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The mushroom season is short, and you want to enjoy it not only in summer. But do not despair, as mushrooms, including russula, can be prepared for future use. Experienced housewives use recipes for preparing frozen russula for the winter to diversify the family’s diet. You can also dry these mushrooms. In dried and frozen form, hats and legs can be stored for a long time, they do not lose their taste and useful properties.
How to save russula for the winter
Inexperienced mushroom pickers, having heard the name “russula”, believe that they can be eaten raw. But it’s not. They are simply faster than other forest delicacies, ready for consumption after processing. Russula is rich in protein, various vitamins and minerals, and has a low calorie content. There are only 100 kcal in 12 g. The collected mushroom raw materials must be frozen or dried no later than 12 hours.
Is it possible to dry russula
Not only novice housewives are interested in drying fruiting bodies. To preserve russula, it is not necessary to marinate or salt them. Drying is also a great way to enjoy mushroom flavored dishes in winter.
It is important to understand that only small-sized mushrooms without wormholes can be dried. Before the process, it is not recommended to soak fruit bodies, as they quickly absorb water, and this significantly prolongs drying.
It is best to wipe the hats with a damp cloth or sponge to remove earth, grass, moss. After that, you need to remove the skin from the hat. This will give the russula an aesthetic appearance. You can dry not only hats, but also legs. To speed up the process, large russula are recommended to be cut into plates, small ones are dried whole.
Do russula freeze
Russula can not only be dried, but also frozen. This method of storage allows you to keep the workpiece longer. Useful properties and vitamins remain in them to the fullest.
Freezing the product for the winter is easy. It takes a little time, but you can cook delicious dishes throughout the year. It is enough to take out the containers or bags from the freezer so that a unique mushroom aroma appears in the apartment even in winter.
How to freeze russula for the winter
There are two ways to freeze caps and legs: fresh or boiled. To freeze russula raw or after preliminary heat treatment, they must be specially prepared.
It is advisable to start processing immediately after collection. Raw materials must be carefully sorted out, specimens removed even with small wormholes and damage. After the skin is removed from the hats, they need to be soaked in cold water for 1-2 hours. This is a mandatory procedure. It will remove soil and debris. It remains only to choose a method and freeze the raw materials for the winter.
How to freeze russula fresh for the winter
The easiest way to freeze russula fresh, without resorting to heat treatment. After thorough washing, separate the legs and hats. The work takes a minimum of time, especially since the raw materials are always sorted out upon arrival from the forest home.
To freeze fresh russula, they must be blanched to reduce weight. After that, throw them in a colander and wait for the water to drain. To maximize the removal of moisture, it is recommended to spread everything on a cloth and cover it on top. This procedure is necessary for high-quality freezing.
You can freeze hats and legs immediately in containers or special bags. Their volume should be such that the product can be used immediately after defrosting. The containers must be filled in such a way that as little air as possible remains in them. Freeze immediately in the chamber.
To preserve the shape of the caps, you can freeze the russula on the sheet. They are laid out in one layer. When the plates are frozen, they can be laid out in any portioned containers.
How to freeze boiled russula mushrooms
You can freeze hats and legs after heat treatment. Pre-cooking russula is much more convenient. Mushrooms reduced in size take up minimal space in the freezer. In addition, this semi-finished product then needs to be cooked less in order to prepare various mushroom dishes.
How to freeze properly:
- Fruit bodies, after careful sorting, are cleaned of needles, dry leaves and earth with a brush or knife. Then the skin is removed.
- Soak for an hour in cold water to wash out the grains of sand.
- Large specimens are cut into pieces, and small ones are left whole.
- The russula is transferred to a saucepan and poured with plenty of water so that the caps and legs float.
- If desired, you can put spices and salt in the pan.
- The container is placed on the stove, a strong fire is turned on. As soon as boiling begins, the temperature is reduced to a minimum and boiled for 30-35 minutes. The resulting foam is removed.
- Understand that the pan can be removed easily: hats and legs settle to the bottom.
- Before freezing, put the russula in a colander to remove the liquid.
- When they are cold, put them in serving bowls. These can be special freezer bags or disposable containers. The main thing is that they are portioned and do not let air through. Otherwise, the product will take on odors from the refrigerator during storage.
How to dry russula at home
There is not always enough space in the refrigerator to freeze russula for the winter. For storage, you can use the traditional method, which has been tested for centuries. Dried mushrooms do not lose their beneficial properties, vitamins and minerals.
In the old days, hats and legs were dried in the open air. Modern housewives have alternative ways:
- in the oven;
- in a special dryer;
- in the microwave.
How to dry russula for the winter in the oven
One of the most common ways to harvest fresh mushrooms for the winter is to dry them in the oven. So even in urban conditions, you can provide your family with tasty forest gifts for the winter. The procedure for all types of mushrooms, including russula, is the same.
You can dry both hats and legs. Peeled and sorted russula are laid out on a wire rack or on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. The oven is set to the minimum temperature (45 degrees) and a sheet is placed in it. The oven door does not need to be closed to allow the moisture to evaporate better.
After 1,5 hours, the russula is removed from the oven and left in the open air. Then drying is continued for the same time again. The procedure is repeated three times. If the russula has not dried out a little, the sheet does not need to be placed in an oven, the raw material will dry out in the air.
Ready hats and legs tap with stirring. They are stored in paper bags or linen bags.
How to dry russula in an electric dryer
Modern housewives can use the quick way to dry russula in an electric dryer. Fresh mushrooms are sorted by size so that they dry evenly. Small specimens are laid out in the upper pallets, large specimens are laid out in the lower part of the electric dryer.
The temperature regime for drying mushrooms is not higher than 35 degrees. Of course, it all depends on the type of equipment. After half an hour, you need to check how the process is going. As a rule, russula is ready in 4-5 hours. After complete cooling, the raw materials are removed in bags and left in a dry, ventilated room.
How to dry russula outdoors
And now a few words about the traditional way of harvesting mushrooms for the winter. Large specimens are cut into pieces, small ones are left whole. For drying, you will need a long, harsh thread or fishing line. Raw materials are pierced and strung like beads.
For drying, you can use the attic, balcony. The main thing is that the air circulates well, and moisture does not get in. Of course, the process takes much longer than when drying in an oven or electric dryer.
When the mushrooms dry well, they are removed from the thread and put away for storage in a cupboard in the kitchen or in the pantry.
How to store russula
In order for russula to be beneficial, optimal conditions must be created for their storage. Frozen mushrooms should be kept in the freezer at a constant temperature of at least 18 degrees.
It is not recommended to defrost and refreeze raw materials, as this renders the mushrooms unusable. If it was decided to freeze russula for the winter, then it should be remembered that they can be stored for two years. Taste and useful properties do not disappear.
Dried russula is best stored in containers that breathe. In addition to paper bags and a canvas bag, you can use a cardboard box with a lid. If there is a lot of dried raw materials, then a pillowcase will do. This is how the ancestors kept the blanks for the winter.
Dried mushrooms keep well for a year if kept in a cool, dry place out of light.
Conclusion
Recipes for preparing frozen russula for the winter are an excellent option for diversifying the family’s diet. Not a single gourmet will refuse mushroom dishes, which, thanks to the gifts of the forest, contain vitamins B2 and PP, as well as useful trace elements.
