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Drying umbrella mushrooms is easy. The process does not require special skills and dexterity, but the finished product pleases with its taste and benefits. Umbrella is a mushroom of the Champignon genus. It is low in carbs and low in calories, so it is considered a dietary product. Due to its taste, it has been widely used in cooking. It is not only dried, but also salted, marinated, fried, frozen. It goes well with potatoes, sour cream, garlic and butter. It looks great on the table and is liked by all lovers of mushroom taste.
Soups made from dried umbrellas are especially tasty.
Is it possible to dry mushrooms umbrellas
Many housewives prepare umbrellas for the winter by drying. And then they are used to prepare first and second courses, gravy and sauces. In addition, mushroom powder is prepared from dried fruit bodies, which is used as an aromatic seasoning.
When collecting umbrellas in the forest, you should know how they differ from poisonous specimens. The difference is that when the cap is broken, a pleasant, nut-like smell is felt, and the ring on the leg moves freely, while in grebes it is fixed. Only certain species of the genus can be eaten: white, girlish, conrad, motley.
When open, a good umbrella has a hat diameter of about 40 cm and a height of 30 cm.
How to prepare umbrella mushrooms for drying
Before drying umbrella mushrooms for the winter, they must be sorted out from debris, rotten and spoiled by animal specimens. Then sticky needles and leaves of trees should be removed from the hat, cut into 2-4 parts. Clean the young legs and remove the old ones.
How to dry an umbrella properly
There are several ways to dry umbrellas, everyone can choose the most suitable and convenient for themselves:
- In the dryer. Place the prepared fruit bodies in the bowl of an electrical appliance for drying vegetables and herbs, set the temperature and time, wait for the process to end.
- In the sun. Spread the umbrellas evenly on a board or baking sheet, cover with cooking paper, place in direct sunlight, in a well-ventilated place. Dry 7-10 days.
- In limbo. Put mushroom slices on a thread or wire, cover with gauze to protect from flies and dust, hang in a dry, ventilated room for a couple of weeks.
- In the oven. Arrange the prepared umbrellas on a baking sheet lined with baking paper or foil. Place for 3 hours in the oven, preheated to a temperature of 50 °C. After the time has elapsed, turn off the closet, and leave the umbrellas in it until the morning. The next day, turn the slices over and dry for another 60 minutes, observing the same conditions.
The color of the finished mushrooms should remain light. It is not allowed that the slices crack in the hands. Dried umbrella legs and broken specimens are ground in a coffee grinder or blender, and the resulting mushroom powder is used as a seasoning. Dried caps are used after pre-soaking.
Mushroom powder is often present in cooking recipes as a condiment.
Terms and conditions of storage of dried umbrellas
In order for the dried product not to lose its useful and taste qualities, it is important to follow some rules. First, dried fruiting bodies should be stored away from warm and humid places. Secondly, they are placed in a special container:
- cloth ventilated bags;
- hermetically sealed containers;
- vacuum or thick paper bags;
- glass jars covered with paper or linen, tightly tied with a rope.
With proper storage, dried mushrooms remain tasty even the next year after harvesting.
Conclusion
It is worth drying umbrella mushrooms for the reason that they are very valuable and useful. Even when dry, they retain a sufficient amount of minerals and vitamins, which the body lacks so much in the autumn-winter period. Umbrellas clean blood vessels, have an antibacterial effect and lower cholesterol levels. And dishes with their addition have a great taste and rich aroma.
