How to process mushrooms after harvest

To process mushrooms after harvest, they must be sorted, dirt removed, soaked in cold water for half an hour and allowed to drain. After that, the mushrooms can be cooked immediately or sent for salting. If you plan to dry or freeze mushrooms, you do not need to wash them – the earth and debris are cleaned with a brush, sponge or napkin.

What to do with saffron mushrooms after picking

Primary processing can be carried out in the forest. To do this, damaged areas are cut off from the fruiting bodies, dirt is removed, and the remnants of grass and leaves are removed. It is useful to immediately cut off the tips of the legs, which are always soiled in the ground.

After harvesting, the processing of mushrooms is carried out already at home:

1. The brought mushrooms are laid out and sorted out.
2. Rotten, wormy, too old mushrooms are removed.
3. All rejected mushrooms are thrown away, normal ones are placed together.
4. Healthy mushrooms can be divided into small and large sizes immediately after harvest.
5. Then they are processed in the chosen way, depending on further plans (cook immediately or pickle, dry, freeze).

How to process saffron mushrooms

The choice of method depends on what needs to be done with mushrooms in the future. In some cases, the mushrooms are thoroughly washed, while in others they can simply be cleaned with a damp cloth.

to prepare

Soaking mushrooms after picking is optional. But if you want to completely remove even a slight bitterness, you can pour the mushrooms with cold water immediately after cleaning for literally 1,5 hours. Doing this all night is not worth it, because the pulp may begin to turn sour. In addition, the mushrooms will lose their pleasant forest aroma.

Processing mushrooms before cooking is generally quite simple:

1. They are cleared of earth and debris.
2. Put in a container and pour cold water for half an hour.
3. Remove the liquid and rinse under the tap.
4. Put in a colander and wait until all the liquid drains.
5. After that, the mushrooms can immediately be cooked or sent for harvesting pickles.

It is also possible to process mushrooms after harvesting under oppression. Detailed instructions can be seen here.

For freezing

In this case, the fruiting bodies are not washed. The sequence of actions is as follows:

1. Hats are separated from the legs, laid out in different containers.
2. Hats from the outside are wiped with any damp cloth. It can be a clean kitchen napkin, sponge or toothbrush.
3. The tips of the legs are cut off and laid out parallel to each other on a tray. Sprinkle a little salt on top.
4. They put the hats and legs in different plastic bags and put them in the freezer (it is enough for them to lie down for 3-4 hours at a minimum temperature).
5. Then they take out and squeeze out all the air from the bags. They are put back into them and again sent to the freezer for storage.

For pickling

There are 2 methods of processing camelina mushrooms for further salting – cold and hot. In the first case, it works like this:

1. Mushrooms cleaned of contaminants are thoroughly washed and drained.
2. Spread out on a clean towel to dry a little.
3. A container (not metal) is chosen, mushrooms are placed and water is poured so that it completely covers the mushrooms.
4. Add salt at the rate of 2-3 tablespoons (50-60 g) per 1 kg of mushrooms, stir and leave for 5-6 hours.
5. Rinse again under running water, lay out on a towel and proceed to salting.

The hot processing method after collection involves boiling. The sequence of actions is as follows:

1. Fruit bodies are placed in a saucepan, poured with cold water so that it completely covers them, and a few pinches of salt are added.
2. They are thoroughly washed with their hands, sorting through the fruiting bodies so that the sand completely comes out and settles at the bottom.
3. Rinse under the tap, removing the remaining grains of sand.
4. Take an enamel pan, pour 2 liters of water, bring to a boil.
5. Add 2 tablespoons of salt and a little citric acid (at the tip of the spoon).
6. Pre-washed mushrooms are thrown into boiling water and the stove is immediately turned off.
7. Cover the pot and let the water cool completely.
8. Then they drain it and start salting.

For drying

The preparation is quite simple:

1. Pollution and debris are removed manually, you can also help yourself with a brush. All actions are performed carefully so as not to break the pulp.
2. Large mushrooms are cut into several parts, small ones are left as is. As a result, all the pieces should be approximately the same size.
3. After that, immediately proceed to drying in the oven or in the sun.

Useful tips for processing mushrooms

Despite the fact that the methods of preparing mushrooms after harvesting differ from each other, there are general processing rules that you should pay attention to:

1. It is better to process mushrooms after harvesting even in the forest – then not so much dirt will be brought home, and it will be easier to work with mushrooms.
2. Processing should be carried out immediately after collection. Cut mushrooms quickly lose their elasticity, and most importantly, when warm, their forest aroma disappears.
3. Mushrooms are considered fairly clean mushrooms, so processing them is not so difficult. But special attention should be paid to the plates and the surface of the caps – this is where the most dust accumulates.
4. If the mushroom is wormy or rotten, it is thrown out completely without cutting off these parts.
5. For salting, it is better to use young mushrooms with beautiful, healthy fruiting bodies.
6. Large mushrooms and broken bodies after collection are sent for cooking first and second courses. They can also be processed for further salting, drying and freezing (the appearance does not matter here).

Conclusion

Processing mushrooms after harvest is quite simple. They can be soaked briefly in salted water, and then rinsed thoroughly to completely remove grains of sand. Both an experienced and a novice hostess will be able to cope with this task.