Description and where to meet
Oyster mushrooms are edible mushrooms, widely known for their mass production and excellent taste. In the wild, they are common in temperate forests. They grow in large colonies on almost all species of deciduous trees, stumps and dead wood. In our latitudes, there are seven species of oyster mushrooms; only one of them, the oyster mushroom, is cultivated. In appearance, cultivated ones do not differ from wild ones.
These mushrooms have a fleshy dark gray cap, sometimes with a purple or brown tint. The size of the caps is quite large, from 5 to 15 cm in diameter. The shapes of the caps can be different - round, shell-shaped, ear-shaped. The legs are short, white, fused at the base, forming bundles or fusions. Oyster mushrooms bear fruit all summer, but the largest harvest occurs from September to November.
Also learn about the peculiarities of growing oyster mushrooms.
How to clean fresh oyster mushrooms
The cleaning process is quite simple to perform and involves removing dirt and forest debris, as well as removing damaged or dried parts of the mushroom. This variety is very rarely affected by worms, but still this procedure should not be neglected. Damaged specimens will not cause any harm, but they can ruin the appearance of the overall dish. To peel oyster mushrooms, you will need a sharp knife and a clean dish sponge. There is a whole algorithm of actions that describes the entire process of cleaning oyster mushrooms:
- Clean the mushroom from dirt, dust and forest debris using a soft sponge, using light movements.
- Use a knife to remove dried or damaged areas, and cut off the tip of the stem. Some housewives recommend leaving only the cap, since the lower part of the mushroom is quite hard, especially if we are talking about an old fruit.
- If the oyster mushrooms were purchased at a supermarket or market, it is advisable to trim the dried sections thinly.
Important! Specimens with a cap size of about 10 cm in diameter are best suited for consumption. Large mushrooms indicate old age and are especially tough.
How to properly collect and process after collection
Oyster mushrooms grown at home are harvested when the caps reach a size of 4–7 cm; this is considered the technical maturity of the mushroom. The edges should not be completely unfolded. The splices must be unscrewed in a circular motion without leaving any residue. In one clump, mushrooms are usually of different sizes; you need to collect everything, because the remaining ones will die. Wild mushrooms are collected according to the same rules, but they are not twisted, but cut with a knife. It is very important that the mushrooms are completely dry when harvesting.
Oyster mushrooms cannot be eaten raw, because the protein contained in them is absorbed by humans only after heat treatment.
You cannot pack the collected mushrooms hermetically in cellophane, because due to their large caps they condense moisture very quickly and can spoil. It is better to put them in veneer baskets and place them in the refrigerator. Store for no more than 6 hours before cooking. At a temperature of +2°C it can be stored for 10–12 days.
Video: How to collect oyster mushrooms
How to clean fresh oyster mushrooms before cooking
If you bought mushrooms at the market, most likely the seller took care of the presentation of the fruits and cleaned them in advance. Is the purchased product unprocessed or just brought from the forest by you? Pay attention to the manipulations that the crop must be subjected to before using it in the preparation of any dishes:
- Examine fresh fruit for soil, debris and damage. Cut away any worm-eaten, dried-out or mixed-in wood areas. It is very important not to skip this stage, as without it the prepared dish may be spoiled. It is better to clean carefully, without cutting off excess, so as not to waste the precious product.
- If there are few mushrooms, rinse each fruiting body under running water, paying special attention to the back of the cap (the place where the plates are located).
- The harvest is large, but washing takes a long time? Place the oyster mushrooms in a large tank or bathtub and fill with clean, cold water. Leave to soak for about 30 minutes.
- After the specified time has passed, mix the product with your hands, manually collect any debris that floats to the surface (leaves, twigs, bugs).
- Select a batch of mushrooms from the container, rinsing each one under the tap.
- Place clean fruits in a prepared container.
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How to properly clean oyster mushrooms (video)
Result: thoroughly washed, cut up, let's start cooking!
Further processing depends on the purpose for which the mushrooms were collected or purchased. If you plan to “use” the product as a salad ingredient, cut it into small pieces and place it in a hot frying pan.
Decided to boil and freeze indefinitely? It is enough to divide the fruiting bodies into several parts, and then only if the representative is too large. The only rule is that you should never keep boiled mushrooms outside the refrigerator, especially if it’s a hot season outside, they can quickly go bad.
Important! Before consumption, be sure to thermally treat the mushroom; only then can food poisoning be avoided. The fruit itself is considered completely non-toxic and cannot cause significant harm to health, but it is unknown how the gastrointestinal tract will react to an unfamiliar, raw product.
We looked at how to peel oyster mushrooms, briefly touching on the topic of preparing the product. Have you tried frying mushroom pancakes with potatoes or baking your prey with vegetables and cheese? Then catch super recipes from us - How to cook mushrooms: soup, julienne, stewed or in the oven.
It’s easy to prepare delicious mushroom cream soup, various snacks and sauces from wild mushrooms, mushrooms grown on farms and in subsidiary plots.
Housewives usually wonder whether oyster mushrooms should be washed before frying or pre-boiled, because this mushroom has begun to often appear on our tables. I want the food to be tasty and safe for health, and not cause eating disorders and poisoning, especially in children.
Do I need to peel and how to peel oyster mushrooms?
Proper cleaning should be done using the following technology:
- After collecting, the sprouts should be divided by hand into small portions, preferably into individual mushrooms.
- Trim off all spoiled and dry parts.
- If the mushroom is very young, then leave the stem, cut off only its bottom with dirt. If the mushroom is large, then remove most of the stem.
- Wipe each mushroom with a dry kitchen sponge or cloth to remove small debris.
Do I need to wash oyster mushrooms?
It is necessary to wash oyster mushrooms before any type of culinary processing: frying, boiling, salting. In addition, this procedure is recommended to be carried out 2 times: before cleaning the forest products and after it. It is worth noting that when drying or freezing mushrooms, the processing algorithm is identical. It is also important to thoroughly dry each specimen after washing the oyster mushrooms.
Important! It is not advisable to freeze frozen fruits a second time, so it is recommended to package them in small portions.
How to process before cooking, eating
Before cooking oyster mushrooms, they must be thoroughly washed with running water. Even if they are bought in a store and look clean, they still need to be washed; there may be dirt between the plates of the mushroom cap. It is convenient to do this in a colander.
Important! The oyster mushroom stem can only be left on very young mushrooms. With age she becomes very tough.
If you have wild mushrooms that contain more debris, you can first pour cold water over them for 20 minutes, stir, and then sort them with your hands and do the whole procedure. If you are not going to cook the oyster mushrooms right away, then after washing they need to be dried on a paper towel .
How to properly peel oyster mushrooms (with photos and videos)
Even if oyster mushrooms do not accumulate forest debris, they should be cleaned and washed with water. If you are processing a large number of mushrooms, you can pour cold water over them for 20 minutes, stir and remove any debris with your hands.
If it comes to a small volume of oyster mushrooms, then in this case they should be divided into several portions and, putting in a colander, rinsed under running cold water. This is what you need to do with all the collected mushrooms. I must say that this option will be the most optimal for cleaning fruiting bodies. Check out this visual photo showing how to clean oyster mushrooms.
However, the cleansing process also implies something else: the removal of spoiled and dried parts of the oyster mushroom. All these places are cut off with a knife, and then the entire mushroom is wiped with a dry cloth. It is especially important to carry out dry cleaning when oyster mushrooms are dried or frozen fresh.
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Many experienced mushroom pickers who know how to properly peel oyster mushrooms advise washing them only under running water. There is no sand or soil on the roots of these mushrooms, and there is practically no debris on the caps either. Therefore, the option with running water improves the process of cooking oyster mushrooms. This is an important factor why housewives began to like these representatives of the mushroom “kingdom” - they are easy to clean and quick to cook.
It is worth saying that oyster mushrooms have become popular for another reason - it is impossible to get poisoned by them, even if they are damp. They do not contain harmful substances, and in our country they do not have poisonous counterparts. And even despite the fact that oyster mushroom does not have a pronounced mushroom smell, its taste remains high.
By following all these simple rules for cleaning oyster mushrooms, every housewife will be able to prepare wonderful delicacies for her family and friends.
We also suggest you additionally watch a video on how to peel oyster mushrooms:
Mushrooms are a natural, forest product that does not leave any gourmet indifferent. The product is widely used in various areas of cooking and makes the taste of cooked dishes brighter. The fruits of the crop are added to salads, sauces, baked goods, soups and other hot dishes, and also pickled or pickled as winter reserves.
After harvesting, the forest harvest must be carefully processed, only then can the fruits be eaten. Today we will discuss how to clean oyster mushrooms, because this particular type of mushroom is very popular among lovers of “quiet hunting”.
Taste and beneficial properties
Oyster mushrooms are highly valued for their taste. Their pulp is very tender, juicy, and has a special mushroom aroma, with notes of anise. Ready mushrooms resemble champignons or porcini mushrooms. Oyster mushrooms have a low calorie content, only 40 kcal, so they can be used in dietary foods. In addition, it is good for the intestines due to its fiber content.
Even a small portion of these mushrooms can satisfy your hunger. The amount of protein is slightly inferior to meat. They reduce cholesterol levels, which is important for older people. Oyster mushrooms contain a large number of vitamins necessary for humans - B complex vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin PP, D2, E, minerals.
How can you cook
Oyster mushrooms can be fried, boiled, stewed, pickled and salted. From the dried ones you can even make a seasoning that is suitable for meat and vegetable dishes. A few recommendations for housewives:
- When cooking, oyster mushrooms are cut into pieces so that they are better fried or boiled. For marinating, mushrooms can be left whole.
- You need to cook these mushrooms for no more than 20 minutes, otherwise they lose their taste. This must be taken into account when cooking soups.
- If you want to fry raw oyster mushrooms, you need to place them in one layer in a frying pan, add a little oil and fry until all the water has evaporated, and then add the remaining oil. For frying, oyster mushrooms are cut into small pieces.
- Oyster mushrooms go well with cereals and meat. But they, like other mushrooms, are not suitable for fish.
Oyster mushrooms require cleaning and processing after collection. Knowing the basic rules, this will not be difficult to do.
Do I need to wash oyster mushrooms before frying?
Before finding out how long to cook oyster mushrooms for frying, and whether boiling is necessary in principle, let’s start cleaning them. If mushrooms are collected in the forest, or in your own mushroom farm, they remain contaminated. Mushrooms bought in stores usually do not have them, but they also require careful inspection.
How to clean oyster mushrooms before cooking
- We wipe the caps and legs of oyster mushrooms with a dish sponge, removing dust and remaining natural debris.
- We cut off the ends of the stems and cut out damaged, dark and dry places from the mushrooms.
- If the mushrooms were purchased at the market or in a store, we thinly trim the cut points: they have time to dry out and become rough.
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Be sure to dry the mushrooms with paper towels before boiling and frying: excess moisture makes the food too watery.
