Mushroom drying season. Not all types and methods are suitable

Have you come back from the woods with a basket full of mushrooms? If so, you’re quite lucky given these rather hot days. In some places, however, mushrooms are growing in abundance. All that’s left is to think about how you’ll preserve them. The classic method is, above all, drying mushrooms. This particular method of preserving mushrooms is quite simple. However, not all types of mushrooms can be dried, and many methods are not recommended. That is precisely why we will focus on drying mushrooms in much greater detail.

Drying on a net is ideal

That’s right. We have an old fly net at home. However, you can easily use any frame with a net stretched across it. Making your own drying frames like this is no problem. Of course, such fly nets are also sold in shops. A major advantage of this method is that the mushrooms dry evenly on all sides. This is because air can reach them without any major problems. You can also dry mushrooms on paper, provided it isn’t printed. Baking paper works very well too.

Photo: Pixabay

Cutting and arranging the mushrooms correctly is important

How you cut the mushrooms is very important. We cut them into very thin slices lengthways. We try to preserve the mushroom’s original shape, so some pieces are larger. Mushrooms sliced this way look very nice when drying. As for arranging the mushrooms on the tray, they should be laid out so that they do not touch one another. Mushrooms should definitely not be dried in direct sunlight. They would lose their strong mushroom aroma.

Tip: Do you eat worms in mushrooms?

Watch out for worm-eaten mushrooms

It’s true. All it takes is leaving just a few pieces on the drying rack that are riddled with worms. You can then be sure that these tiny, voracious creatures will spread to the others and cause quite a lot of damage. You’d then end up with little dried worms floating in your soup, which isn’t exactly pleasant.

Which mushrooms are traditionally dried?

Primarily boletes. The following are particularly excellent:

– spruce boletes,

– oak boletes,

– pine boletes,

– noble boletes,

– Cossack boletes,

– quartz boletes, which darken considerably, and many others.

Which mushrooms are best not to dry?

Certainly, do not dry any mushrooms that are waterlogged, nor the following types:

– slippery jacks,

– russulas,

– parasol mushrooms,

– the pink fly agaric,

– and others.

Sources: Author

Photo: Pixabay