How to dry fly agaric
Amanita is a poisonous mushroom, which is nevertheless used in folk medicine. He is credited with antineoplastic, immunostimulating and tonic properties. To use a dangerous mushroom for medicinal purposes, it is important to know how to store and how to properly dry fly agarics in order to reduce the risk of poisoning.
How to properly dry fly agaric? In a dry, well-ventilated area, away from sunlight
In folk medicine, only one type of fly agaric is used – amanita muscaria, or red fly agaric. Not all mushrooms are suitable for drying: choose only young ones, without traces of rot and damage by insects. Do not collect them near large highways or in an industrial area. You only need a hat; when cutting it off, try not to damage the skin.
For medicinal purposes, only dried mushrooms can be used, since during the drying process the highly toxic ibotenic acid is converted into muscimol, a substance with a stimulating and psychoactive effect.
Before drying, mushroom caps should be cleaned of soil, needles and other contaminants. It is better to dry them whole, especially large caps can be divided into 2-4 parts. You can’t wash mushrooms! Amanita caps absorb moisture very well, which contributes to their rapid deterioration.
Amanita should be dried in a well-ventilated, cool and dry place, strung on a string or thread.
Finished caps should become brittle and easily crumble in your hands. Since dry fly agarics absorb moisture from the environment very well, they should be stored in an airtight container.
How to dry fly agarics in the oven?
Drying mushrooms in the oven is not recommended, but if this method is the only possible one, it is important to do everything right:
Gently remove any dirt from the mushrooms without damaging the skin. You can’t wash your hats!
Divide large specimens into several parts, dry small and medium ones whole.
They should not be dried in a baking sheet: fly agarics release a large amount of moisture during drying, but on the wire rack. Arrange the caps in one layer and place in the oven.
The first one and a half to two hours, the caps should be dried at a moderate temperature – 45-60 degrees. Then the temperature needs to be increased to 75-80 degrees. After another two hours, reduce the heat again and dry it at a temperature not higher than 50 degrees.
The weight of dried mushrooms will decrease by about 10 times, that is, 100 grams of dried mushrooms will be obtained from a kilogram of raw mushrooms. They should be stored away from sunlight, in an airtight container that excludes contact of fly agarics with air and other products.
“Das Gewicht der getrockneten Pilze nimmt etwa um das Zehnfache ab, aus einem Kilogramm roher Pilze werden 10 Gramm getrocknete Pilze gewonnen.”
Ein Kilogramm sind 1000gr. Um das zehnfache Gewichtsverlust bedeutet, es werden 100gr. Oder das Gewicht nimmt um das Hundertfache ab.