How to properly store mushrooms: fresh frozen and after heat treatment

How mushrooms store nutrients

Mushrooms contain a lot of protein, about 1% fat, close to 3% carbohydrates, amino acids and vitamins. Also microelements (copper, zinc, iron, cobalt, calcium and potassium). Due to this content of useful substances, mushrooms are considered a dietary product, but we still must not forget that mushrooms are difficult to digest by the body, and you cannot eat a lot of them.

White mushrooms

There are mushrooms that have a healing effect on the body :

• Porcini mushrooms destroy E. coli.
• Russula: greenish (scaly), brownish, blue-green, olive suppress the growth of malignant tumors.
• Chanterelles and russula suppress staphylococci.

Russula greenish (scaly)

Chanterelles
Various edible mushrooms are useful for headaches, gout, and chanterelles improve liver condition .

Many useful substances in mushrooms are preserved if they are processed immediately after collection and marinated or salted.

But most of the nutritional properties are preserved in mushrooms if they are frozen .

Here is an unusual way to freeze mushrooms :

1. We clean edible (do not take conditionally edible) mushrooms, rinse them in cold water, cut large ones into quarters, small ones - whole.
2. Prepare a lemon solution (1 teaspoon of lemon juice or 1.5 teaspoons of citric acid, 0.5 liters of water), and soak the mushrooms in it for 5 minutes so that they do not darken and remain a beautiful natural color.
3. Steam the mushrooms: whole medium-sized mushrooms – 5 minutes, small ones or cut into quarters – 3-5 minutes, finely chopped – 3 minutes.
4. Distribute the cooled mushrooms into bags and freeze in the freezer.

What mushrooms can be stored in the freezer?

Forest mushrooms grown independently on the site and purchased are suitable for freezing.

According to their structure they are divided into:

• tubular (boletus, boletus, porcini mushroom, etc.);
• lamellar (milk milk, russula, volushka, honey mushrooms, etc.);
• marsupials (morel, truffle, stitch).

Marsupials must be boiled before freezing. It is advisable to boil lamellar ones too. Tubular ones are frozen raw. They have a porous cap that absorbs a lot of moisture when boiled, so after defrosting they become watery.

After defrosting, champignons, honey mushrooms, boletus, aspen, moss mushrooms and porcini mushrooms retain their shape and structure. Butter butter, after being frozen raw and defrosted, loses its structure, becomes soft or crumbles into porridge.

Reference. For long-term storage, it is better to dry the porcini mushroom - this way it will retain its full aroma.

Mushrooms with a bitter taste (conditionally edible) - saffron milk caps, milk mushrooms, chanterelles, russula, strings, volnushki and morels - are boiled before freezing. After heat treatment in salt water, the bitterness and toxic substances leave them.

Fresh mushrooms are frozen. Overgrown, large and damaged by insects cannot be frozen. They may accumulate toxic substances that are harmful to health.

Signs of a stale product:

• no fresh mushroom smell;
• slime;
• dark spots on the cap;
• the cap is dry, cracked;
• the lower part of the cap of lamellar mushrooms has darkened;
• there is no elasticity; when pressed, voids are felt.

Such mushrooms cannot be eaten or frozen.

How long can fresh mushrooms be stored without processing after harvest?

How long to store fresh mushrooms
When going on a “mushroom hunt,” you should arm yourself with a knife with a stainless steel . When cutting mushrooms with such a knife, they will not turn black and will stay fresh longer.

Mushrooms are a perishable product, so the time to collect them is 4 hours , and then you need to start processing the mushrooms.

brought from the forest , collected in the rain, need to be cleaned and processed immediately upon arriving from the forest.

Mushrooms collected in dry weather without refrigeration can be stored for 6 hours, no more . If you do not have time to peel all the mushrooms at once, you need to arrange them so that they do not touch each other, without washing them, in a cool place, and try to process them for 16-18 hours .

it is about 10°C on the balcony .

You can store fresh, peeled mushrooms in the refrigerator for no more than 3 days..

Which ones can be prepared?

Mushrooms that you intend to expose to low temperatures to preserve should be harvested first.
And it is important to do this correctly.

They must be edible.

Please note: beginners are advised to collect mushrooms together with experienced mushroom pickers, since due to inexperience it is quite easy to pick up instead of edible ones, the consumption of which can lead to serious health consequences and even death.

The most popular types of mushrooms:

• Champignon;
• white;
• milk mushrooms;
• honey mushrooms;
• boletus;
• chanterelles.

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Of course, this is by no means the entire list. A wide variety of species can be found in the forests of our country.

Mushroom picker's advice: the main condition is that the mushrooms must be whole and undamaged, and they must be harvested immediately after they are collected. Do not collect old spoiled mushrooms.

It is very important to wash all collected mushrooms thoroughly. There should be no dirt on them. This can be done either with your hands or with the help of various improvised means. For example, it is most convenient to clean milk mushrooms from any remaining soil and grass using an old toothbrush.

Take note: you can store both fresh and pre-cooked, fried or even pickled mushrooms in the freezer.

This cooking process allows you to preserve food longer. When cooking, you don’t have to wait for defrosting, but you can immediately put them in the pan.

How and for how long you can store frozen mushrooms in the refrigerator, freezer: storage rules

How long to store frozen mushrooms in the freezer
Mushrooms can be stored in the freezer depending on the temperature maintained by the freezer:

• At a temperature of -12-14°C – for 3-4 months
• -14-18°C – for 4-6 months
• -18-24°C – for 1 year

Frozen mushrooms can be stored in the refrigerator only until they are thawed , then they need to be boiled or fried, otherwise they will become soft and begin to rot.

Frozen

The shelf life of frozen forest mushrooms is:

1. fresh – at least 1 year;
2. after cooking – maximum 3 months.

Chanterelles will definitely taste bitter if they are not cooked before being frozen.

Apart from chanterelles and milk mushrooms, other mushrooms are well stored fresh frozen without deteriorating their consumer qualities.

The duration depends on factors such as:

• pre-processing (cooking);
• freezing temperature (at –14–18°C – six months, at –18–24°C – a year).

From the following article you will find out whether caviar can be stored in the refrigerator.

How and for how long you can store boiled mushrooms in the refrigerator, freezer: storage rules

How long to store boiled mushrooms in the refrigerator, freezer
Boiled mushrooms or mushroom soup can be stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 days , depending on what temperature your refrigerator maintains.

Frozen boiled mushrooms can be stored in the freezer for about 1 year , but you need to remember that you cannot take them out and defrost them, and then freeze them again, as the mushrooms will lose their taste and can be harmful to health.

Dried

They have a pleasant mushroom aroma. It is important to dry gradually, without rushing. When ready, such mushrooms require a dry place with normal ventilation.

It is important to periodically inspect them for mold and rot; if there is the slightest sign of spoilage, immediately separate the affected mushrooms.

You can hang bundles of mushrooms or mushrooms in fabric (canvas) bags under the ceiling. Under such conditions, the product is guaranteed to last 1-2 years .

Porcini mushrooms are dried in vegetable dehydrators, then they are placed in canvas bags or glass jars.

They make a very tasty soup and wonderful sauce.

Find out why it is not recommended to store bread in the refrigerator here.

How and for how long you can store salted mushrooms in the refrigerator, freezer: storage rules

How long to store salted mushrooms in the refrigerator, freezer
To properly pickle mushrooms you need to have a room with a constant temperature of plus 3-4°C , if the temperature is minus, the mushrooms will freeze and lose their properties, if it is more than plus 7°C, harmful bacteria will begin to develop. This room is called a basement. In addition, the basement must be dry , but if it is not, you need to look for another way out.

You can salt the mushrooms in a saucepan and keep them until they are salted on the balcony, and then put them in the refrigerator or freezer.

Here's how experienced housewives advise storing salted mushrooms :

• Drain the brine from the salted mushrooms, dry them, put them in plastic bags, and place them in the freezer . Mushrooms can be stored this way for 1 year . Before eating mushrooms, defrost them naturally (take them out of the freezer onto the kitchen table and wait until they defrost), add the onion cut into half rings, pour in sunflower oil, and serve with boiled potatoes.
• the salted mushrooms in a jar along with the brine, cover the top with a cloth soaked in vodka or alcohol, press it down with a wooden circle or wooden sticks crosswise so that the mushrooms do not float, close with a plastic lid also soaked in vodka, and store in the refrigerator for several months .
• If it’s hot on the balcony, but you want to salt the mushrooms, then you can salt them like this: salt the mushrooms in a jar for 7 days (in the refrigerator), then drain the brine, and fill the mushrooms with vegetable oil to the top . You can already eat them. Can be stored for 1-2 months .
• After pickling the mushrooms, drain the brine from them, add fresh brine, boil for 2 minutes in a saucepan, put in jars, sterilize for 30 minutes, and seal. Hermetically sealed salted mushrooms can be stored in the refrigerator for six months.

After cooking

Freezing of already boiled, fried, salted, pickled mushrooms is carried out, since they are not suitable for decorating various dishes.
Did you know that: before exposing them to low temperatures, mushrooms should be boiled or fried for no more than 5 minutes.

Then you need to put them in a colander, rinse and leave in it for about 30 minutes so that the excess liquid drains and the mushrooms cool.

Having done this, the boiled mushrooms should be further squeezed thoroughly. Then they need to be placed in a container or a special freezer bag, which has increased strength. Then put the container with them in the freezer.

It is important to consider: the number of mushrooms prepared should be calculated for one dish.

How and for how long you can store fried mushrooms in the refrigerator, freezer: storage rules

How long to store fried mushrooms in the refrigerator, freezer
Fried mushrooms can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 1 day .

Fried mushrooms can be stored in the freezer for 6 months . Such mushrooms are suitable for pies, pizza and kulebyak, as a filling, and you can also prepare casseroles and juliennes from them.

Fry mushrooms for freezing as follows:

1. Cut the peeled, washed sponge mushrooms into small pieces.
2. Fry in a small amount of vegetable oil for about 15-20 minutes.
3. When the moisture has evaporated, turn off the fire under the mushrooms and let it cool.
4. Place into bags and place in the freezer.

Another option for freezing , in order to better preserve the mushroom taste, peeled and washed sponge mushrooms can be cut into pieces, placed on a baking sheet, and kept in a hot oven (about half an hour) until the moisture evaporates , and then cooled and placed in the freezer.

Is it possible to store mushrooms?

First, you should figure out whether it is possible to store such “vegetable meat” at all.

Experts classify mushrooms as perishable foods. They, like any other plant matter, without receiving nutrition, soon begin to die, that is, to decompose and rot. At the same time, mushrooms release toxic substances that are dangerous to health. This can happen within a few hours after cutting. It is almost impossible to stop the decay process. But under certain conditions, there is a chance to keep mushrooms fresh for 3 days or even longer.

How to store fried mushrooms for the winter?

How long to store fried mushrooms rolled in a jar
Fried mushrooms for the winter

All sponge mushrooms and chanterelles can be prepared this way.

1. Wash the mushrooms, clean them, blanch them for about 5 minutes in hot water, remove them from the water and let them drain.
2. Fry the mushrooms in a sufficient amount of vegetable oil, add salt and pepper, add finely chopped onion fried in vegetable oil.
3. Melt the butter.
4. Pour a little butter into a clean, sterile jar, place the mushrooms tightly, pour butter on top so that all the voids are filled, and there is a thick layer of butter on top.
5. We roll them up sterile or cover them with plastic lids and store them in the refrigerator for the whole winter.

Note : Instead of butter, it is better to use lard, since butter becomes bitter over time, but lard does not.

Mushrooms in a net

This method is even more unusual; it involves hanging storage. Mainly suitable for the oyster mushroom genus. The fruits need to be cut into strips and wrapped in tight balls, the diameter of which is 10-20 centimeters. Then place them in nylon tights, stockings or mesh. Hang the resulting bags in the basement or cellar. You can store even more than one day, up to one month. Over time, such balls become even tastier and more aromatic, as they produce new mycelium.

Where to store and how much salted mushrooms after salting, how to store them in the apartment?

How long to store salted mushrooms in an apartment
Sometimes it seems that the easiest way to store mushrooms in an apartment is to roll them in jars. Pickled mushrooms are suitable for rolling; they contain a lot of vinegar, and it prevents the development of harmful bacteria, but salted ones are not immune to this. Therefore, it is better not to roll up salted mushrooms, but to use the ancient methods of our grandmothers .

Advice from experienced housewives:

• A pan of salted mushrooms can also be stored on the loggia , but you need to remember that mushrooms at temperatures below plus 3°C lose their taste , so you need to make an insulated box and store them there.
• Salted mushrooms need to be checked once a week to see if there is enough brine in the mushrooms, if the brine has evaporated, add cold boiled water , and if mold appears, remove it.
• If you didn’t keep track, and a lot of mold appears in the mushrooms , you need to drain all the brine, rinse the mushrooms with cold boiled water, and add new brine (for 1 liter of water, take 10 g of salt, a few peas each of black and allspice, 1 bay leaf, a few buds of cloves and garlic cloves, dill seeds, a small horseradish root).

Preparing wild mushrooms

Regarding mushrooms collected in the forest, there will be slightly different recommendations. They must be carefully prepared for storage. First, you need to carefully inspect the crop and discard any unknown or apparent fruits. They may be inedible or poisonous, so it is better to avoid further processing. You will also have to throw away all rotten and damaged copies. To keep mushrooms fresh for at least two days, they must be young, strong and undamaged. Such fruits must be cleared of soil, sand, pine needles, moss, blades of grass and other forest debris so that the microorganisms on them do not provoke rotting. If there are minor darkened areas (brown or black) on the mushroom, they should be removed. Dirt from the stem also needs to be cut off. Afterwards, you can start washing the harvested crop.

It is recommended to soak the mushrooms to get rid of any remaining sand and twigs. This will also help drive out worms and insects, which are directly involved in damaging the fruit and therefore shorten the shelf life. The water should be sufficiently salty (for 5 liters - approximately 100-200 grams). All mushrooms must be dipped into the resulting solution. After 6-12 hours they need to be taken out and washed again. Place on a napkin to drain. While the mushrooms are drying, they can be examined again. If darkened areas appear, they need to be cut off with a knife.

There are several ways to keep mushrooms fresh for 3 days. But the most important thing is to choose the right place.

How long can you store marinated mushrooms in jars under an iron lid in the cellar, rolled up?

How long to store pickled mushrooms closed with iron lids
The ideal option for storing jars of pickled mushrooms is the cellar . It maintains approximately the same temperature in both winter and summer – plus 15°C, dark and dry. In a dry cellar, pickled mushrooms closed with tin lids can be stored for 1 year, and if the lids are glass - 2 years .

In the apartment, in the pantry, also store pickled mushrooms, but their shelf life is shorter - 8 months .

Storing dried mushrooms

It is especially convenient to store mushrooms in dried form - because then they do not take up much space in the freezer or refrigerator. A shelf in a regular closet is suitable for storage. How long can dried mushrooms be stored? When dried, they are stored for about a year if they do not have contact with moisture.

Tubular mushrooms (boletus, aspen, porcini and others) dry better.

There is an opinion that after freezing mushrooms lose their taste and become watery. When dried, they do not fully retain their structure, but they have an incomparable aroma and taste.

Prepared mushrooms are dried in the sun or in a special dryer. After drying, they absorb moisture and odors very strongly, so the container in which they are placed must be thoroughly rinsed and dried. For storage, it is best to use linen or paper bags. Glass jars with tight-fitting lids also work. The storage area for mushrooms should be dark.

You can also dry mushrooms in the oven with the door open. The temperature should be low, up to 30℃, to prevent the mushrooms from burning.

Dry mushrooms for the winter or process them into mushroom powder

If you grind dried mushrooms in a blender, you will get a powder. Mushroom powder can be stored in a tightly sealed container on a darkened kitchen shelf for no more than a year. Mushroom powder is used as an additive to soups, gravies and sauces.

How long can pickled mushrooms be stored in the refrigerator after opening the jar?

How long to store pickled mushrooms in an open jar
If you opened a jar of pickled mushrooms and didn’t eat them all at once, you can store the mushrooms in the jar for some time:

• Refrigerator temperature plus 7-10°C - 12-17 hours
• Temperature plus 5-0°C, then for 1-3 days
• From 0 to minus 2°C – 3-4 days, pickled mushrooms are safe to eat

Canned

When canning, mushrooms are subjected, on the one hand, to heat treatment, and on the other, to the influence of preservatives such as salt and vinegar , so the finished product has a significant shelf life.

When choosing canned mushrooms, it is important :

1. Refuse the product hidden inside iron cans, since their contents cannot be visually controlled;
2. Give preference only to factory products from domestic manufacturers;

How and for how long meat is stored in the refrigerator, read here.

3. Make sure that the lid shows no signs of swelling ;
4. Control the color of the liquid inside the jar; it can only be transparent or yellowish;
5. Check the cleanliness of mushroom caps and stems (so that they do not contain stains or wormholes);
6. As in the case of fresh mushrooms, you should avoid purchasing preserved products from your own hands;

Boiled mushrooms can also be preserved in metal cans.

Such a product falls under GOST R 54677-2011, and has a shelf life of 12 months at temperatures from 0 to +25°C.

You need to constantly monitor humidity , otherwise the cans may begin to rust. After opening, the contents of the jar should be consumed within a maximum of 24 hours.

How to prepare mushrooms for storage

Mushrooms are processed immediately after they have been collected or purchased. But if this is not possible, you can store them for 2 days before canning or frying. Mushrooms are sorted, selecting those that are younger, denser and without a wormhole. Small spots and rotten parts need to be cut off. Afterwards, the mushrooms are cleaned of foreign twigs, soil particles, leaves, etc. Then the mushrooms are washed, but not soaked for a long time so that they do not absorb excess moisture.

• To rid mushrooms of various insects, they are kept in salt water for several hours. If there is no such need, then soaking for 10-15 minutes will be enough.
• Then you should lay everything out on a paper towel and let it dry.
• After the mushrooms have completely dried, they are transferred to a paper bag or wide enamel container, covered with a paper towel and sent to the refrigerator.
• It is impossible for the products to be in polyethylene - they will soon become moldy.
• If you want to cook only the next day, you do not need to wash the mushrooms so that they do not sour.
• When plans include drying, mushrooms are not washed. It will be enough to wipe with a damp cloth or carefully scrape off the soil particles with a knife.