The stem of the mushroom is cut at the base or, if the mushroom is not familiar enough, carefully pulled out. The lower part of the stem of the fungus is characterized by some features that make it possible to determine its type, in particular, to distinguish fly agaric (thickness and ring) from edible mushrooms. The leg of the porcini fungus, due to its nutritional value, is entirely used as food. The legs of honey mushrooms and motley umbrellas are viscous, they can be cut off or broken off from the hat. Not a single mushroom can be sharply pulled out of the ground, because this is applied great harm mycelium.
The mushroom basket should be low and wide. In a tall narrow basket, the mushrooms are wrinkled, and besides, it is difficult to remove them from there. You can also use boxes, but in a mesh or bag, especially made of plastic, the mushrooms crumble.
The knife for picking and cleaning mushrooms should be small and sharp, preferably made of of stainless steel. A dull knife will only crush mushrooms. In the forest, wormholes and other damaged parts are removed, debris and leaves are removed. At home, the mushrooms are once again carefully sorted out, cleaned and prepared for processing.
Sort by type. It is advisable to process and harvest mushrooms by type, because their taste and cooking methods are different.
If there are few mushrooms, then first of all, mushrooms that can be fried fresh should be separated from mushrooms that require heat treatment. It is desirable to distribute the mushrooms in size to facilitate their subsequent processing.
Garbage cleaning. Needles, leaves, moss and other forest debris are cleaned with a wide soft brush, cotton swab or soft cloth. Garbage adhering to the smooth cap of the mushroom is scraped off with a knife. From mushrooms that do not require heat treatment, debris is removed especially carefully, cleaning the folds with a brush, since they are often used dry; unwashed mushrooms are used for frying, drying and baking, or they are quickly washed and dried immediately.
Knife cleaning. With a sharp stainless steel knife, all darkened and softened places are cut out, as well as those parts that are damaged by forest pests. In older tubular mushrooms, the tubular part of the cap is cut out. In some mushrooms that have a viscous leg, it is cut off entirely. In russula, oily late and granular, starting from the edges, the skin is removed from the cap, since after heat treatment it becomes mucous.
Washing. Wash and soak the mushrooms as little as possible. Mushrooms that are used for frying or drying are not washed. Mushrooms used for other types of processing are washed quickly cold water and recline on a sieve, sieve or flat board to glass the water. Only mushrooms uneven surface- morels, lines. variegated blackberries, etc. - should be washed longer to remove sand adhering to the folds of the cap.
Soaking. Salted mushrooms or mushrooms that have a bitter taste are soaked to improve their taste, dry mushrooms - to restore moisture in them. Washed mushrooms are placed in cold water and soaked until the desired results are obtained, usually within 2-6 hours. When soaking bitter or salty mushrooms, the water is changed every hour so that unwanted substances dissolve faster. The water in which dry mushrooms were soaked is used for food along with the substances dissolved in it. After a long soak, especially if the mushrooms are soaked immediately after their heat treatment, many valuable nutrients also dissolve in the water.
Slicing. Washed mushrooms of larger sizes are cut into pieces. White mushrooms, champignons, mushrooms and russula are used together with legs. To make the cooked dish or canned food look more beautiful, the legs of the mushrooms are cooked separately. The mushroom cap is carefully cut into equal pieces - divided into four parts, six parts, etc. The mushroom leg is cut into thin circles, thus breaking the vertically arranged viscous fibers that make it up, and a more tasty mushroom dish is obtained.
Heat treatment. The purpose of cooking mushrooms is to reduce (eliminate) the bitter taste or toxicity. It should be borne in mind that heat treatment reduces the nutritional value of mushrooms and weakens their taste and aroma. Therefore, mushrooms should be used whenever possible without prior heat treatment. In no case should you heat-treat porcini mushrooms, chanterelles, saffron mushrooms, champignons, morels, parasol mushrooms, summer mushrooms and annular caps. Most russula and rows also do not need to be boiled. Chanterelles, annular caps, boletus legs and some other mushrooms become viscous after cooking.
Mushrooms should be cooked, which contain poisonous substances that dissolve in water: ordinary lines, russula are burning and brittle, pink waves (volzhanka), yellow and black milk mushrooms. Boil for 15-30 minutes in plenty of water. The broth is drained, as it can cause poisoning of animals.
Because of the bitter taste, many mushrooms require heat treatment: bitters, fiddlers, real mushrooms, camphor lactic, alder, sweetish and non-caustic, serushki, white pods, some types of russula, moths, some types of talkers, pigs and many others. It is enough to cook these mushrooms from 5 to 15 minutes so that the bitter taste in them disappears. The unpleasant taste of the gall fungus does not disappear even after cooking.
There are several ways to heat mushrooms:
* Bring the water to a boil, add 1/2 tablespoon of salt to one liter of water. Mushrooms are dipped in boiling water and kept there for 5-15 minutes, then transferred to cold water so that they cool faster.
* Mushrooms are dipped in cold salted water, quickly brought to a boil. After boiling, the dishes are removed from the fire and the mushrooms are allowed to cool in the same water or poured over clean water.
After the water is drained, the mushrooms are transferred to a cloth bag or on a sieve so that the water is glass. It is not advisable to dry the mushrooms by pressing hard, because in this case many valuable substances are removed from the mushrooms.
Blanching. To maintain integrity and elasticity during the cold method of pickling and pickling, the mushrooms are blanched. This treatment is mainly subjected to russula with a large flat hat, as well as mushrooms. The washed mushrooms are put on a sieve and scalded with water for a few minutes, dipped in boiling water or kept over hot steam. After such a quick heat treatment, the mushrooms become more elastic and, when placed in a storage dish, do not break.
Short storage of fresh mushrooms. If it is not possible to process the mushrooms on the same day, they are stored for one night (no more!) Cleaned, but not washed or cut. Mushrooms are transferred to a wide basket or some kind of flat dish and in open form stored in a cool room with plenty of air: in the basement, shed, corridor, etc. Very good place storage is a refrigerator with a temperature of +2--+6°. Mushrooms to be boiled can be poured with cold water. Dishes for soaking should be wide and low. Before processing, the mushrooms should be carefully sorted again and the damaged parts that have arisen during storage should be removed. Previously unnoticed individual wormholes, softened spots and other damage can increase so much during storage that most mushrooms become unfit for human consumption.
Collecting mushrooms is a pleasure. No wonder such an event is called a quiet hunt. You can take a leisurely walk through the forest, admire nature, breathe in fresh air listen to the birds singing and insects buzzing. And at the same time collect a full basket of forest gifts. Bringing mushrooms home, they must be processed. Sort, make another responsible revision of all mushrooms and make delicious ones so that they please us with their taste. Collected mushrooms should be processed immediately, if possible, no more than 5-6 hours after collection, since with prolonged storage they are quickly affected by insect larvae (worms), mold, become limp and are spoiled by putrefactive bacteria. Mushrooms, especially tubular ones, as they are more tender, left overnight in a basket, are so damaged that they are almost completely unfit for consumption. necessary mushrooms can be left overnight, but only after decomposing them thin layer in a cool place.
The processing of mushrooms begins with disassembling them by type. It is important that not a single mushroom of another species gets into the wrong “company”, and most importantly, that inedible and even more poisonous ones do not get along with edible ones. Mushrooms can be used fresh - boiled or fried, or you can prepare them for future use. To prepare porcini, caesar mushroom, chanterelle, champignon, camelina, mushrooms, boletus, boletus, some russula, motley flakes and others, it is enough to boil them, season with sour cream, pepper and salt, or fry them right away. Other mushrooms must first be boiled, drained and boiled again or fried. Oil is added after the water from the mushrooms has evaporated sufficiently.
There are four main ways to harvest mushrooms for future use: drying, pickling, pickling and canning.
Drying mushrooms
This is one of the best and more simple ways processing, in which mushrooms, without losing their value, can be stored for several years. Only fresh, young, strong and healthy, that is, undamaged by insect larvae, sorted by size mushrooms are subject to drying. Do not dry flabby and rotten mushrooms.
During state procurements, only tubular mushrooms are dried: porcini, boletus, boletus, sometimes boletus; from marsupials - lines and morels. Agaric mushrooms are usually not dried, since poisonous agaric can also get along with edible ones. As an exception, mushrooms are sometimes dried, but under the strict control of the harvester during selection.
At home, in addition to the above, you can successfully dry the Caesar mushroom, raincoats and hedgehogs, champignons, chanterelles, horns and others. It is impossible to dry milk mushrooms, volnushki, pepper mushroom, valuy, violinist, because when they dry they do not lose their bitterness.
For drying, mushrooms are thoroughly cleaned of leaves, twigs, pieces of soil. The places defeated by slugs, insect larvae are removed with a knife. Then rub well wet towel but do not wash. Soaked mushrooms dry slowly and darken.
The oldest drying method is drying in Russian ovens. When 2-3 hours have passed, after the stove has been heated, the ashes are well raked out, swept out and the mushrooms prepared for drying are scattered on the bottom of the stove with a thin layer. Put them on the straw with a layer of 5-6 cm or on pieces of plywood, iron sieves or sieves. In all cases, mushrooms must be laid out in one (row, upside down and so that they do not touch each other. The pipe and oven damper must be open. (Drying begins at a temperature of 40-45 °. Mushrooms at the same time retain their inherent flavor better. In addition, in the future, with an increase in temperature in the oven (but not higher than 70 °), they quickly dry out.At the initial temperature of 60-70 °, a crust forms on the surface of the mushrooms, and they dry slowly, with more high temperature(over 70 °) burn and lose their qualities.
In conditions of organized harvesting, more advanced devices such as drying cabinets. In modern life, a stove with an oven is more used. The principle of drying remains the same as for the Russian oven. At home, it is good to dry mushrooms in two stages. First, they can be dried in the sun or over the stove, and then dried in the oven.
Well-dried mushrooms, when squeezed in the hand, should not stick together, but should not crumble. Mushrooms that are not dried out quickly deteriorate, and overdried ones are difficult to soften and do not boil well. Store dried mushrooms in boxes lined with wax, in paper bags, in glass jars with ground cork, in dry rooms. Humidity should not exceed 70%. If a room with more high humidity, then after 1-2 months the mushrooms must be checked and if mold appears, they should be dried well. Dried mushrooms easily absorb foreign odors, so they cannot be stored together with strong-smelling foods, such as fish, smoked meats, etc.
From finely chopped mushrooms, overdried or crumbled, you can prepare mushroom powder. Especially good taste and aroma is obtained from mushroom powder, not bad from raincoats at a young age. These mushrooms must be cut into thin slices, strung on strings or laid out on baking sheets covered with a towel and dried, then ground in a coffee mill or crushed in a mortar. The powder is stored in closed glass jars, used for soups and sauces.
Salting mushrooms
Salted mainly lamellar, and most often of them lactic, that is, mushrooms that secrete milky juice. They mostly have a very spicy taste, which does not disappear with all cooking methods, except for salting. At the same time, non-bitter milkers (saffron milk cap) and other lamellar, non-milky ones, such as russula, honey agaric, are also salted. In the case when a lot of mushrooms are collected and there is not enough time or there is no way to dry or pickle it, they resort to salting and tubular mushrooms.
Almost all mushrooms can be salted at home, with the exception of very brittle strings, morels, dung beetles, as well as garlic mushroom, meadow mushroom, etc., which can only be collected for soup or seasoning due to the small amount. After cleaning and sorting, the mushrooms are thoroughly washed with running water (under the tap), preferably one mushroom at a time. If the mushrooms are dense, a brush can be used for washing. When salting, the legs are cut off completely and most mushrooms do not go into salting, with the exception of saffron milk mushrooms, porcini, boletus and aspen mushrooms, in which a part of the leg 1-2 cm long is left. The rest is cut off and processed separately. Mushrooms that are crumbled, overripe, not fresh enough and beginning to worm are not suitable for salting.
At home, you can salt various mushrooms together, but you need to boil them separately. Such assorted mushrooms are tastier than salting from one species. Mushrooms are salted in three ways: dry, cold and hot.
Dry salting method
It is considered the best, since the mushroom product is of the highest quality. In this way, most of the mushrooms are salted and the best views russula, that is, mushrooms that do not have a bitter taste and, therefore, do not require pre-treatment (soaking, blanching and boiling). In addition, these are juicy mushrooms, and therefore, they themselves will give enough juice for brine when salted. You can also salt the milkweed.
It is better not to wash mushrooms before dry salting, but only wipe them thoroughly with a damp cloth. You can salt in barrels, enameled buckets, pots, porcelain or glass jars. Salting is simply unacceptable in metal dishes due to its oxidation. Dishes in all cases should be well washed or even steamed with blackcurrant, nettle leaves or juniper branches. A little salt is poured at the bottom, the mushrooms are laid in a layer of 5-6 cm thick with their hats down, then each layer is sprinkled with salt at the rate of 40 g per 1 kg of fresh mushrooms for mushrooms, 50-60 g for other types of mushrooms (this is for mass harvesting, and for homemade, you can take less, about 30 g). Mushrooms are covered from above with a clean (boiled) cloth, then with a wooden circle that freely enters the container, on which oppression (load) is placed.
After a few days, pickled mushrooms will thicken, give juice and gradually settle. As it settles, the dishes should be replenished with new portions of mushrooms until it is filled to the top. Fresh mushrooms are sprinkled with salt in the same way as in the first laying of mushrooms. However, it must be taken into account that the settling of mushrooms is slow, and replenishment may be delayed due to the lack of new mushroom collections. In this case, boiled chilled water can be poured into the dishes to the top at the rate of 1 liter per 10 kg of mushrooms. After that, the barrel or other container must be tightly closed. Thus, harvested mushrooms will not deteriorate.
Cold pickling method
It differs from dry in that the mushrooms are pre-soaked in cold, slightly salted water. For such salting, there are sharp, bitter and with an unpleasant taste mushrooms - volnushki, real breast, pepper mushroom, violin, valui and some others. Soak in a cool room in salted water for 1-2 and no more than 3 days. Water is changed 2-3 times a day. It is necessary to ensure that the mushrooms are completely immersed in water, for this you can put wooden circle or a plate, and on top of a small load.
After soaking, the mushrooms are washed well, slightly dried and salted in the same way as with dry salting. The brine should cover the top of the circle, if not, then you need to increase the load. Most of the types of mushrooms salted by dry and cold methods are considered suitable for consumption after 1-1.5 months. However, russula are ready in 5-6 days.
Hot salting method
They are used in the same way as cold ones, for real mushrooms, oak mushrooms, valuya, fiddlers, pepper mushrooms, chanterelles, russula, pigs with a firebox and others. This method differs from the previous one in that prepared, washed in cold water fungi are exposed (Table 2). Processing mode various kinds mushrooms are not the same. Most of the listed mushrooms are cooked both cold and hot. But thin pork can only be salted hot, because without boiling it is poisonous. Boil it for about an hour in a strong saline solution (3-4 tablespoons of salt per 1 liter of water). As a result of processing, toxic substances pass into a decoction. It is poured out, the mushrooms are washed and, slightly dried, salted. Mushrooms treated in this way can be iii marinated and fried, then they are not poisonous.
After boiling or scalding, water from mushrooms of all kinds is not reused, poured out. The cauldron or pan in which the mushrooms were boiled is washed, wiped with dry salt and washed again to avoid burning and darkening of the mushrooms in the next bookmark.
After hot processing, the mushrooms are salted in the usual way, that is, in the same way as with dry and cold salting methods, often only with an unequal dose of salt and the use of various spices (Table 2) for different types mushrooms. In table. 2, columns 3 and 4 indicate the weight of salt from a smaller value to a larger one, for example, for chanterelles 30-45 g per 1 kg. This means: 45 g of salt is taken per 1 kg of mushrooms in working conditions and 30 g per 1 kg at home. In addition, it should be noted: at home in the cool season less, at the beginning of summer more. Mushrooms are salted mostly with garlic, dill, bay leaf and pepper, and often without spices at all.
Salted mushrooms should be stored in a cool, dry place (cellar, basement), preferably in a refrigerator, at a temperature of 0 to + 2 ° and not more than + 6 °. In a warm room, mushrooms can turn sour and moldy on top. Freezing mushrooms should not be allowed - they become soft, loose, darken and deteriorate.
From salted mushrooms you can cook delicious salted ones. They are especially good from caps 2-3 cm in size. Before use, mushrooms pickled in the usual way are soaked in cold water for 6-8 hours. Then they are laid out in jars, tie the jars with parchment or close with polyethylene:! lids and store in a cool place.
| mushroom name | The nature and duration of heat treatment, minutes. | Salt requirement g/kg | Spices | After how many days can you use | ||||||||
| for boiling | for salting | black currant leaf | dill | garlic | peppercorns | Bay leaf | cinnamon | star anise | carnation | |||
|
real breast |
+ | + | — | — | — | — | — | — | 30-35 | |||
|
White loader |
+ | + | + | + | + | — | — | — | 30-35 | |||
|
Brew 20-30-60 |
+ | + | + | + | + | — | — | — | 50-55 | |||
|
Brew 20-25 |
— | — | — | + | + | — | — | + | 30-35 | |||
|
Volnushka pink |
Scalded 1-2 times |
+ | + | + | + | + | — | — | — | 40 | ||
|
White wave |
Scalded 1-2 times |
+ | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | 40 | ||
|
Russula |
+ | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | 1-2-6 | |||
|
Greenfinch |
+ | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | 25-35 | |||
|
Scalded 1-2 times |
Salted without spices, because. with them they lose their own aroma and darken |
|||||||||||
|
Pig thin |
Brew 25-30-60 |
+ | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | 25-30 | ||
|
Honey agaric, oyster mushroom, poplar mushroom |
Brew 20-25 |
+ | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | 10-20 | ||
|
Tubular (porcini mushroom, boletus, flywheel, boletus) |
Boil 10-15 |
— | — | — | + | + | + | + | + | 25-30 | ||
* Valuy is boiled for 20-30 minutes in case of preliminary soaking in water for 1-2 days, without soaking, boil for about 1 hour.
Pickling
This is a processing method in which the preservative is mainly acetic acid. At certain concentrations, it inhibits microorganisms that cause product spoilage. Pickled porcini mushrooms, boletus, boletus, mossiness mushrooms, butterfish, mushrooms, honey mushrooms, euphorbia, milk mushrooms. You can also pickle chanterelles, russula, poplar mushroom, garden entoloma, oyster mushroom.
There are several ways to marinate. We will focus on two main, most convenient at home.
The first way is cooking mushrooms in a marinade. Pour 1/2-2/3 cups of water into a cauldron or pan (necessarily enamelled), add 1-1.5 tablespoons of table salt ( good quality), 1 / 2-2 / 3 faceted glass of 8% vinegar, bring to a boil and lower 1 kg of pre-cleaned, thoroughly washed mushrooms. You can cook 2-3 kg of mushrooms at once, and therefore, take 2-3 times more water and other components, respectively. A different amount of water (1/2-2/3 cup) is taken depending on the juiciness of the mushrooms, which depends both on their type and on weather conditions under which they were collected (in rain, mushrooms naturally contain more water than in dry weather). Boil the mushrooms over low heat, carefully (so as not to crumble) and remove the foam with a slotted spoon. When the foam stops rising, 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar, allspice - 5 peas, cinnamon - 2 pieces, cloves - 2 pieces, a little star anise, citric acid (to preserve color) and bay leaf are added to the pan for each kilogram of mushrooms.
The duration of cooking mushrooms in the marinade is not the same. It depends on the age, type, size of the mushroom and on average is: for porcini, boletus, boletus, oil 8-10 minutes; for valuing and chanterelles 15-25 min; for camelina and honey agaric 5-8 min.
The end of cooking should be exactly the catch. Usually it is stopped when foam is no longer formed in the pan, the liquid is clarified, and the tribes are immersed in the solution. If overcooked, the tribes will be flabby, if not cooked, they can quickly deteriorate. Ready mushrooms are quickly cooled, then put in well-washed hot water jars (preferably with a capacity of 0.5 l) and pour chilled marinade to the top. Banks are covered with a layer of parchment and tied.
The second method is more suitable in this regard, but mushrooms are not stored for such a long time, since there are fewer preservative substances in the marinade. With this method, well-prepared - peeled, washed mushrooms - are boiled in salted water (2 tablespoons of salt per 1 liter of water). Then they are thrown back on a sieve, laid out on bikes (also sterilized) and poured with chilled marinade. For 1 kg of mushrooms, 250-300 g of marinade is required. The marinade is prepared as follows. into the boiler or enamel pan pour 0.4 liters of water. Add table salt- 1 teaspoon (incomplete), allspice - 6 peas, bay leaf - 1 piece, cinnamon - 1-2 pieces, cloves - 2 pieces, citric acid - on the tip of a knife.
Given the specificity of individual mushroom species, the amount of salt, acetic acid and spices can be changed. The liquid is boiled for 20-30 minutes. After removing from heat, cool slightly and add 1/3 faceted glass of 8% vinegar. Banks, as in the first method, are covered with parchment paper and tied.
Pickled mushrooms are stored in a dry, cool room at a temperature of +4 to +6 ° and make sure that they are completely covered in jars with marinade filling and not moldy.
High-quality processing of porcini mushrooms allows you to save the maximum amount of nutrients in them. It should be remembered that the heat treatment of porcini mushrooms is not always a mandatory procedure. You can pickle them without exposure to high temperature conditions. Usually, fresh porcini mushrooms are processed immediately after returning home from the forest. First harvested crop sorted, moved and cleared of debris and earth. The subsequent processing of porcini mushrooms before cooking depends on what dishes will be prepared with them. For example, before processing porcini mushrooms after harvesting for salting in a dry way, they are cleaned and not washed, but only the most polluted places are cut off. And for pickling, they need to be thoroughly washed and boiled. Read about how to properly process porcini mushrooms on this page and apply the knowledge gained in practice during the “silent hunting” season.
In Russia, the porcini mushroom is considered the most valuable in cooking. It is distinguished by dense white pulp, which will not change color during the heat treatment. Dishes made from fresh porcini mushrooms have a special taste, and dried mushrooms of this species, unlike all the others, are the most fragrant. It is they who are recommended to be added to first courses, sauces and toppings for pies. Before use, dried mushrooms are washed with water and soaked in clean cold water, and then boiled until tender. Only then they are cut into pieces and added to other ingredients.
There is a simple way to process porcini fungus, available to every hostess, it consists in the following operations. The processing of porcini mushrooms before cooking begins with the cleansing of debris (adhering blades of grass and insects), the removal of darkened or damaged areas. Mushroom caps are cleaned with a knife with a stainless steel blade or a soft cloth. The cut on the legs is updated by removing the most contaminated part. If the mushrooms from the forest are heavily polluted, they are soaked in water and pressed down with a weight for complete immersion. After 10–20 minutes, the caps are already easily washed from adhering grass and leaves. You should not leave the mushrooms in the water for a long time, as they will actively absorb it, which will eventually negatively affect their taste and aroma, and make the caps brittle. Then the mushrooms are washed with clean running water. Particular attention is paid to washing the lower surface of the mushroom caps, which is spongy or lamellar, and therefore most susceptible to contamination. Then the mushrooms are left in a colander or sieve to drain the liquid. For cooking, mushrooms are cut in a variety of ways (slices, slices, straws, cubes, sticks) or ground into minced meat using a meat grinder or blender. By the way, dishes with chopped mushrooms are better absorbed.
How to process porcini mushrooms before frying
We offer you to learn how to process porcini mushrooms before frying and during the preparation of other dishes without cooking. The first and foremost requirement when processing mushrooms is a thorough inspection, as they can be heavily soiled and clogged with sand. Mushrooms should be processed only young, completely healthy, not wormy, with cut roots, without any debris, needles, leaves, earth, and only freshly picked. If there are few mushrooms, then first of all, mushrooms that can be fried fresh should be separated from mushrooms that require additional heat treatment.
It is even desirable to distribute the mushrooms in size. Needles, leaves, moss and other forest debris are cleaned with a wide soft brush, cotton swab or soft cloth. Garbage adhering to the smooth cap of the mushroom is scraped off with a knife. From mushrooms that do not require heat treatment, debris is removed especially carefully, cleaning the folds with a brush. With a sharp stainless steel knife, all darkened and softened places are cut out, as well as those parts that are damaged by forest pests. In old mushrooms, the tubular part of the cap is cut out. The viscous leg is cut off entirely. Wash and soak the mushrooms as little as possible. Mushrooms that are used for frying or drying are not washed.
Washed mushrooms are placed in cold water and usually soaked for 2-6 hours. Dried mushrooms are soaked to restore moisture in them. The water in which they soaked is used for food. Washed mushrooms of larger sizes are cut into pieces. Porcini mushrooms are consumed along with the legs. To make the cooked dish or canned food look prettier, the legs of the mushrooms are cooked separately.
The mushroom cap is carefully cut into several identical parts. The stem of the mushroom is cut into thin circles. The purpose of cooking mushrooms is to reduce or completely eliminate the bitter taste or toxicity. But it lowers the nutritional value of mushrooms and weakens their taste and aroma. Cook porcini mushrooms for 15-30 minutes in plenty of water. The decoction is poured out. There are two ways: bring water to a boil (1/2 tablespoon of salt is added to 1 liter of water), mushrooms are dipped in boiling water, kept for 5-15 minutes and transferred to cold water. Or the mushrooms are dipped in cold salted water, quickly brought to a boil. After boiling, the dishes are removed from the heat and the mushrooms are allowed to cool in the same water or poured with clean water. After the water is drained, the mushrooms are transferred to a cloth bag or on a sieve so that the water is glassed. It should not be dried by strong squeezing, many valuable substances are removed.
How to process porcini mushrooms for freezing for the winter
Young, tender mushrooms are chosen for freezing. Before processing the porcini mushroom for the winter, it is cleaned with a hard brush from the outside and between the plates. Solid and dark places the legs are cut off, the mushrooms are cut in half lengthwise. Put 200 g of mushrooms and fry for 2 minutes in 1 teaspoon of oil in a pan with medium heat, turning to evaporate the juice. Mushrooms are boiled, quickly cooled and frozen in bags. Store up to 12 months at -18 °C. It is better to cut porcini mushrooms raw into slices and freeze, then pack and keep in the freezer for up to 4 months. Cook frozen mushrooms in the same way as fresh mushrooms, for example, quickly fry in a preheated to Brown color butter and add spices.
These are the main points on how to process porcini mushrooms for freezing using the cold shock method in a home freezer.
Processing porcini mushrooms before drying
Mushrooms intended for drying cannot be washed, they must first be cleaned with a knife from dirt, moss and leaves, cut out damaged and wormy places and wipe with a clean, damp cotton cloth. Then cut the large mushrooms into several pieces, so that each such piece has a part of the cap and legs. For even drying, all pieces should be the same size. To process porcini mushrooms before drying, they are strung on harsh threads and dried on outdoors in the shade or in the sun. You can dry mushrooms by spreading them in a thin layer on baking sheets, tables, trays, previously lined with clean paper or cotton cloth. Under natural conditions, mushrooms are usually dried for 2-3 days, at night they must be removed into the room.
If during this time the mushrooms still have not dried out, then they can be dried in ovens or ovens. In unfavorable weather, mushrooms can immediately be dried in ovens or ovens. At the same time, the mushrooms should not come into contact with metal baking sheets, because this will darken them. Trays should be lined with cotton cloth or clean paper. Mushrooms are placed in an oven or oven heated to a temperature of 40-45 degrees, and dried for 3-4 hours, with the door slightly open. Then the temperature is raised to 70 degrees and dried until cooked. Mushrooms are considered completely dried if, when pressed on the caps, they do not emit moisture, are elastic, do not crumble or break. Dried mushrooms can be used to make mushroom powder. Dried mushrooms are very hygroscopic, so they are best stored in glass, hermetically sealed jars in dark, dry rooms.
How to process porcini mushrooms for frying
The following describes how to process porcini mushrooms before frying and then rolling them into jars for storage for several months. Meanwhile, at home, along with salting, pickling, pickling, mushrooms are often preserved fried, stewed in their own juice, and also boiled in lightly salted or acidified ( citric acid, vinegar) water, after which the banks are rolled up. In such cases, it is necessary to sterilize the jars at least before seaming in boiling salted water (400 g of salt per 1 liter of water), since its boiling point is above 100 ° C. 
White mushrooms are loved by many for their exquisite taste. But in order to fully enjoy them, you need to know what to do with porcini mushrooms after picking, how to properly process them. This is what “Popular about Health” will tell its readers, who are very fond of mushrooms.
Primary processing of porcini mushrooms
Picking porcini mushrooms is a whole art. If you do not yet have great experience in this case, you should know that the processing of mushrooms begins immediately after collection, right in the forest. What should be done with mushrooms?
1. After harvesting, porcini mushrooms must be cleaned of debris - grass, leaves, coniferous needles, fragments of branches.
4. When placing mushrooms in the basket, do not press them down, handle them carefully.
When you return home, you will immediately have to set aside time to process the product. Remember that all mushrooms spoil very quickly, so do not put off this work for later.
What to do after picking, how to process porcini mushrooms at home?
Carefully place the collected forest gifts in a basin and inspect again, removing the remnants of litter. Then place the porcini mushrooms in cold water. This is necessary so that all the dirt on them gets wet and it is easier to remove. Mushrooms are very light and porous, they will float unruly to the surface, so place a load on top. After 15 minutes, you can start cleaning them. To do this, you will need a knife and a scraper or a brush with stiff bristles.
Use your hands to remove all rubbish that has stuck to the legs and hats. After that, the water should be changed to clean. Now arm yourself with a scraper and remove stubborn dirt with it. Then turn each mushroom over and use your fingers to remove grains of sand and dust from under the hats. A lot of small debris collects in the so-called gills. Rinse the mushrooms now running water, removing suspicious dark fragments with a knife.
Throw the mushrooms in a colander, let the water drain. Now porcini mushrooms should be processed after harvesting by temperature.
Attention! If you want to dry the collected forest gifts, then they do not need to be soaked and washed. It is enough to manually remove dirt and cut off damaged mushroom tissues.
How to dry porcini mushrooms?
Drying mushrooms should be carried out at a temperature not exceeding 50 degrees. This is very easy to do in the oven. Lay baking paper on a baking sheet, lay the mushrooms in one layer. Turn on the oven at 45-50 degrees, insert a limiter into the door so that it does not close. Dry the product for at least 6-7 hours. If you have a special drying chamber, follow the instructions.
How to cook porcini mushrooms?
Heat treatment of mushrooms is necessary to exclude the possibility of poisoning with toxins. We send the product to salted water (a teaspoon of salt per liter), bring to a boil. Be sure to remove the foam that forms on the surface. After boiling, we detect 40 minutes. Throw the finished mushrooms into a colander.
How to freeze mushrooms?
For long-term storage porcini mushrooms are often frozen. The product is best frozen already boiled. After the water has completely drained and the mushrooms have dried and cooled slightly, place them in clean bags. Pack so that in one package there is one portion of the product that you can use at a time - it's more convenient. Deflate the bags, tie the bags tightly, and then place the bundles in the super freezer for 2-3 hours. If you have other types of mushrooms in the freezer, it is better to sign the packages so that you do not confuse them later. After 2-3 hours, transfer the bags to the regular compartment of the freezer.
How to cook porcini mushrooms?
Mushroom mushrooms are universal, they make delicious snacks - pastes, caviar, salt, marinate, fry, bake, cook soups. For pickling choose either small size mushrooms, or use only hats, cut into several fragments. It is very important that there are not the slightest signs of damage on the mushrooms. The legs of mushrooms are most often used to prepare mushroom caviar - this is truly a royal delicacy, and they are also fried. The frying time of porcini mushrooms, which were previously boiled, is 15 minutes.
And of course, these mushrooms are good in salty form. From time immemorial, housewives salted them in barrels in large quantities, this tradition has been preserved to this day. It is unlikely that anyone will be able to refuse such an appetizing snack. For soup, it is better to take a dried product, as it has a richer aroma and taste. Dried mushrooms are first soaked, washed thoroughly, and then boiled.
White mushrooms are a luxury for many, but if you have already managed to collect them in the forest, then it is important to know exactly what to do with them, how to process and prepare for storage. Remember that the product deteriorates quickly, so do not postpone cleaning, washing and further processing of mushrooms until later.
Experienced mushroom pickers treat a walk in the forest as a certain ritual. With their families, they can walk and pick mushrooms for hours, and at home they clean them carefully and lovingly. To each they give Special attention and wash thoroughly. But not everyone knows how to process mushrooms correctly. If there is any doubt about the quality, in no case should the product be used, it is more expedient to throw it away immediately.
Cleaning mushrooms from debris
Mushrooms spoil very quickly, so you need to prepare them for storage quickly. Walking through the forest is a tiring task, after returning home you want to lie down and relax. How to process mushrooms in the forest? To save time, it is worth starting processing immediately after they are torn off. To do this, you need to clean each mushroom from debris and leaves, and if the skin on the cap is easily removed, then it can be removed. The mucosal apex must be cleaned and the film removed. Naturally, in the forest you need to spend more time for a walk, but at home you can relax a bit.
mushroom preparation
After coming home, you should immediately distribute them by type, so that it is easier to figure out how to process mushrooms and what to cook from them. Then you need to take a sharp knife and cut out all the dark places, and also check the product for the presence of insects or worms. Hats must be gently wiped with a brush or brush, and then cut off the tip of the leg.
When all mushrooms are cleaned, they should be thoroughly washed. But this must be done with extreme caution, since a long stay in the water is not in the best way will affect the quality, and their taste will change slightly. Mushrooms must be put in a colander and rinsed a little with cold water, and then let it drain.
If you know how to properly process mushrooms, then the juice that remains should not be thrown away. It can be used to prepare other dishes.
If mushrooms have a small amount of wormholes, the product must be soaked in cold water, after adding salt there. Then the worms will come out and stay in a container of water. In the case when the mushroom is very difficult to wash, as it is excessively contaminated, it can be placed in water and left for a while.
It is more convenient to wash in a basin or in a large saucepan. It is important that the mushrooms are covered with water. To prevent them from floating up, you can put plywood or a board with a small load on top. When the leaves and other debris are wet, it will be very easy to separate them.
Those mushrooms that are intended for salting must be soaked. For mushrooms, it is worth scraping off the upper black layer with a knife, and for oiled mushrooms, remove the films from the hats. When thinking about how to process volushki mushrooms, you should remember that they are soaked raw and then salted.
Those species that contain milky bitter juice should be soaked for 2-3 days, changing the water at least three times a day. It is better to put the container in a cool place so that the mushrooms do not sour.
Experienced mushroom pickers assure that soaking is not as useful as it is commonly believed. This is due to the fact that along with the bitterness, nutrients and protein substances leave, the nutritional value of the product decreases, and the mushroom becomes soft and flabby. Therefore, experts do not recommend soaking for more than 2 days. If you figure out how to process mushrooms, then after cooking they will always turn out delicious.
When sorting through, you need to pay special attention to whether there are any poisonous species in the basket. Some grebes are very similar to russula. You can distinguish them by the stem: if the russula is real, its stem is straight to the very base, while in a false mushroom it expands downwards. It will also be useful for beginners to know that in a toadstool the skin is removed from the cap from the edge to the center. If there is any doubt about the quality, it is impossible to use them in any case, it is more expedient to immediately throw them away. You should not pick those mushrooms that grow near highways or landfills: they can cause severe poisoning.
Preparing for salting
Inexperienced cooks are often concerned about how to properly process mushrooms for pickling. After cleaning, they must be put in a container for soaking, large ones - cut into pieces. Russula with a red leg can come across very hot, so it is better to place them in boiling water for a few minutes. Yellow ones do not need soaking, it is enough to peel them, boil them and put them in the refrigerator. Old and flabby mushrooms should be thrown away immediately.
Pickling
Most often pickled tubular species that do not contain bitterness. Small mushrooms are pickled separately, and large ones should be cut into pieces. The legs must be separated from the caps, and they can be marinated both together and separately. Mushroom pickers are advised to select hats, and use the legs for cooking other dishes.
If the butterflies are young, the bottom film must also be removed. It is more convenient to do this with the tip of a thin knife. The leg should be left a couple of centimeters from the hat.
Those mushrooms that will be pickled cannot be washed, as they will absorb water, which is highly undesirable. It is better to wipe them with a damp cloth.
How to dry mushrooms?
To dry the product, you need to know how to process fresh mushrooms. An improperly prepared product for storage will quickly deteriorate. For drying, tubular species (white, oily, boletus) or lamellar (russula, mushrooms or chanterelles) are most suitable.
It is better to dry strong, old mushrooms without damage. They should never be soaked or washed. Use a damp cloth to remove dirt and debris. Mushrooms are dried separately for each species, if necessary, cut into pieces. Hats can also be divided into parts. In order for the mushrooms to dry faster, their thickness should be 3-5 mm. Cut conveniently sharp knife, laying the spongy side up.
Preparing porcini mushrooms
They are very tasty, nutritious and highly respected by chefs. But not everyone knows how to process. First of all, with a small knife, you need to cut off the tip of the leg, grabbing a little on the sides to remove foreign particles.
Wipe the mushroom with a paper towel and remove small particles of debris. If drying is expected, the product must not be wetted.
To check if the mushroom is wormy, you need to cut the leg. If the caps are very large, you can cut into pieces. In the case when the contamination is very strong, it is necessary to boil the product for some time or soak in salt water.
When thinking about how to process a white mushroom, you should use a toothbrush. It picks up debris well and does not damage the hat.
