Freezing mushrooms: raw, boiled, stewed and fried

Freezing mushrooms is a great way to make preparations for the winter. Since mushrooms can be frozen not only raw, but also after heat treatment, the choice of dishes in which they can be used becomes wider.

Is it possible to freeze mushrooms for the winter at home

It is not only possible to freeze mushrooms for the winter, but it is very necessary, since they are a source of substances useful for the body. However, their composition is very diverse, and in order to preserve the beneficial trace elements contained in them (such as iron, copper, zinc and magnesium), freezing must be carried out correctly. When choosing a harvesting method, you need to immediately decide for which dishes the mushrooms will be used, because depending on the chosen method, their consistency will differ.

So, frozen mushrooms can be used to prepare a variety of:

• soups;
• salads;
• stew;
• pie filling;
• and much more.

In fact, properly frozen mushrooms have the same properties as fresh ones, only they can be eaten not only in the season, but throughout the year.

Collecting, cleaning and sorting mushrooms

When collecting, it is important to remember that in addition to tasty and healthy mushrooms, there are “false mushrooms” that are poisonous (or simply inedible). Therefore, the main rule when collecting or buying mushrooms sounds like this: “If you’re not sure – don’t take it.”

After harvesting, it’s time to clean up. It is advisable to do preliminary cleaning in the forest – remove the earth, needles and small leaves, throw out wormy or rotten specimens.

Washing mushrooms for freezing or not depends on how exactly they will be frozen.

Another important point in preparing mushrooms for freezing is sorting. In addition to the fact that you need to select the most whole mushrooms (not beaten, not starting to deteriorate, not eaten by worms, etc.), it is most convenient to disassemble them by size – large to large, small to small, in order to further simplify the cooking process.

How can you freeze mushrooms

Mushrooms are suitable for freezing in varying degrees (and different forms) of readiness. Yes, you can freeze them.

• raw;
• boiled;
• blanched;
• fried.

When choosing a method, it is necessary to take into account not only its convenience, but also the further purpose of the workpiece.

Preparing for freezing

The preparation process is highly dependent on the chosen method of freezing mushrooms, since each method has its own characteristics.

The first stages of preparation – collection and sorting by size are the same for all methods. Differences begin at the cleaning stage, while the initial cleaning is quite versatile and consists in removing visible dirt from the surface of the fungus. But it is not possible to wash mushrooms in all cases:

1. If the mushrooms are intended for freezing raw (or drying), then they cannot be washed; dry dirt is removed with a knife or napkin. In the event that you cannot do without washing, you can quickly rinse them in running water, and dry them thoroughly before freezing.
2. If mushrooms are subsequently boiled or fried, they should be soaked briefly in cold water to get rid of fine dirt, and only then rinsed under tap water.

Another question – do I need to cut large mushrooms? When frozen raw, you do not need to cut them, but when cooking or frying, you should cut them into pieces of the same size. In addition, you need to remember that freezing should be carried out as quickly as possible, without leaving it for several days.

How to freeze fresh mushrooms for the winter

Fresh mushrooms are good because they retain their appearance and texture after freezing. They are elastic and hold their shape well, unlike heat-treated mushrooms.

Freeze them like this:

1. Remove small debris in a dry way.
2. Sort by size.
3. Put on a cutting board, tray or tray and send to the freezer. Lay out in one layer.
4. Leave in the chamber for 2-3 hours.
5. Sort into packages.

Mushrooms frozen in this way can be used in the preparation of both first and second courses, pastry fillings, salads, and simply as an addition to a side dish.

Freezing boiled mushrooms for the winter

Mushrooms boiled before freezing are convenient in that they do not need to be specially processed during the defrosting process, but can be used immediately. They can be used in the preparation of soup or mushroom caviar.

How to cook mushrooms before freezing

There are several ways to boil mushrooms before freezing. Before you start cooking, you need to keep in mind a few things:

• during the cooking process, the mushrooms greatly decrease in size;
• salt water is needed for cooking;
• mushrooms must be thoroughly washed before cooking;
• the minimum cooking time is an hour, and preferably 2 hours;
• since large specimens take longer to cook than small ones, mushrooms must be sorted according to size.

How much to cook mushrooms for freezing for the winter

Mushrooms are considered fully cooked when all specimens settle to the bottom of the pan. After cooking, they can be packaged for freezing, after allowing them to dry. Unlike raw ones, it is not necessary to pre-freeze boiled mushrooms. They can be laid out both in bags and in tightly closed plastic containers. Frozen boiled mushrooms are stored for up to six months.

1 method

Pour the peeled mushrooms into boiling water, cook for 10 minutes, periodically removing the foam. Then drain the water and pour fresh water, salt again and cook for an hour, stirring. At the end of cooking, transfer to a colander and let the water drain, and dry the mushrooms (you can get wet with napkins).

2 method

Put the mushrooms in a saucepan with cold salted water, put it on the fire and let it boil. After boiling and the appearance of foam (the foam must be removed), boil for 3 minutes, drain the water and pour clean water. Salt and continue to simmer for an hour. Then drain the water, let cool and only then freeze.

Freezing boiled mushrooms for the winter

For freezing, you can use both food containers and freezer bags (or regular plastic bags). There are a few rules to keep in mind when creating blanks:

1. Choose mushrooms of the same size for ease of cooking.
2. The blanks are divided into small portions, since they cannot be re-frozen.
3. It is necessary to carefully remove excess moisture – for this you can put the mushrooms in a colander, let the liquid drain, put it on a towel and let it dry.
4. Since mushrooms can still produce juice even after the water drains, you need to leave some free space in the storage containers.

In some recipes, it is advised to first put the mushrooms on a tray and leave them in the freezer for 2-3 hours, and after that put them in bags, but in order to save time, this can be neglected – after defrosting, the result will look the same.

Freezing rules after blanching

Blanching is a short-term treatment of the product with hot water.

There are several ways to blanch.

So it is possible:

1. Put a colander with mushrooms in the sink and pour over them with boiling water (an easy way).
2. Prepare two pots – one with cold water, the other with salted water – put on fire and bring to a boil. Mushrooms are dipped into boiling water and allowed to boil for 2-3 minutes, then quickly transferred to a pot of cold water.

Mushrooms are transferred to a colander and left, allowing excess liquid to drain. Cooled and dried mushrooms are laid out in packages (containers) and sent to the freezer.

How to freeze fried mushrooms

Frozen fried mushrooms can be used to make stews or as a side dish. The frying time, as a rule, does not exceed 20 minutes.

Roast them like this:

1. Dry the washed mushrooms thoroughly.
2. Preheat the pan and, without adding oil, pour the mushrooms into it.
3. Saute until juice comes out.
4. Add oil, fry until golden brown.
5. Pour into a colander and let the oil drain.
6. Pack the cooled mushrooms and send to the freezer.

How to freeze stewed mushrooms for the winter

The process of stewing mushrooms for the winter is very similar to hot:

1. The washed mushrooms are allowed to dry, sent to a hot frying pan without oil and salted.
2. After the juice comes out, cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 20-25 minutes. If the juice boils away too much, boiled water can be added.
3. Then it is necessary to drain the juice and decompose the cooled mushrooms into containers.

Freezing mushroom caviar from mushrooms

Since such caviar is made from pre-boiled mushrooms, it can be frozen. The peculiarity of the preparation of caviar from mushrooms is that after freezing it requires additional processing.

Caviar is prepared like this:

1. Honey mushrooms are soaked in salt water, washed and cleaned.
2. Cook in any convenient way until cooked.
3. Transfer to a colander, let the water drain, and then grind in any convenient way – in a meat grinder, blender or using a food processor.
4. Crushed caviar is packaged in bags or containers and sent to the freezer.
5. To defrost, you will need to do the following: put a frozen product on a heated pan, add half a cup of water and wait until the caviar begins to thaw. After the liquid begins to evaporate, add spices to taste, cover the pan with a lid and simmer until the water has completely evaporated.

How to cook frozen mushrooms

Frozen mushrooms are a tasty and healthy product. But in order to please your loved ones with a delicious dish, you need to know the recipes and the subtleties of cooking.

What dishes can I add frozen mushrooms

As mentioned earlier, the same dishes can be prepared from frozen mushrooms as from fresh ones, especially if the freezing took place raw. You can make a stew or side dish from fried or stewed ones, and use boiled ones as a filling or ingredient for salad, or the basis for mushroom soup.

How to use frozen mushrooms correctly

It is necessary to defrost mushrooms gradually, at room temperature; Do not use a jet of hot water or a microwave for this. But this applies only to pre-cooked mushrooms, but raw ones can be boiled or fried immediately – they will defrost in the process. Mandatory heat treatment requires raw mushrooms, but boiled, fried or stewed, it is optional. They can be added to soups without pre-treatment.

Raw mushrooms must be boiled or fried before eating.

How long are frozen raw mushrooms boiled

In total, the process of boiling mushrooms takes 20–30 minutes, depending on their size and quantity. If the mushrooms were originally intended for frying, they can either be pre-boiled or immediately, without defrosting, sent to the pan.

Shelf life of frozen mushrooms

The shelf life depends on how the product was frozen:

• in raw – up to 6 months;
• in boiled – up to a year;
• in fried – up to a year;
• in the form of caviar – up to 6 months.

Some tips for freezing and storing mushrooms

In order for not only freezing, but also defrosting mushrooms to go without problems, it is worth remembering a few things:

1. For freezing, use only fresh and whole mushrooms.
2. Mushrooms do not tolerate repeated freezing.
3. Before freezing, remove excess liquid.
4. For convenience, it is better to pack in small portions.
5. In order not to miss the expiration date, it is worth signing on packages and containers not only the date of packaging, but also the form in which mushrooms are frozen – boiled, fried, cheese.
6. It is not necessary to completely fill the container or bag when packing – mushrooms can release juice, and free space will be needed for it.

Conclusion

Freezing mushrooms is a simple action, but in order for everything to succeed, care and accuracy are required. The main advantages of frozen mushrooms include ease of storage and preservation of taste and nutrients.

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