Can mushrooms be frozen? Aren’t they likely to deteriorate? No, you can freeze the mushrooms and thaw them without any problem. You will enjoy it all year round! But it is necessary to follow some rules for the preservation of mushrooms so that they keep all their qualities.
This is true of freezing button mushrooms like other mushrooms. Care must also be taken to follow the appropriate thawing procedure.
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Method for freezing fresh mushrooms: raw product recipe
Mushrooms and oyster mushrooms can be frozen both raw and cooked. If they are to be frozen raw, it is important to clean them thoroughly first. To prepare them for freezing, use paper towels or a brush, but especially not water. Mushrooms are indeed impregnated with water and thus lose their flavor.
It is best to cut large mushrooms like button mushrooms into slices or four. You can then portioned them in freezer bags or boxes.
If you prefer to take the frozen mushrooms one by one, you can prevent them from sticking to each other in the freezer container by pre-freezing them. Spread the mushrooms cut into pieces on a kitchen board and place it in the freezer for a day.
Then you can put the pre-frozen mushroom pieces in a suitable container.
Advice:
Freezing fresh mushrooms preserves vitamins and minerals!
Prepare bags to freeze your fresh mushrooms.
Choose a bag of the right size
Sopalin type paper allows you to wipe them before freezing, you can also use a cloth cloth
Do not keep them in the refrigerator before freezing them
Method for freezing cooked mushrooms
To freeze chanterelles or fresh morels, the mushrooms must be blanched before freezing. The reason: when thawing, the fungus becomes bitter. Blanch the mushrooms for one minute in boiling water with a little lemon juice or vinegar. Then let them cool and transfer them to a freezer container.
Remember that after thawing, the fungus will be soft, it will be difficult to cut, so it is better to slice it before blanching.
You also have the option to use the mushrooms directly in a delicious dish and freeze it. For this, do not let the dish cool to room temperature, but freeze it directly. Otherwise, bacteria may grow and spoil the dish.
Method for thawing mushrooms
If the mushrooms have been frozen fresh, they can be reused directly out of the freezer. The same goes for mushrooms or blanched frozen mushroom dishes. These should not be thawed at room temperature.
Instead, mushrooms should be heated directly in the pan or microwave oven to a temperature of at least 70 degrees – don’t forget to stir occasionally! This is the best recipe!
What is the shelf life of frozen mushrooms?
If you have picked the mushrooms from your basket yourself, had their edibility checked, cleaned them carefully with paper towels and vinegar, and frozen them fresh, you can store them in the freezer without any problem.
If you bought the mushrooms and can’t clearly say how old they are, you shouldn’t leave them in the freezer for more than six months.
Alternative recipes: dried mushrooms
If you have picked up a lot of mushrooms in your basket and you no longer have room in the freezer, there is an old alternative, which is to dry the mushrooms. In the past, we did not have freezers, but morels or chanterelles were still consumed all year round, by drying them.
Rather than freezing fresh mushrooms, there are recipes to keep them dry and then rehydrate them by soaking them in a liter of water. Forest varieties dry especially well with a dehydrator.
But you can also dry the mushrooms thoroughly cleaned on a baking sheet in an oven slightly opened at about 40 ° C for several hours. Dried mushrooms are delicious in soups and sauces!
The dehydrated mushroom that has been soaked in a liter of water does not taste the same as the fresh product. The aromas are more concentrated, the flesh harder, which makes this recipe interesting for cooking.
Categories of mushrooms
There are many categories of mushrooms. Here are the main ones:
Our first variety: porcini mushrooms
Porcini mushrooms are wide-cap mushrooms that are very tasty and healthy. They are found in the forest.
You can also buy the porcini mushrooms in bags, fresh or dried, and store them in the refrigerator once prepared.
Morels
These delicious and refined mushrooms are among the most sought-after varieties. Their flesh is very fine. You can buy them dried in a paper bag or jars. Unless you prefer fresh mushrooms.
Chanterelles
These mushrooms with a very fine taste are prepared with a little salt and are rich in fiber. They accompany game dishes. Another way to consume them is to enjoy them with pasta after sautéing them in a tablespoon of oil.
Chanterelles
The chanterelles resemble the previous ones, but smaller. These are wild mushrooms, delicious with a little salt. They are an ideal accompaniment to meat dishes in sauce.
Our mushroom recipes: cooking ideas
There are several recipes for the preparation of mushrooms. Preservation is not the only problem we face when we want to consume this food. Often, we do not know how to prepare it in the kitchen, while retaining all its flavor. Other recipes are available regularly in our newsletter, to which we recommend you subscribe.
Whether you buy your mushrooms fresh or go pick them yourself to prepare them in the kitchen, you will need to cook them, usually over low heat. Before, you can rinse them in a little vinegar to clean them and then drain them, especially if you have rehydrated them or if you use a product in brine. It is possible to wipe them in a cloth.
You can blanch the mushrooms, then drain them, and according to your desire, add white wine or a teaspoon of salt.
Other preparation methods in our newsletter.
Buy mushrooms on our online site
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