Processing and storage of honey mushrooms at home

Mushrooms are a perishable product, so their storage in raw form for a long time is not allowed. Experts strongly recommend processing mushrooms on the day of their collection. No exception are well-known fruiting bodies that grow whole families and are popularly called mushrooms. In this article we will look at how to process and store honey mushrooms for the winter.

Methods and terms of storage of fresh honey mushrooms after collection

It is worth saying that for any mushroom picker to meet a tree or a tree stump in the forest with an “army” of honey mushrooms is a great success. Then, in fact, the “silent hunt” ends, because a complete basket of mushrooms is already provided. However, upon arrival home a time-consuming process begins - the primary mushroom processing, that is, their cleaning. For further storage of honey mushrooms, they need to be sorted out, cleaned of forest debris, cut off the lower parts of the legs, and cut out areas damaged by insects.

Honey mushrooms are a welcome prey for mushroom pickers, and harvesting these forest gifts is not at all a difficult process, but many do not like the processing process. The fact is that honey agarics are small mushrooms, so cleaning them from debris and sand is sometimes very difficult. But the main problem still remains the storage of honey mushrooms at home.

This is a popular type of mushroom, the advantage of which is that they grow in whole colonies, and this greatly simplifies their collection. Honey agaric mushrooms belong to agaric mushrooms, which increases the likelihood of poisoning if storage rules were not observed correctly.

To ensure the maximum shelf life of mushrooms, you need to know how to cook mushrooms for storage. For example, before you start cooking, you need to remove the white skirt from each fruiting body, and then wash and dry it. If honey mushrooms are very dirty, then it’s better to soak them for 30 minutes in cold water. However, it is better not to wet the mushrooms before freezing, but to dry clean them.

The shelf life of honey mushrooms depends on the form in which you will harvest them. The longest shelf life of these delicious fruiting bodies is considered to be pickled and salted. Marinated mushrooms stored throughout the year, salting will help keep honey agarics for 6-8 months.

Keeping fresh mushrooms does not mean a long period of time. Such mushrooms very quickly become worthless and lose their vitamins and taste, especially if mushrooms are harvested after rain. It will be better if fruit bodies are processed immediately after coming from the forest. For the pickling or pickling process, pour honey mushrooms on water for 1 hour. If honey mushrooms are waiting for drying, spread them on paper or plywood in a thin layer and store for no more than a day.

For many fans of "silent hunting" the following question is interesting: what is the shelf life of fresh mushrooms after harvest? I must say that the storage time should be as minimal as possible. However, if you cannot process the mushrooms immediately, put them in a dark, cool room for 5 hours.Longer than this time, the shelf life of fresh mushrooms is not acceptable. Toxins produced by agaric mushrooms after harvest in the forest can be harmful to human health. Therefore, when you come home, do not take the time to process them.

In this article we will discuss ways to store honey mushrooms after collection: in the refrigerator, freezer, as well as boiled, fried, dried and salted.

Storage of dried mushrooms at home

What is the storage of dried mushrooms at home? I must say that this option is the most common and affordable, but also does not require much time and material costs. Dried honey mushrooms are stored for a long time, without losing their taste and aroma, and in nutrition they are better than pickled.

Since dried mushrooms are hygroscopic, they absorb moisture from the environment. This leads to the fact that they begin to damp, mold and absorb foreign odors. That is why dried honey mushrooms should be stored in tightly closed glass jars with twisting lids. Many are trying to store dried fruit bodies in tissue bags. However, it is better not to do this, because such matter absorbs moisture and honey agarics can become damp.

To store mushrooms mushrooms in dried form, you can suggest using food vacuum containers, which can be put in a kitchen cabinet. If your honey agarics were dried on a thread, then do not cut it. Roll a string of mushrooms strung together, wrap with gauze and put in a glass jar. Note that this is the easiest and most reliable way to store dried mushrooms.

It is important to remember that dry stocks should be checked once a month. Otherwise, you may find that bugs are wound up in the blank. If traces of insects are visible in a jar or container, rinse the mushrooms under a tap and warm in an oven heated to 70 ° C.

Storage of autumn mushrooms in the freezer after processing

For many housewives who live in apartment buildings, storing honey mushrooms in the freezer is the most common way. In this case, the shelf life will depend on the temperature in the freezer. It is important to remember some recommendations regarding the processing and storage of autumn mushrooms.

Cut mushrooms in connection with the peculiarity of the structure begin to produce toxins that are dangerous to human health. Therefore, immediately after coming from the forest, process mushrooms and put in storage in the freezer.

To prevent the mushrooms from freezing during storage in the freezer, they must not be washed. Honey mushrooms should be wiped with a dry soft cloth or kitchen sponge, cut off part of the leg and remove dirt. Cut the mushrooms into pieces, arrange in food containers or plastic bags. You can store such a blank for 6 months at a temperature of -18 ° C.

Since mushrooms cannot be re-frozen, packets must be filled in such a way that the fruiting bodies contained in it can be used for one dish. The process of storing mushrooms in a frozen form makes mushrooms accessible at any time of the year.

Salting mushrooms and storing pickled mushrooms in the refrigerator

As a storage for honey agarics, you can use the option of salting. Cold and hot methods for salting honey mushrooms and their storage will surely appeal to all lovers of mushroom dishes. Such an appetizer will be perfectly preserved in a cold basement for a long time - from 6 months to 1 year. So, the hot method of salting will help to keep your honey mushrooms for 12 months, and the cold - only 6, since this option requires more attention to yourself. It must be checked so that mold does not form, and pour brine from time to time.

Storage of salted mushrooms should be carried out in a cool, well-ventilated area, at a temperature of + 6 + 8 ° C. However, if the temperature is 0 ° C, or lower, the mushrooms will freeze and lose their taste. If the temperature in the basement is above + 10 ° C - the mushrooms become acidic, moldy and deteriorate.

The hostess must ensure that the salted mushrooms are constantly covered with brine.In case of evaporation of the liquid, add a new brine. If mold spots appear on the gauze and mug, all this must be thoroughly washed with hot salted water.

In addition to the basement, storage of honey mushrooms in the refrigerator is also practiced. It can last up to 5 months if the temperature is constant.

Shelf life of fried and boiled honey mushrooms in the refrigerator

There are two more ways: storage of boiled mushrooms and fried. Harvesting of such mushrooms in the freezer is stored for a long time. The shelf life of honey mushrooms is about 1 year.

After boiling, the honey mushrooms are thrown back into a colander, let water drain, and then laid out on a kitchen towel to dry. After this, pack in plastic containers or plastic bags and put in the freezer. The shelf life of boiled honey mushrooms in the freezer is very long - up to 12 months.

The frozen boiled mushrooms option is convenient because after defrosting it will not be necessary to carry out additional heat treatment. Boiled mushrooms can be thawed and immediately added to the dish that you are going to cook, for example, in soup or mushroom caviar.

The shelf life of boiled honey mushrooms in the refrigerator is reduced to 2 months, provided that they are well salted and closed in jars with tight lids.

Roasted honey mushrooms, if stored in the freezer, will not lose their palatability for 12 months. For this option, honey mushrooms should be fried in a sufficiently large amount of vegetable fat. Arrange them in containers and pour on top the oil left over from frying. Allow to cool, cover and put in the freezer. Fried honey mushrooms can be put in packages of 500-700 g and placed in plastic molds to give them compactness, and then put in the freezer. After freezing, remove the packets from the molds and lay out compactly in rows. Such convenient placement will be useful for boiled mushrooms.

Roasted honey mushrooms can also be stored in the refrigerator. To do this, put the fried fruit bodies in glass jars, add vegetable fat, close tight caps, let cool completely and refrigerate. Storage of fried honey mushrooms in the refrigerator is less than in the freezer - up to about 6 months.

Important tip: put a tag with the date of freezing in each bag or container. This will help you to properly spend your cooked pieces of boiled and fried mushrooms.

Storage of mushroom caviar from honey mushrooms

Mushroom caviar is the most popular harvest for the winter. From mushrooms, it always turns out juicy, tender and very tasty. This dish is prepared simply and does not require expensive food. Caviar is prepared from those mushrooms that did not go for pickling, drying, salting or boiling, that is, from mushrooms that did not pass the “face control”.

Mistresses specially cover a lot of mushroom caviar, so that in winter cold days, opening a jar, savor a fragrant and tasty snack.

Keeping caviar from honey agarics is a simple matter, but it is quite long. It can be stored in the basement, in the refrigerator and in the freezer. However, the storage time of caviar depends on how correctly you prepared it and how strictly observed the recipe. If the caviar was closed in jars, then after 3 days you can eat it - it has become saturated enough and has become juicy.

In the refrigerator, cans of caviar from honey mushrooms are stored for no more than 6 months. If you want to keep caviar longer, then it can be laid out not in cans, but in plastic bags and frozen. In this state, mushroom caviar can be stored for up to 1 year. To do this, the bags are quickly filled with cooled caviar, all air is squeezed out of them. Bags are tied and stacked in the freezer. Having opened one bag with caviar, it needs to be used, as caviar is not subject to repeated freezing.

To store caviar in glass jars in the basement, other steps should be taken. Spawn caviar in sterilized jars, pour hot vegetable oil, roll up metal lids, let it cool completely and only then take it out to the basement.

Thanks to such effective tips, you will be able to keep honey mushrooms as long as possible and enjoy their taste until the onset of the new mushroom season.