How to defrost
If there are too many mushrooms, housewives freeze them so that they can prepare a delicious dish at a convenient time. To do this, select fresh specimens that are free of rot or stains. They definitely have a light mushroom aroma.
Boletus mushrooms are washed and cut into quarters without additional processing, which helps preserve the full amount of nutrients. Not only raw, but also boiled and fried porcini mushrooms can be frozen. Packaged in bags or containers, they will wait until you need them.
Important! Mushrooms have very rigid cell walls and are not digestible without treatment at high temperatures. Heating releases the nutrients they contain, including protein and B vitamins.
Defrosting instructions:
- Remove the boletus from the freezer.
- Cover a wide dish with paper towels and place mushrooms on it.
- Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 6 hours.
- After such defrosting, the mushrooms can be used for cooking. This method is considered the most convenient, since the product defrosts naturally.
Hot water can also be used to defrost raw porcini mushrooms. But not everyone likes this method: the frozen product is already quite watery, and treating it with hot water will saturate it even more with moisture. As a result, the mushroom will lose flavor and its texture will become too soft.
Frozen fried or boiled porcini mushrooms are taken out of the freezer directly with the container and defrosted in the kitchen at room temperature. They can be added to soups and stews without defrosting. In these cases, they will undergo heat treatment during the cooking process.
15 Minute Mushroom Miso Soup
This recipe works for both fresh and frozen mushrooms. The mushrooms featured in this recipe have been tried and tested to freeze well - there is no difference in cooked texture or flavor whether you cook them fresh or frozen.
Ingredients for making mushroom miso soup
Number of servings: 1 pc.
- Packet of frozen mushrooms for one person (net weight about 70 g after cooking)
- 30g maitake mushroom trimmings
- 30g mushrooms, ends trimmed
- half the king oyster mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 shiitake mushroom cap, thinly sliced
- Sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 400 ml water
- 1 teaspoon dashi powder
- 3 thin slices zucchini, quartered
- 3 thin slices daikon, quartered
- 1 layer tofu, thinly sliced
- a few thin slices of konjac (konjac) optional
- 1 tablespoon red miso paste
Step-by-step plan for making mushroom miso soup:
- Prepare a bag of frozen mushrooms ahead of time by placing the mushrooms flat in a ziplock bag. You can store this mushroom pack in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. You can also make freezer bags of a variety of mushrooms, then measure and remove them individually to cook.
- Fry frozen mushrooms (do not melt). Heat sesame seeds and vegetable oil in a wok. Gently untie the mushrooms while they are still in the ziplock bag. Then pour the contents onto the wokpan. Sauté the mushrooms in the pan until they begin to moisten and soften.
- Add vegetables and simmer. Add water, dashi powder, zucchini, daikon, tofu puff and konnyaku (if using). When the soup boils, cover and simmer for 3 minutes.
- Dissolve miso paste. Turn off the stove. While the soup is still hot, dissolve the miso paste through a miso strainer. Alternatively, pour the hot miso paste soup into a small bowl, whisk to dissolve the miso, then pour the liquid back into the pan. Garnish with green onions.
How long does it take to cook champignons?
Different cooking methods will require different times:
- With regular cooking of fresh mushrooms, five minutes will be enough.
- If you use a pressure cooker, it will also take five minutes.
- It takes ten minutes to steam. If using a slow cooker, cook for twenty minutes without adding water.
- Champignons from the freezer need more time to cook. Boil them in a saucepan for ten minutes, after defrosting them.
Way to boil dried mushrooms
Dried mushrooms, just like raw ones, require heat treatment. Before starting, they are thoroughly washed under running cold water. After this, the process will look like this:
- The washed product is placed in a container with water at room temperature for 4 hours. During this time, they will acquire almost their original volume and will resemble fresh ones.
- Before cooking, mushrooms can be cut into slices of the desired size.
- Clean water is poured into an enamel container and the prepared product is placed there.
- The water is brought to a boil over low heat. During the process, it is important to remove the foam so that it does not flow onto the stove.
It should be noted that dried mushrooms have a richer aroma and brighter taste. If you want them to look more like fresh ones, then you should wash them after they have been soaked, then they will be softer and more pleasant to the taste.
Do I need to rinse mushrooms after cooking before frying?
The debate about how to clean champignons has been going on for several years now. Many cooks prefer to buy young mushrooms and not clean them. Some, on the contrary, believe that the top layer should be removed before cooking. Both the first and second methods are correct. It all depends on the freshness of the mushrooms and the dish for which the product should be used. The main rule is that dirt should be removed before cooking to ensure that the food is safe for health.
The main advantage of the product is that purchased champignons grown in an artificial environment are absolutely safe for health. They do not cause food poisoning even when consumed raw. Wild mushrooms, on the other hand, require special skills to prepare. Otherwise, they can cause intoxication of the body.
General recommendations
Wild mushrooms are a delicate and perishable product, so they are processed and prepared on the day of collection. Clean them of adhering leaves and soil, cut off the mycelium. Soaking in salt water for 2-3 hours or longer depending on the type will help get rid of worms and debris. Cultivated mushrooms (champignons, oyster mushrooms) do not require thorough cleaning and soaking.
It is safest to cook mushrooms in an enamel pan. To preserve flavor and aroma, keep heat to medium. At the same time, put a peeled onion in the water: if it turns blue, it means that there is a poisonous one among the noble specimens.
It is not difficult to determine that the mushrooms are cooked. Raw ones will float on the surface, ready ones will settle to the bottom.
Preparing mushrooms
When the mushrooms are collected, you need to immediately start cleaning. They are washed, darkened areas, worm-eaten areas and areas damaged by slugs are cut off. For old mushrooms, you need to cut off the lower parts of the caps.
If you are not going to cook the mushrooms right away, they should be put in the refrigerator. There is no need to wash them. Mushrooms are only carefully cleaned with a knife to remove stuck leaves, grass and small specks.
Before starting cooking, they should be rinsed with cool water. You should not keep mushrooms in water for a long time, otherwise they will become saturated with moisture.
How to Cook Dried Mushrooms - Basics
- Dried mushrooms, unlike frozen ones, for long-term storage must be softened in water before cooking. Next, the mushroom water is poured out along with excess debris, washed and left for several hours (approximately 2 hours). The time for soaking mushrooms depends on the dryness.
- Mushrooms are usually dried on a string, which is not needed in the dish. If the mushrooms do not want to part with the thread easily, they are soaked together.
- For 300 g of fresh mushrooms there are about 60 g of dry mushrooms.
- Bay leaves in mushroom soup can overpower the smell and taste of mushrooms.
- Dried mushrooms should be stored in a clean room with regular ventilation. Mushrooms should not be stored next to vegetables, fruits, or in a cellar with high humidity. Mushrooms that become damp during storage can be saved if they are sorted, dried, or immediately used for food. The shelf life of mushrooms is 1 year. It is advisable to eat them before this time.
- To add a pleasant aroma to the dish, just add a small pile of dried mushrooms.
Recipes for making dried mushrooms are simple and unpretentious. The main difference between the dry product is the cooking time. But the result always exceeds expectations. The dish turns out very fragrant. There are such recipes for dried mushrooms: cutlets, mushrooms in sour cream, fried mushrooms, all kinds of sauces, soups and salads. They are prepared from independently harvested mushrooms, as well as from store-bought assortment.
In cooking, mushrooms occupy by no means the last place. In Rus', for ordinary peasants, meat and poultry dishes were almost always an unaffordable luxury, so large bunches of various mushrooms were dried for the winter, which were a nourishing and tasty addition to various side dishes and allowed them not to die of hunger in the most difficult times.
Mushrooms can be boiled, salted, fried, stewed and stored for future use. But quite often, inexperienced housewives who decide to cook dried or fresh mushrooms are faced with the question - how to do it correctly? Many people know that mushrooms should always be boiled before cooking. Therefore, the question of cooking mushrooms gently flows into another, how to properly cook mushrooms, how long does it take to boil them?
How to choose a quality product?
The main rule for preparing a tasty and healthy dish is to purchase fresh mushrooms. They have a rich taste and aroma. In addition, a high-quality product will not lose its beautiful appearance during frying. The first rule for purchasing quality champignons is to purchase from trusted places. You should not buy food products in spontaneous trading places, since quality checks are not carried out there by specialized bodies. In large hypermarkets, all vegetables, fruits, and mushrooms are tested for compliance with quality standards.
The second rule is that the freshness of mushrooms can be determined visually. High-quality, recently harvested champignons will be white in color with no signs of spoilage.
Dark spots are the first sign that the product is nearing the end of its shelf life. It should be remembered that sometimes on mushrooms you can see not dark spots indicating spoilage, but particles of soil.
For this reason, you should carefully consider what you are buying.
Smell
After a visual inspection, you can evaluate the smell of the champignons. A quality product has a pleasant mushroom smell. Stale mushrooms “smell damp.” The champignons should be elastic to the touch. You can also inspect the cut of the leg - if it is yellow or brown, this indicates that such a product has been stored for a long period of time from the moment of collection. Fresh mushroom has a beautiful white cut.
Size
Depending on the purpose for which you will use fresh mushrooms, you should choose their size. This characteristic also determines whether the champignons need to be cleaned. Large mushrooms are much easier to peel from the top layer. They are usually used for beautiful cutting to add to dishes, for example, pizza, salads, pies, soups. Small mushrooms are convenient to use for preservation. It should be borne in mind that the preservation technology involves cooking, during which the champignons are reduced in size by half.
Do I need to clean champignons before canning? The answer to this question should be found in the recipe, which contains precise step-by-step instructions. But most often the mushrooms are not cleaned. Simply wash them under running water and remove dark areas and soil residues. In order for canned mushrooms to turn out to be of high quality, they should be carefully processed. It is unacceptable to seal champignons without vinegar, as this method increases the risk of botulism infection.
How to cook dried mushroom soup with barley
Recipe ingredients:
- Dried mushrooms – 60 g.
- Pearl barley – 1/2 cup.
- Carrot – 1 pc.
- Onions – 1 pc.
- Potatoes – 5 pcs.
- Water – 3 l.
- Vegetable oil – 40 g.
- Parsley – 4 sprigs.
- Salt - to taste.
- Black peppercorns – 5 pcs.
Cooking process:
- Before cooking, dried mushrooms are soaked for 2 hours. Then they are washed and the water is drained. Pearl barley is soaked in parallel with the mushrooms for 2 hours. Then the cereal should be washed.
- Pour 3 liters of water into the pan to boil. Add washed mushrooms to the water.
- The potatoes are peeled and cut into medium cubes. The carrots are washed, peeled, and grated. The onions are peeled and finely chopped.
- The pan is heated to prepare aromatic frying. Onions and carrots are browned in vegetable oil.
- Pearl barley is added to the soup along with potatoes. Cooking time for cereals and potatoes is up to 30 minutes.
- In 5-7 minutes. until done, add the roast, salt and pepper.
- Finely chop the greens and add them to the soup before turning off.
- Dried mushroom soup is ready to eat, served with sour cream and black bread.
Useful tips
To make dishes made from dried mushrooms have a milder taste, they are soaked in cold water for two to three hours. Since dried mushrooms are usually not washed, they need to be washed thoroughly after soaking. Also, when soaking, dried specks are washed off well.
Sometimes the liquid in which they were soaked is used for cooking. It is believed that this will make them tastier and more aromatic. But there may be debris left there, and the water may have a bitter taste and the taste of the finished product will be unpleasant.
After cleaning, cut the mushrooms, place them in a suitable container and pour cold water. Boil the mushrooms, remove the resulting foam and cook over medium heat. Cooking time depends on what type of mushroom is used and ranges from thirty minutes to one and a half hours.
The dried product has a rich taste. For this reason, mushrooms are taken in small quantities for cooking. For a liter of sauce there is a handful of dried product, and for soup - one large handful for three to four liters.
Do I need to boil chanterelles before frying?
Before you start frying, you should boil the mushrooms.
- First they need to be thoroughly cleaned and rinsed. To make the chanterelles have a more delicate taste, they are soaked in cool water or milk for an hour and a half.
- After soaking, the mushrooms should be placed in a cooking container. Water should be in a two to one ratio to mushrooms. A glass of chanterelles must be filled with two glasses of water.
- Then the mushrooms are salted. If you use them to prepare another dish, you don’t need to add any salt at all.
- Chanterelles are cooked for twenty minutes. It is necessary to regularly remove foam from them. Boiled mushrooms are thrown into a colander.
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Fragrant gifts of the forest, mushrooms are especially loved.
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You can use them to prepare rich soup, hodgepodge, filling for pies and pies, and a delicious second course.
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Before eating, almost any mushrooms (with rare exceptions) need to be boiled.
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How to cook mushrooms and how long does it take?
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How to cook dried mushrooms with potatoes
Soup recipe ingredients:
- Dried mushrooms – 20 g.
- Potatoes – 800 g.
- Onions – 1 pc.
- Tomato sauce – 400 g.
- Dried ground herbs – 1 tsp.
- Salt - to taste.
- Vegetable oil – 40 g.
Recipe ingredients for sauce:
- Wheat flour – 1 tbsp.
- Butter – 1 tbsp.
- Tomato paste – 2 tbsp.
- Onions – 1 pc.
- Carrot – 1 pc.
- Meat broth - 1 tbsp.
- Salt - to taste.
- Ground black pepper - to taste.
Sauce making process:
- The following ingredients are mixed: flour, butter, tomato paste, chopped onion, grated carrots, broth and seasonings, flavor enhancers.
- The mixture of products is placed in the microwave before heating the butter. The sauce is ready for further use.
Soup making process:
- Dry mushrooms are soaked for 2 hours. After this, they need to be washed and cooked until cooked for 50 minutes. The finished mushrooms are squeezed out and chopped.
- The onions are peeled and finely chopped. The frying pan is heated over the fire, the onions are fried along with the mushrooms until the onion crust is golden brown, and tomato sauce with meat broth is added. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer the ingredients over low heat for 15 minutes.
- The potatoes are peeled, washed, cut into slices. Fry in an additional frying pan with vegetable oil. Pepper and salt to taste. After cooking, mix the potatoes with mushrooms and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Dried mushrooms and potatoes are ready. Served with greens and white bread.