Freezing honey mushrooms: raw, boiled, stewed and fried

Freezing honey mushrooms is a great way to make preparations for the winter. Since mushrooms can be frozen not only raw, but also after heat treatment, the choice of dishes in which they can be used becomes wider.

Is it possible to freeze honey mushrooms for the winter at home?

Freezing honey mushrooms for the winter is not only possible, but very necessary, since they are a source of useful substances for the body. However, their composition is very diverse, and in order to preserve the beneficial microelements they contain (such as iron, copper, zinc and magnesium), freezing must be done correctly.When choosing a preparation method, you need to immediately decide for which dishes the honey mushrooms will be used, since depending on the chosen method, their consistency will differ.

Thus, frozen honey mushrooms can be used to prepare a variety of:

• soups;
• salads;
• stew;
• pie fillings;
• and much more.

In fact, properly frozen mushrooms have the same properties as fresh ones, only they can be eaten not only during the season, but throughout the year.

Collection, cleaning and sorting of honey mushrooms

When collecting, it is important to remember that in addition to tasty and healthy honey mushrooms, there are “false honey mushrooms”, which are poisonous (or simply inedible). Therefore, the main rule when collecting or buying honey mushrooms is: “If you’re not sure, don’t take it.”

After collection, it's time to clean. It is advisable to do preliminary cleaning in the forest - remove soil, needles and small leaves, throw away wormy or rotten specimens.

Whether or not to wash mushrooms for freezing depends on how exactly they will be frozen.

Another important point in preparing honey mushrooms for freezing is sorting. In addition to the fact that you need to select as many whole mushrooms as possible (not beaten, not starting to deteriorate, not eaten by worms, etc.), it is most convenient to sort them by size - large to large, small to small, in order to further simplify the cooking process.

How can you freeze honey mushrooms?

Mushrooms in varying degrees (and different forms) of readiness are suitable for freezing. So, you can freeze them:

• in raw form;
• boiled;
• blanched;
• fried.

When choosing a method, you need to take into account not only its convenience, but also the further purpose of the workpiece.

Preparing honey mushrooms for freezing

The preparation process greatly depends on the chosen method of freezing mushrooms, since each method has its own characteristics.

The first stages of preparation - collecting and sorting by size - are the same for all methods. The differences begin at the cleaning stage, while the initial cleaning is quite universal and consists of removing visible dirt from the surface of the mushroom. But washing honey mushrooms is not possible in all cases:

1. If mushrooms are intended to be frozen raw (or dried), then they cannot be washed; Dry dirt is removed using a knife or napkin. If you cannot do without washing, you can quickly rinse them in running water and dry them thoroughly before freezing.
2. If honey mushrooms are subsequently boiled or fried, they should be soaked briefly in cold water to get rid of fine dirt, and only then rinsed under tap water.

Another question: do I need to cut large mushrooms? When freezing raw, you do not need to cut them, but when boiling or frying, you should cut them into pieces of the same size. In addition, you need to remember that freezing should be done as quickly as possible, without leaving it for several days.

How to freeze fresh honey mushrooms for the winter

Fresh honey mushrooms are good because they retain their appearance and texture after freezing. They are elastic and hold their shape well, unlike heat-treated mushrooms.

They should be frozen like this:

1. Clean from small debris using a dry method.
2. Sort by size.
3. Place on a cutting board, tray or tray and place in the freezer. It should be laid out in one layer.
4. Leave in the chamber for 2–3 hours.
5. Divide into bags.

Mushrooms frozen in this way can be used in the preparation of both first and second courses, fillings for baked goods, salads, and simply as an addition to a side dish.

Freezing boiled honey mushrooms for the winter

Mushrooms boiled before freezing are convenient because they do not need to be specially processed during the defrosting process, but can be used immediately. They can be used in making soup or mushroom caviar.

How to properly cook honey mushrooms before freezing

There are several ways to boil mushrooms before freezing. There are a few things to keep in mind before you start cooking:

• during cooking, the mushrooms greatly decrease in size;
• salted water is required for cooking;
• Before cooking, mushrooms must be thoroughly washed;
• the minimum cooking time is an hour, or better yet 2 hours;
• Since large specimens take longer to cook than small ones, mushrooms need to be sorted according to size.

How long to cook honey mushrooms for freezing for the winter

Mushrooms are considered fully prepared when all specimens settle to the bottom of the pan. After cooking, they can be packaged for freezing, after allowing them to dry. Unlike raw ones, there is no need to pre-freeze boiled honey mushrooms. They can be placed either in bags or in tightly closed plastic containers. Frozen boiled mushrooms can be stored for up to six months.

Method 1

Place the peeled mushrooms in boiling water and cook for 10 minutes, periodically skimming off the foam. Then drain the water and add fresh water, add salt again and cook for an hour, stirring.At the end of cooking, transfer to a colander and let the water drain and let the mushrooms dry (you can blot them with napkins).

Method 2

Place the mushrooms in a saucepan with cold salted water, put it on the fire and let it boil. After boiling and foam appears (the foam must be skimmed off), cook for 3 minutes, drain the water and add clean water. Add salt and continue to cook over low heat for an hour. Then drain the water, let it cool and only then freeze.

Freezing boiled honey mushrooms for the winter

For freezing, you can use both food containers and freezer bags (or regular plastic bags). There are several rules to remember when creating blanks:

1. Choose mushrooms of the same size for ease of preparation.
2. The preparations are divided into small portions, since they cannot be re-frozen.
3. You need to carefully remove excess moisture - to do this, you can transfer the mushrooms to a colander, let the liquid drain, place on a towel and let dry.
4. Since even after the water has drained, the mushrooms can still produce juice, you need to leave some free space in storage containers.

Some recipes advise you to first place the mushrooms on a tray and leave them in the freezer for 2-3 hours, and after that put them in bags, but in order to save time, this can be neglected - after defrosting, the result will look the same.

Rules for freezing after blanching

Blanching is a short-term treatment of the product with hot water.

There are several ways to blanch.

So it is possible:

1. Place a colander with mushrooms in the sink and pour boiling water over them (easy method).
2. Prepare two pans - one with cold water, the other with salted water - put on the fire and bring to a boil.Dip the mushrooms into boiling water and let them cook for 2-3 minutes, then quickly transfer them to a pan with cold water.

Transfer the mushrooms to a colander and leave, allowing excess liquid to drain. Cooled and dried honey mushrooms are laid out in bags (containers) and sent to the freezer.

How to properly freeze fried mushrooms

Frozen fried honey mushrooms can be used to prepare stews or as a side dish. Frying time, as a rule, does not exceed 20 minutes.

They are fried this way:

1. Washed dry the honey mushrooms thoroughly.
2. Heat a frying pan and, without adding oil, add mushrooms to it.
3. Fry until the juice comes out.
4. Add oil, fry until golden brown.
5. Place in a colander and let the oil drain.
6. Pack the cooled mushrooms and place them in the freezer.

How to freeze stewed mushrooms for the winter

The process of stewing mushrooms for the winter is very similar to frying:

1. The washed mushrooms are allowed to dry, placed in a hot frying pan without oil and salted.
2. After the juice flows, cover the frying pan with a lid and simmer for 20-25 minutes. If the juice boils away too much, you can add boiled water.
3. Then you need to drain the juice and place the cooled mushrooms in containers.

Freezing mushroom caviar from honey mushrooms

Since this caviar is made from pre-boiled mushrooms, it can be frozen. The peculiarity of preparing mushroom caviar is that after freezing it requires additional processing.

The caviar is prepared like this:

1. Honey mushrooms are soaked in salt water, washed and cleaned.
2. Cook in any convenient way until done.
3. Transfer to a colander, allow the water to drain, and then grind in any convenient way - in a meat grinder, blender or using a food processor.
4. Crushed caviar is packaged in bags or containers and sent to the freezer.
5. To defrost, you will need to do the following: place the frozen product in a heated frying pan, add half a cup of water and wait until the caviar begins to thaw. After the liquid begins to evaporate, add spices to taste, cover the pan with a lid and simmer until the water has completely evaporated.

How to cook frozen mushrooms

Frozen honey mushrooms are a tasty and healthy product. But in order to please your loved ones with an appetizing dish, you need to know the recipes and subtleties of cooking.

What dishes can you add frozen honey mushrooms to?

As mentioned earlier, the same dishes can be prepared from frozen honey mushrooms as from fresh ones, especially if the freezing took place raw. Fried or stewed ones can be made into a stew or side dish, and boiled ones can be used as a filling or ingredient for a salad, or as a base for mushroom soup.

How to properly use frozen honey mushrooms

Honey mushrooms must be defrosted gradually, at room temperature; You cannot use a stream of hot water or a microwave for this. But this only applies to pre-cooked mushrooms, but raw ones can be immediately boiled or fried - they will defrost in the process. Raw mushrooms require mandatory heat treatment, but boiled, fried or stewed mushrooms do not. They can be added to soups without pre-processing.

Raw mushrooms must be boiled or fried before eating.

How long does it take to cook frozen raw mushrooms?

In total, the process of boiling mushrooms takes 20–30 minutes, depending on their size and quantity.If the mushrooms are originally intended for frying, they can either be pre-boiled or immediately put into a frying pan without defrosting.

Shelf life of frozen mushrooms

The shelf life depends on the form in which the product was frozen:

• raw – up to 6 months;
• boiled – up to a year;
• fried – up to a year;
• in the form of caviar – up to 6 months.

Some tips for freezing and storing mushrooms

To ensure that not only freezing, but also thawing mushrooms goes without problems, it’s worth remembering a few things:

1. For freezing, use only fresh and whole mushrooms.
2. Mushrooms do not tolerate repeated freezing.
3. Before freezing, remove excess liquid.
4. For convenience, it is better to pack in small portions.
5. In order not to miss the expiration date, it is worth signing on the bags and containers not only the date of packaging, but also the form in which the honey mushrooms are frozen - boiled, fried, cheese.
6. There is no need to completely fill the container or bag when packing - the mushrooms may release juice, and you will need free space for it.

Conclusion

Freezing honey mushrooms is a simple action, but in order for everything to be successful, it requires attentiveness and accuracy. The main advantages of frozen mushrooms include ease of storage and preservation of taste and nutrients.

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