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High-quality processing of porcini mushrooms allows you to save the maximum amount of nutrients in them. It should be remembered that the heat treatment of porcini mushrooms is not always a mandatory procedure. You can pickle them without exposure to high temperature conditions. Usually, fresh porcini mushrooms are processed immediately after returning home from the forest. First, the harvested crop is sorted, moved and cleared of debris and earth. The subsequent processing of porcini mushrooms before cooking depends on what dishes will be prepared with them. For example, before processing porcini mushrooms after harvesting for salting in a dry way, they are cleaned and not washed, but only the most polluted places are cut off. And for pickling, they need to be thoroughly washed and boiled. Read about how to properly process porcini mushrooms on this page and apply the knowledge gained in practice during the “silent hunting” season.
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Methods for processing porcini mushrooms before cooking
In Our Country, the porcini mushroom is considered the most valuable in cooking. It is distinguished by dense white pulp, which will not change color during the heat treatment. Dishes made from fresh porcini mushrooms have a special taste, and dried mushrooms of this species, unlike all the others, are the most fragrant. It is they who are recommended to be added to first courses, sauces and toppings for pies. Before use, dried mushrooms are washed with water and soaked in clean cold water, and then boiled until tender. Only then they are cut into pieces and added to other ingredients.
[ »wp-content/plugins/include-me/goog-left.php»]There is a simple way to process porcini mushroom, available to every hostess, it consists in the following operations. The processing of porcini mushrooms before cooking begins with the cleansing of debris (adhering blades of grass and insects), the removal of darkened or damaged areas. Mushroom caps are cleaned with a knife with a stainless steel blade or a soft cloth. The cut on the legs is updated by removing the most contaminated part. If the mushrooms from the forest are heavily polluted, they are soaked in water and pressed down with a weight for complete immersion. After 10–20 minutes, the caps are already easily washed from adhering grass and leaves. You should not leave the mushrooms in the water for a long time, as they will actively absorb it, which will eventually negatively affect their taste and aroma, and make the caps brittle. Then the mushrooms are washed with clean running water. Particular attention is paid to washing the lower surface of the mushroom caps, which is spongy or lamellar, and therefore most susceptible to contamination. Then the mushrooms are left in a colander or sieve to drain the liquid. For cooking, mushrooms are cut in a variety of ways (slices, slices, straws, cubes, sticks) or ground into minced meat using a meat grinder or blender. By the way, dishes with chopped mushrooms are better absorbed.
How to process porcini mushrooms before frying
We offer you to learn how to process porcini mushrooms before frying and during the preparation of other dishes without cooking. The first and foremost requirement when processing mushrooms is a thorough inspection, as they can be heavily soiled and clogged with sand. Mushrooms should be processed only young, completely healthy, not wormy, with cut roots, without any debris, needles, leaves, earth, and only freshly picked. If there are few mushrooms, then first of all, mushrooms that can be fried fresh should be separated from mushrooms that require additional heat treatment.
[ »wp-content/plugins/include-me/goog-left.php»]It is even desirable to distribute mushrooms by size. Needles, leaves, moss and other forest debris are cleaned with a wide soft brush, cotton swab or soft cloth. Garbage adhering to the smooth cap of the mushroom is scraped off with a knife. From mushrooms that do not require heat treatment, debris is removed especially carefully, cleaning the folds with a brush. With a sharp stainless steel knife, all darkened and softened places are cut out, as well as those parts that are damaged by forest pests. In old mushrooms, the tubular part of the cap is cut out. The viscous leg is cut off entirely. Wash and soak the mushrooms as little as possible. Mushrooms that are used for frying or drying are not washed.
Washed mushrooms are placed in cold water and usually soaked for 2-6 hours. Dried mushrooms are soaked to restore moisture in them. The water in which they soaked is used for food. Washed mushrooms of larger sizes are cut into pieces. Porcini mushrooms are consumed along with the legs. To make the cooked dish or canned food look prettier, the legs of the mushrooms are cooked separately.
The mushroom cap is carefully cut into several identical parts. The stem of the mushroom is cut into thin circles. The purpose of cooking mushrooms is to reduce or completely eliminate the bitter taste or toxicity. But it lowers the nutritional value of mushrooms and weakens their taste and aroma. Cook porcini mushrooms for 15-30 minutes in plenty of water. The decoction is poured out. There are two ways: bring water to a boil (1/1 tablespoon of salt is added to 2 liter of water), mushrooms are dipped in boiling water, kept for 5-15 minutes and transferred to cold water. Or the mushrooms are dipped in cold salted water, quickly brought to a boil. After boiling, the dishes are removed from the heat and the mushrooms are allowed to cool in the same water or poured with clean water. After the water is drained, the mushrooms are transferred to a cloth bag or on a sieve so that the water is glassed. It should not be dried by strong squeezing, many valuable substances are removed.
How to process porcini mushrooms for freezing for the winter
[ »wp-content/plugins/include-me/goog-left.php»]Young, tender mushrooms are chosen for freezing. Before processing the porcini mushroom for the winter, it is cleaned with a hard brush from the outside and between the plates. Hard and dark places of the legs are cut off, the mushrooms are cut in half lengthwise. Put 200 g of mushrooms and fry for 2 minutes in 1 teaspoon of oil in a pan with medium heat, turning to evaporate the juice. Mushrooms are boiled, quickly cooled and frozen in bags. Store up to 12 months at -18 °C. It is better to cut porcini mushrooms raw into slices and freeze, then pack and keep in the freezer for up to 4 months. Cook frozen mushrooms in the same way as fresh mushrooms, for example, quickly fry in butter heated to brown and add spices.
These are the main points on how to process porcini mushrooms for freezing using the cold shock method in a home freezer.
Processing porcini mushrooms before drying
Mushrooms intended for drying cannot be washed, they must first be cleaned with a knife from dirt, moss and leaves, cut out damaged and wormy places and wipe with a clean, damp cotton cloth. Then cut the large mushrooms into several pieces, so that each such piece has a part of the cap and legs. For uniform drying, all pieces should be the same size. To process porcini mushrooms before drying, they are strung on harsh threads and dried in the open air in the shade or in the sun. You can dry mushrooms by spreading them in a thin layer on baking sheets, tables, trays, previously lined with clean paper or cotton cloth. Under natural conditions, mushrooms are usually dried for 2-3 days, at night they must be removed into the room.
If during this time the mushrooms still have not dried out, then they can be dried in ovens or ovens. In unfavorable weather, mushrooms can immediately be dried in ovens or ovens. At the same time, the mushrooms should not come into contact with metal baking sheets, because this will darken them. Trays should be lined with cotton cloth or clean paper. Mushrooms are placed in an oven or oven heated to a temperature of 40-45 degrees, and dried for 3-4 hours, with the door slightly open. Then the temperature is raised to 70 degrees and dried until cooked. Mushrooms are considered completely dried if, when pressed on the caps, they do not emit moisture, are elastic, do not crumble or break. Dried mushrooms can be used to make mushroom powder. Dried mushrooms are very hygroscopic, so they are best stored in glass, hermetically sealed jars in dark, dry rooms.
How to process porcini mushrooms for frying
The following describes how to process porcini mushrooms before frying and then rolling them into jars for storage for several months. Meanwhile, at home, along with salting, pickling, pickling, mushrooms are often preserved fried, stewed in their own juice, and also boiled in lightly salted or acidified (citric acid, vinegar) water, after which the jars are rolled up. In such cases, it is necessary to sterilize the jars at least before seaming in boiling salted water (400 g of salt per 1 liter of water), since its boiling point is above 100 ° C.
Such canned food immediately before use must be boiled for at least 30 minutes, counting from the moment of boiling.
To do this, the mushrooms, along with the broth, are laid out from the cans in a saucepan, pour in a little cold water (to boil) and put on fire.
After 25 minutes of boiling (not earlier), mushrooms and broth can be tasted. During this time, botulinum toxin, if present, is already destroyed. With a lack of salt, the mushrooms are added with salt, with an excess, water is added. If necessary, the broth is acidified and spices are added to it at will – bay leaf, dill, allspice. After boiling for another 5 minutes, the mushrooms are cooled and served. You can store them in the refrigerator for no more than 2 days. This method of processing canned mushrooms is approved by microbiologists and sanitary doctors. Nevertheless, home hermetic capping of mushrooms is undesirable. It may be acceptable for pickled mushrooms, and in the only case: when the acidity of the marinade is not lower than 1,6%. In such an environment, there is no development of spores and reproduction of botulism sticks, and, consequently, the formation of dangerous botulinum toxin. Salted mushrooms should be stored only in conditions of free air access.