Champignon is one of the favorite foods on the modern table. It is used fresh, pickled and frozen, and experienced housewives often dry odorous mushrooms. There are several ways to dry champignons.
Are champignons dried
Strange, but many do not even know that mushrooms can be stored in dried form. After all, dry mushrooms have an indescribable taste and aroma. In addition, mushroom preparations stored in this way significantly save space in the kitchen, as they decrease several times during drying.
Delicious soups and main dishes are made from such mushrooms, and the powder from the crushed champignons becomes an excellent seasoning for salads and snacks. In addition, they cook very quickly - the dried mushroom cake is cooked until cooked for literally 5 minutes.
Did you know? For the first time, Italians began to use champignons in food about 1000 years ago.
How to dry champignons at home
At home, fragrant mushrooms can be dried in several ways. Many people prefer to dry the product in the air during summer vacations in the country, while others prefer to do this at home, using modern means. And the most fragrant and delicious dried champignons are obtained after drying in a traditional Russian oven. However, at present it is quite difficult to find such a furnace, so you have to be content with more modern methods.
Air drying
The simplest and most affordable method is to dry mushrooms in the air. Mushrooms can naturally be dried in the house or outdoors. To do this, peeled with a soft brush and chopped champignons are laid out in one layer on a flat surface.
Important! Before drying champignons, they should never be washed, as they absorb a lot of moisture and become unsuitable for further use.
Usually, wooden boards or parchment are used for this. Small specimens can be dried whole, while large specimens will be more correctly cut into slices 0.8–1 cm thick. Some housewives cut mushrooms very finely, which significantly reduces the drying time.
For drying the product choose a well-ventilated, bright place without moisture, where the mushrooms dry to the desired state in about a week. If mushrooms are dried in the open air, direct sunlight should be avoided. Also, it is better to cover the products with a tissue that passes air in order to protect the product from insects.
On a thread
Some housewives prefer to dry mushrooms in the old fashioned way, on a string. For this, large specimens are cut into even pieces, small ones are taken whole and strung on a strong, waxed thread.
It is better that the mushroom pieces do not touch each other, so they dry faster. Often they are stored like that, strung on a thread, but this is not entirely correct, since dust settles on the product.
Did you know? For slicing champignons, it is better to use a knife with a stainless steel blade. Then the place of the cut will not darken.
In the oven
In modern apartments, the method of drying mushrooms in the oven is very popular.
It is as follows:
- Sliced mushrooms spread on a baking sheet covered with parchment in one layer.
- The product is dried in an oven for 6-7 hours at a temperature of 50 ° C.
- After a period of time, the temperature is increased to 100 ° C and the drying process continues for 17–20 hours with the oven door open, periodically mixing.
Over the stove
You can dry the champignons by simply hanging them over the stove. In this case, it is better to string the mushrooms on a thread. It should be noted that even the smallest copies, dried whole, will dry much longer than cut into slices.
Important! Champignons like a sponge absorb third-party odors, this should be taken into account when choosing a place for drying and storage of the product.
The drying method above the stove is somewhat inconvenient, since the burners must work around the clock to maintain the desired temperature in the room, and this is not entirely comfortable for people living in the apartment. In addition, the stove cannot be used for cooking all the time during drying, which is accompanied by the release of moisture and odors.
In the microwave
The shortest method of drying mushrooms is drying them in the microwave.
It is as follows:
- The peeled and chopped product is placed in one layer on a clean plate.
- The dishes are placed in a microwave, the power of which is from 100 to 150 watts.
- Mushrooms are cooked for 20 minutes. During this time, it is necessary to periodically remove the dishes with mushroom slices in order to drain the liquid from it.
In the electric dryer
The most modern and convenient way to dry mushrooms is to use an electric dryer for this. The principle of operation of this device is very simple - mushrooms are laid on special pallets. After that, a specific program is set on the electric dryer. The mushroom cake mix is ready for storage 8–10 hours after the start of drying. This method allows you to maximally preserve all the vitamins and minerals contained in the mushrooms.
How to store dried mushrooms
It is not enough to dry the mushrooms, you need to be able to store them. So, it is best to use fabric bags for storing mushroom cake mix. Store the product in a cool, dry place without any odors.
Important! If the mushrooms are not dried well enough, they will mold and will be unusable. A dry product should break easily, while maintaining a slightly springy structure.
Many housewives prefer to store dry product in glass jars. But in this form they take up quite a bit of space. Dry champignons - this is the product that will diversify the menu in the cold season.
With their help, you can cook both a traditional family dish, for example, fragrant mushroom soup, and a real masterpiece of culinary craftsmanship, using mushroom powder as a seasoning.
