Mushrooms are a very valuable product, rich in protein,vitamins and microelements. They are not only useful, but also very fragrant, delicious, from them you can cook a variety of dishes for all seasons. They are so nutritious that they can replace even meat (for example, they are one of the main dishes in the diet of vegetarians). In the process of preparation for the autumn-winter season, it is best to dry mushrooms in the home - so they will retain the largest possible number of useful substances. Of these blanks, then you can prepare a lot of delicious dishes with high nutritional value: soups, saltwort, soup, stew and even salads. Mushrooms significantly diversify the winter diet. Often we see how the market sell dried mushrooms, strung on a string. But when we buy them, we can not say for certain whether they will be delicious or not. Therefore, it is best to learn how to make such preparations yourself, the benefit of drying mushrooms in the home - it's not so tricky. The main thing is to know which mushrooms are best dried, how to prepare them for the drying process and, in fact, how best to dry. Then you can surely be sure that the mushrooms will be delicious, and the dishes from them - also useful.

Which mushrooms it is better to dry

If you collect mushrooms yourself, then nevercollect those that grow near the roadway, near the production, etc. - they probably absorbed all the roadside dust. In addition, they must be fresh and just perfect in appearance: not spoiled by worms, without rot and other defects. And of course, you should be absolutely sure that your collection is 100% made up of edible mushrooms. If you have doubts, do not take any risks. The best place to collect is ecologically clean forests that are far from any industry. The day is sunny and dry. It is also important to know which mushrooms are most suitable for drying. They are only tubular: white, goat, boletus, poderezozovik, oily, moss. Fewer fit and some lamellar: honey agarics (best autumn), chanterelles, champignons. This is explained by the fact that during drying, the tubular mushrooms retain their useful, nutritional and taste properties and staggeringly smell. It is very important to remember that you can not dry old mushrooms, because they can have toxins, which is dangerous for health. Now that you have collected the mushrooms, sorted them into types and brought home, you need to prepare them for the drying process. This is a very important point, which should not be neglected, if you want the mushrooms to turn out. First of all, they need to be cleaned. However, do not wash them underwater, otherwise you will wash away most of the nutrients together with dirt. If the mushrooms are dusty, you can brush off dirt with a dry cloth or brush. And you can wash the already dried mushrooms immediately before cooking. Then mushrooms must be cut. If they are small, they can be dried entirely, and larger ones are better cut into small pieces. In this case, the smaller you cut them, the faster and better they will be dried later. White mushrooms can be cut along (leg and head) into pieces not more than 15 mm thick. Separately, you need to prepare the legs: in the boletus and podberezovikov feet must be cut into circles 2 cm thick; mosses, chanterelles, mushrooms and butter mushrooms are dried without legs. To mushrooms are not darkened, it is better at this stage to use horny or bone knives.

Drying mushrooms in a rustic way

First, you need to decide whichit's the way of drying that suits you. The choice of this or that method depends on certain factors: the locality in which you live; availability of this or that device for drying, etc. But whichever way you choose, remember: it is very important to follow all the rules of drying mushrooms. The most important thing is to ensure constant air access to them for better drying. Rural drying methods

• Drying in a Russian oven

This is a great way for rural residentsterrain. The main thing in this case is that after heating the oven, clean it of ash and coals and wait for a while. Then lay under a thin layer of straw and already on it lay out mushrooms, necessarily hats down. You can put them not on the under, but on iron baking sheets. In this case, you also need to spread the sheet with straw. You can thread them through the hats on thin needles. If you decide to use this method, be sure to choose stainless steel spokes - otherwise the defective material will affect the taste of the product. On both sides of the knitting need to put wooden plaques - on them then they will lay the edge of the knitting needle with mushrooms. Thus, they will be dried, as on skewers, without touching the hearth. Plus, the method "on spokes" is that the mushrooms do not burn, do not get dirty, etc. There are some important nuances when drying in this way: make sure that the mushrooms do not touch the hats and maintain the correct temperature in the oven (40 to 60 ° C) FROM). At this temperature, they first become waxed on the first day, and in the second - they are already dried.

• Drying in the sun

You can dry mushrooms and more "natural" way,if the weather contributes to it: only hot days without precipitation are suitable for such a purpose. It is necessary to take strong thick threads, to string mushrooms on them. You can string on 50 or more pieces, starting from the largest and ending with the smallest. Hanging mushrooms is necessary in the very sun. If there are several threads, it is important to observe the distance between them and do not hang them close to each other, the mushrooms should not touch. In addition, the mushrooms must be covered with gauze, so that they do not settle with dust, flies do not sit down, etc. It is important to wait until the mushrooms completely fade. In the sun mushrooms should hang no more than 1 week. After the mushrooms have waxed or if the weather suddenly starts to deteriorate, they must be taken to a dry place. Then the mushrooms must be dried in a stove or oven.

Methods of drying in a city

• Drying mushrooms in the oven

This method is suitable for residents of cities withthere is no traditional Russian oven in the apartment. To do this, you need a stove with an oven, metal baking sheets and wooden sticks (or twigs). The pan should be lined with a sheet of thick paper, and on top put the twigs. They should be clean, they should not be spread out in very frequent rows. On top of these twigs you need to put the mushrooms hats down. To spread it is necessary in one layer. It is important to maintain the same temperature: from 40 to 60 ° C. At the same time, the oven door must be kept slightly open. In the rest, the drying in the oven is the same as in the Russian oven.

• Drying over the stove

Instead of an oven use the heated plate. To do this, mushrooms need to be threaded and hung over the stove. You can use this method if there is a Dutch or Russian stove - in this case, the threads are hung near the hot plate wall.

• Drying in carousel dryers

The dryer can also be used for drying mushrooms. To do this, you need to pour them on galvanized mesh, put in the camera and rotate on the carousel. So they are dried in several stages. In the first stage, the dryer must be heated to a temperature of 37 to 50 ° C - to become waxed; then raise the temperature to 60-80 ° C - to dry. Usually the duration of this process in the dryer is from 4 to 6 hours.

How to determine the readiness of mushrooms and how to store them

It is very important to correctly catch the moment when mushroomsalready ready, that is, dried to the end. From this very much depends: taste, flavor, how well they will be stored and will not crumble when cooking. Completely dried mushrooms differ in the following qualities: they are dry and light, easily bend and break, but they do not crumble, their aroma and taste resemble fresh mushrooms. It is important to remember that they dry unevenly: smaller ones will be prepared faster than their large counterparts, so during drying, do not forget to check first of all the readiness of the small mushrooms. It is important and properly stored mushrooms, as they quickly absorb moisture and foreign smells, they are hygroscopic, quickly mold and ripen. They like the premises are dry, with a constant air circulation and a temperature of 10 to 15 ° C. It is also important to keep them. For this, clean and dry canvas bags or bags of dense and strong paper are perfect. You can store stocks for a long time, but not longer than 1 year. Usually they make a blank for one season.

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