Preserving Mushrooms
by: Isabella Darian on Mon, 9 Mar 2009 at: 8:48 PM Go to: Previous Article Next Article
The most popular way of preserving mushrooms in the majority of countries is pickling them in vinegar. The simplest method is as follows: cleaned and washed mushrooms, cut into large pieces or left whole in the case of small fruit-bodies, are placed in a pan which is half filled with water.
After adding salt, whole peppercorns and bay leaves, this mixture is then boiled for 20 minutes. Next the mushrooms are strained, mixed with a reasonable amount of raw onion mixture is finally put into preserving jars. If preferred a half-boiled carrot, similarly sliced, can also be added. The contents are then covered by a slightly sweetened vinegar, to which has been added a teaspoonful of salt per pint and which should not be boiled. The jars are closed with air-tight lids and sterilize by boiling fin. half an hour. Mushrooms preserved in,this fashion have an unlimited lifespan.
Another possible method of preserving is by putting the mushrooms in boiling, salty water and allowing them to boil for a short time. Then they are strained and left to drip. Meanwhile salted vinegar is boiled with several peppercorns, pimento and a bay leaf; rings of sliced onion and a carrot cut lengthwise are then added along with some sugar, the ratio being four lumps of sugar to one litre of vinegar.
The well-cleaned fruit bodies should be thinly sliced (1 to 3 mm) and then placed on paper, a wooden board or best of all some taut netting. Mushrooms should be dried in a moderate but constant level of heat, above the stove or on central heating radiators or directly in sunshine.
In any case, the pickling of mushrooms in salt is often considered to be the most profitable way of retaining the unique flavor mushrooms. Cleaned and well-drained mushrooms are cut into small pieces and put in layers, alternating with layers of Nth, into wide-necked glass containers. In this respect it is very important that mushrooms are well drained, as if not they would produce too much water and thus increase the quantity of salt required in their pickling.
An age-old and more elaborate and time-consuming method of drying is by threading mushrooms on long pieces of cotton, which are then suspended above a source of heat. The dried mushroom segments, particularly the small pieces, can also be turned into powder, which is then mixed with pepper and cloves. A powder prepared in this manner is a suitable ingredient for soups and sauces.
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A mushroom growing gardening tip is mushrooms need a lot of air to prevent carbon dioxide build up.
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