 50 for 3 hours. °C. After the time has passed, turn off the cabinet and leave the umbrellas in it until the morning. The next day, turn the slices over and dry for another 60 minutes, maintaining the same conditions.
The color of the finished mushrooms should remain light. The slices are not allowed to crack in your hands. Dried umbrella legs and broken specimens are ground in a coffee grinder or blender, and the resulting mushroom powder is used as a seasoning. Dried caps are used after preliminary soaking.
Mushroom powder is often present in culinary recipes as a seasoning.
Terms and conditions of storage of dried umbrellas
To ensure that the dried product does not lose its beneficial and tasteful qualities, it is important to follow some rules. First, dried fruiting bodies should be stored away from warm and humid places. Secondly, they are placed in a special container:
- ventilated fabric bags;
- hermetically sealed containers;
- vacuum or thick paper bags;
- glass jars covered with paper or linen cloth, tightly tied with rope.
When properly stored, dried mushrooms remain tasty even the next year after harvesting.
Conclusion
It is worth drying umbrella mushrooms because they are very valuable and useful. Even in dry form, they retain a sufficient amount of minerals and vitamins, which the body lacks during the autumn-winter period. Umbrellas clean blood vessels, have an antibacterial effect and lower cholesterol levels. And dishes with their addition have a great taste and rich aroma.
