Honey mushrooms are a delicious source of complete proteins, zinc, iron, phosphorus and vitamin C. Eating these mushrooms helps the body overcome viral diseases and fill up with vitality. But many housewives avoid this forest product, citing the difficulty of cleaning and cooking mushrooms. In fact, there is nothing complicated here.

How to clean mushrooms

Honey agaric is a perishable product, so its cleaning should be started immediately after returning from the forest, well, or from the store. Mushrooms are very fragile and small, but the cleaning process does not take much effort:

• Sort through the harvest. Send all rotten, rotten and insect-damaged specimens without a twinge of conscience to the trash can.
• Remove organic "garbage" - twigs, leaves, earth.
• Next, you need to determine what processing the mushrooms will be subjected to. If you want to dry them, cut off the bottom segment of the leg and remove the film under the cap. If the mushrooms are required fresh, they should additionally be soaked in water (maximum 1 hour), and then peel the film (skirt).

How to cook boiled mushrooms

After cleaning, you can proceed to the heat treatment of mushrooms:

• Take an enamel pan and boil salted water in it.
• Send the mushrooms in boiling water for 10 minutes, be sure to remove the foam.
• Drain the mushroom broth and fill the mushrooms with clean water.
• After boiling, boil the mushrooms for 30-40 minutes.
• When the mushrooms are fully cooked, they will settle to the bottom of the dish.
• Drain the mushrooms in a colander and rinse with water. This will flush out excess mucus.

How to cook fried mushrooms

Fried mushrooms with onions are probably the most delicious option for their preparation:

• Pre-boil mushrooms.
• While they are cooking, fry the onion, cut into rings, in butter.
• Add mushrooms to the onions, salt them, and cook the dish for about 20 minutes.
• When serving, sprinkle the fried mushrooms with chopped green onions or basil.

How to cook pickled mushrooms

Pickled mushrooms can be used to make salads and snacks.

• Boil the mushrooms, and separate the legs from the caps.
• If the mushrooms are large, cut them in half.
• Next, add chopped garlic, onion half rings and greens (dill or parsley) to the mushrooms.
• If desired, you can add bay leaf, pepper and other spices.
• Now add salt: for every kilogram of mushrooms - 2 tbsp. l. salt.
• Mix all the ingredients, put in an enameled container and put under oppression for 5 days.
• After this time, put the mushrooms in a sterilized jar and refrigerate.
• After 20 days, the mushrooms will be ready.

How to cook pickled mushrooms

Homemade mushrooms in the marinade are much tastier than their store counterpart.

• Boil the mushrooms.
• Do not pour out the second mushroom broth and strain.
• Prepare the marinade: 500 mg of water; 1 st. l. sugar and salt; a set of spices (bay leaf, cloves, cardamom, allspice).
• Send all the components for the marinade to the mushroom broth, after it boils, add 1 tbsp. l. vinegar.
• Pour prepared mushrooms with boiling broth.
• In 2-3 hours, mushrooms will be ready.

Cooking mushrooms is not a laborious culinary process. But dishes with their "participation" will always decorate a festive table or dinner with the family.

They are perhaps one of the most common. While most of the "noble" species mostly grow singly, honey mushrooms are usually found in whole "families", so it is much easier to collect them. Given the fairly wide distribution of these mushrooms in regions with different climates, as well as their rich content of a number of vitamins (B vitamins, ascorbic acid, vitamin E, PP and others), they are quite a popular ingredient in many dishes.

Despite the rather wide popularity, many still have doubts about whether it is necessary to clean mushrooms. Like any other type of mushroom, mushrooms must be properly cleaned before being used for cooking.

We will consider this process in more detail below.

How to properly clean mushrooms

Before cleaning mushrooms, it is advisable to sort them. From the total number of collected mushrooms, it is desirable to remove old mushrooms, as well as those showing signs of damage by worms, insects or rot. If there are signs of damage only on the stem of the fungus, it can be removed, leaving the cap. In case of a significant damage to the fungus, it is better to throw it away entirely.

Many mushroom pickers use a knife to remove the wavy "collar" from the stem of the mushroom. In fact, there is no need for this, even with this fragment, the taste of the final dish does not change. Therefore, in this case, the need for this manipulation is dictated more by aesthetic motives.

After that, you need to choose a method of how to clean mushrooms, based on whether these mushrooms are intended for drying or not.

In the event that the harvested crop is planned to be dried, it is impossible to soak the mushrooms before cleaning. It is also undesirable to wash them under running water. This is due to the fact that mushrooms absorb moisture very strongly, and if they are washed with water, it will no longer be possible to dry them well.

If the mushrooms are planned to be dried, mushrooms can be cleaned only by the dry method. In this case, the dirt, sand, small needles, leaf fragments and other debris present on the mushrooms are removed with a piece of dry cloth or a small brush with a hard bristle. Many people use an old toothbrush for this purpose.

In the event that the mushrooms are planned to be consumed fresh, or canned in a boiled form, then before cleaning the mushrooms, they can be soaked in a container with warm water. It is not worth keeping mushrooms in water for too long (more than an hour), they can become very saturated with moisture and lose their taste.

After soaking, you can remove the existing contamination in any convenient way (for example, using a brush). In this case, it will be much easier to clean mushrooms than with the dry method.

The most precious thing in life is our health. Therefore, it should be monitored regularly. Particular attention should be paid to the water on which we prepare food every day. The chemical analysis of water is very important. Details on the site.

Forest mushrooms are good fried and pickled. They make a very tasty soup, especially if the mushrooms are dried. How to properly clean mushrooms in order to start cooking them further - this will be discussed in the article.

General rules for cleaning again

• Sort the mushrooms and remove the broken and wormy ones.
• With a sharp knife, cut off the lowest parts of the legs, where there may be remnants of earth and sand.
• Honey mushrooms, unlike some other mushrooms, do not have a mucous film on the cap. So there is no need to remove it, which makes things very easy.

If there are a lot of mushrooms in the forest, then you can only take their hats so that you do not clean the legs in the future.

How to clean mushrooms for further canning

Some species of mushrooms have a so-called skirt on the leg - it gets wet in brine and does not look very aesthetically pleasing. Since pickled mushrooms are served as an appetizer, and it should be beautiful, it is better to remove this skirt with a thin knife. And of course, before pickling, wash the mushrooms well in running water.

How to clean mushrooms for further frying

For frying mushrooms, process as indicated in paragraph 1 of this article. You can not remove the skirt, because when frying it will dry out and it will not be visible.

How to clean mushrooms for further cooking in soup

Cleaning mushrooms for soup depends on what dish the hostess will cook. For mashed soup, you should not remove the skirt, because the mushrooms will be killed by a blender and turn into a homogeneous mass. For a transparent soup, so that it is beautiful, the skirt can be removed.

How to clean mushrooms for further drying

Dried mushrooms have a rich taste and aroma and are good in any dishes. Process mushrooms before drying as follows:

• Sort out the trash.
• Cut off the bottom of the legs.
• Remove skirts.
• Use a soft brush to remove dust and sand from the caps.
• Put clean, dry mushrooms on threads (use a long needle) and hang them in a warm, ventilated place to dry.
• Before cooking, soak dry mushrooms in cold water - the remaining sand will leave them.

To clean honey mushrooms, they must first be collected in the forest. Where they grow and how they look, see the video clip.

Honey mushrooms are a delicious source of complete proteins, zinc, iron, phosphorus and vitamin C. Eating these mushrooms helps the body overcome viral diseases and fill up with vitality. But many housewives avoid this forest product, citing the difficulty of cleaning and cooking mushrooms. In fact, there is nothing complicated here.

How to clean mushrooms

Honey agaric is a perishable product, so its cleaning should be started immediately after returning from the forest, well, or from the store. Mushrooms are very fragile and small, but the cleaning process does not take much effort:

• Sort through the harvest. Send all rotten, rotten and insect-damaged specimens without a twinge of conscience to the trash can.
• Remove organic "garbage" - twigs, leaves, earth.
• Next, you need to determine what processing the mushrooms will be subjected to. If you want to dry them, cut off the bottom segment of the leg and remove the film under the cap. If the mushrooms are required fresh, they should additionally be soaked in water (maximum 1 hour), and then peel the film (skirt).

How to cook boiled mushrooms

After cleaning, you can proceed to the heat treatment of mushrooms:

• Take an enamel pan and boil salted water in it.
• Send the mushrooms in boiling water for 10 minutes, be sure to remove the foam.
• Drain the mushroom broth and fill the mushrooms with clean water.
• After boiling, boil the mushrooms for 30-40 minutes.
• When the mushrooms are fully cooked, they will settle to the bottom of the dish.
• Drain the mushrooms in a colander and rinse with water. This will flush out excess mucus.

How to cook fried mushrooms

Fried mushrooms with onions are probably the most delicious option for their preparation:

• Pre-boil mushrooms.
• While they are cooking, fry the onion, cut into rings, in butter.
• Add mushrooms to the onions, salt them, and cook the dish for about 20 minutes.
• When serving, sprinkle the fried mushrooms with chopped green onions or basil.

How to cook pickled mushrooms

Pickled mushrooms can be used to make salads and snacks.

• Boil the mushrooms, and separate the legs from the caps.
• If the mushrooms are large, cut them in half.
• Next, add chopped garlic, onion half rings and greens (dill or parsley) to the mushrooms.
• If desired, you can add bay leaf, pepper and other spices.
• Now add salt: for every kilogram of mushrooms - 2 tbsp. l. salt.
• Mix all the ingredients, put in an enameled container and put under oppression for 5 days.
• After this time, put the mushrooms in a sterilized jar and refrigerate.
• After 20 days, the mushrooms will be ready.

How to cook pickled mushrooms

Homemade mushrooms in the marinade are much tastier than their store counterpart.

• Boil the mushrooms.
• Do not pour out the second mushroom broth and strain.
• Prepare the marinade: 500 mg of water; 1 st. l. sugar and salt; a set of spices (bay leaf, cloves, cardamom, allspice).
• Send all the components for the marinade to the mushroom broth, after it boils, add 1 tbsp. l. vinegar.
• Pour prepared mushrooms with boiling broth.
• In 2-3 hours, mushrooms will be ready.

Cooking mushrooms is not a laborious culinary process. But dishes with their "participation" will always decorate a festive table or dinner with the family.

September is mushroom picking month. It was during this period that, due to a slight cooling and periodic rains, autumn mushrooms actively grow in the forests of the Moscow region - boletus, pigs, honey mushrooms and volnushki. But sometimes the harvest is too large, and it is not clear where to put your "booty". How to process and what to cook from mushrooms, the RIAMO in Lyubertsy columnist found out.

mushroom processing

Before making plans for cooking mushrooms, they must first be processed. Primary selection of mushrooms takes place already when a person decides what to put in the basket and what not. Nevertheless, it will not be superfluous to put all the mushrooms on the table and sort through. Only those about which you are sure are worth sending to the pan. If there is no such confidence, you can ask a familiar mushroom picker with extensive experience. But the best thing is to throw the suspicious mushroom into the trash can.

Anything left on the table needs to be cleaned. In butter and russula with a knife, it is necessary to remove the cover film, under which a white hat is hidden. Porcini mushrooms, boletus and aspen mushrooms are enough to clean from twigs, leaves and needles.

After that, the cap of each mushroom must be cut into two parts, separating it from the stem. After that, the mushroom should be examined for the presence of small holes. If they are, it means that fungal worms have been in the mushrooms. In this case, they can be safely thrown away.

Before putting mushrooms in a pan or in a pan, they must be washed. To do this, pour enough cold water into a bowl so that the mushrooms swim there, and place your “prey” there. Stir, and then with two palms transfer the mushrooms to any other container.

It must be remembered that some mushrooms, such as mushrooms or milk mushrooms, must be soaked before cooking.

Collected mushrooms can now be safely placed in a pan. Next, you need to pour a little water so that the mushrooms do not burn. When the mushrooms float, you should throw the contents of the pan into a colander, after placing a clean bowl under it. Then again pour water into the pan and place the mushrooms in it, cook until tender. How long to cook mushrooms depends on their type. For example, boletus - boil for 7 minutes, and chanterelles and russula - at least 20 minutes. After boiling the mushrooms, rinse with cold boiled water.

What to cook from mushrooms

Mushroom soup

The easiest way to use mushrooms is to make soup out of them. To do this, in addition to mushrooms, you will need 1 onion, 2-3 potatoes, bay leaf, vegetable oil, greens, salt and pepper to taste. By the way, milk mushrooms, mushrooms and porcini mushrooms go well in soup. But the boletus and boletus will lose their shape and in the soup will look unaesthetic.

Dried mushrooms must first be soaked for 2 hours in two liters of water. The infusion should be filtered and put on fire, adding water.

Potatoes must be peeled, cut into cubes and thrown into the same pan. Chop the onion and carrot and fry in vegetable oil. In the same pan, you need to fry the mushrooms, salt to taste.

Then all the fried can be thrown into the pan and boiled until the potatoes are ready. About five minutes before the end of cooking, the soup should be salted, pepper and add a bay leaf for smell. You can serve it with or without greens, it all depends on taste preferences.

Potatoes with mushrooms

Another favorite dish that never gets boring is potatoes with mushrooms. For cooking, you will need several potatoes, 1 onion, vegetable oil and salt and pepper. From mushrooms, you should choose chanterelles, mushrooms and russula.

Potatoes need to be peeled and cut into thin slices, onions should also be peeled and chopped, and mushrooms should be cut into large pieces. Next, heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the potatoes until fully cooked.

In another pan, you need to fry the mushrooms in oil, then pour in 1 tablespoon of oil and fry together with the onions. The resulting mixture can be added to the potatoes, seasoning the future dish with salt and pepper to taste. After mixing, potatoes with mushrooms must be heated for 1-2 minutes.

Julienne

To cook julienne, you need to stock up on onions, sour cream and parmesan. It is also worth preparing salt and pepper, thyme and oregano. Usually julienne is made from champignons. But forest mushrooms are also suitable: porcini, boletus and boletus.

It will take no more than half an hour to prepare the julienne.

Onions should be cut into thin strips, and mushrooms into thin plates. Pour a little oil into a frying pan and fry the onion in it until a slightly golden hue. Then you can safely add mushrooms. First, all the liquid will evaporate from them, after which they should be fried.

In an oven preheated to 180 degrees, mushrooms should be baked for 10-15 minutes. Then add the grated Parmesan and send to the oven for another two minutes. Julienne is best served hot, and sprinkled with dill or parsley on top.

Pickles for the winter

If there are still stocks of mushrooms that have nowhere to go, it is best to pickle them for the winter. You can salt anything, but pigs, milk mushrooms, mushrooms and volnushki are best suited for this. Mushrooms are best to choose the same size and type. Especially large it is better to cut off the legs in advance. Some of them need to be soaked so that they do not give off bitterness. For example, volnushki and milk mushrooms need to be kept in cold water for several days.

All salting is divided into cold and hot. Since mushrooms were previously salted in oak barrels, they were pre-soaked for several days. At the same time, the water was changed several times. After soaking, the mushrooms should be folded into a container in layers, while not forgetting to salt each layer and add horseradish, oak and currant leaves, allspice and bay leaf. For a kilogram of mushrooms, 40 g of salt will be required. On top of the mushrooms, you need to put oppression and make sure that they are completely immersed in the brine. Such pickles will be ready in about a month and a half.

Hot salting means boiling mushrooms in brine. For the brine, you will need salt, bay leaf, cloves, currant leaves and three peppercorns. Putting the pan on the fire and bringing to a boil, do not forget to remove the foam, and mix the mushrooms as needed. All spices are added gradually already during cooking.

When the mushrooms settle to the bottom of the pan, they need to be taken out and put in a basin so that they cool faster. Then they should be put in clean, dry jars and pour the brine from the pan. Pickles should be stored under plastic covers in a dry, cold place - in a refrigerator or cellar, if there is one.

With the beginning of cool autumn days, residents of cities and villages, lovers of quiet hunting, the question arises of how to store mushrooms. After a rainy summer, the harvest of these mushrooms is especially plentiful, they grow in whole colonies. Mushroom pickers know that after picking, it is not always possible to quickly process them.

How to store mushrooms before processing?

Any cut mushrooms, and especially lamellar ones, are capable of forming toxic substances when stored fresh. Therefore, they need to be processed as soon as possible. How long can fresh mushrooms be stored if there is not enough time to preserve them on the same day?

Even in the refrigerator, mushrooms brought from the forest can spend no more than 6-8 hours. It is best to start processing them immediately upon returning from the forest, given that some time has already passed after the collection.

For salting and pickling, it is better to collect young mushrooms with unopened hats. They will be the most delicious and tender with this method of harvesting. Large specimens with umbrella-like hats can be stored differently.

Having quickly disassembled and cleaned the mushrooms of debris, you can immediately proceed to the hot method of salting or pickling. To do this, boil water in a large container while sorting takes place. By the time the liquid boils, all that remains is to place the washed mushrooms in a saucepan, boil for 20-25 minutes and marinate, adding salt, spices and vinegar to taste.

While the canning process of selected small mushrooms is taking place, large ones can be stored in the refrigerator. After pickling is completed, you need to continue processing the rest of the crop.

How to prepare mushrooms for the winter?

Storage of honey mushrooms in winter is possible only in processed form. But in a warm pantry, jars with marinades and pickles should not stand for more than 4-5 months. The shelf life of pickled mushrooms in the refrigerator or cold cellar is 6-12 months.

Not all mushrooms are suitable for pickling and salting. What can be done from high-quality, but slightly overgrown mushrooms? It turns out that there are many ways to process and store even such tough and not very palatable mushrooms:

1. Freezing allows you to save all the valuable substances and taste of honey agarics. Once thawed, mushrooms resemble fresh mushrooms and can be used in soups, caviar, stir-fries, and other dishes where they are cooked. Before placing mushrooms in the freezer, they should not be washed, otherwise they will freeze into a monolith during storage. Frozen mushrooms keep 6-8 months.
2. Freezing with pre-boiling allows you to reduce the cooking time for dishes with mushrooms. Boiled mushrooms are thrown into a colander to remove the liquid and cool them, and then laid out in containers or bags. In the freezer, they can be stored for about 1 year without loss of taste and useful qualities.
3. It is very convenient to store and fried mushrooms. For the manufacture of canned food, before processing, you need to rinse and cut the hats of large mushrooms. You can fry them in ghee, lard or vegetable fat. The taste of the blanks will turn out different depending on the added spices. Fried mushrooms are laid out in sterile jars and poured with fat in which the processing took place. Banks are immediately closed or rolled up. High temperatures do not leave microorganisms a chance to survive, so such canned food can be stored in the refrigerator or cellar for up to 12 months.
4. Even large mushrooms with hard legs can be processed for processing. Cooked delicious caviar from mushrooms for the winter can be stored in a cold place for 5-6 months. It is very convenient to add it to prepared dishes, serve as an independent snack with potatoes. A sandwich with caviar from mushrooms ground in a meat grinder is a self-sufficient breakfast.

Even slightly overripe mushrooms can be stored for the winter in the form of delicious canned food or frozen. If they already have hard legs, then only hats are used for blanks. The fibrous parts can be boiled and passed through a meat grinder along with mushrooms selected for caviar.

How to dry and save mushrooms?

A special way to store mushrooms is drying. During this process, almost all moisture is removed from the fruiting bodies. As a result, their shelf life increases, reaching 2-3 years. But dried mushrooms themselves need proper storage.

For drying, you need to choose medium-sized opened mushrooms. Before drying in the traditional way, specimens that are healthy and not damaged by worms should be very carefully selected. Drying takes place in the open air, at room temperature, so mold or worms can move on to healthy mushrooms.

Mushrooms dry for several days, depending on external conditions. Readiness can be determined by the appearance and fragility of the caps: dried mushrooms become dark, and their caps easily break with a characteristic crack.

Drying can also be done in special dryers. In these devices, a baking sheet with mushrooms is heated to 50 ° C or more. The process is much faster, and it takes only a few hours to complete readiness.

Store dried mushrooms in linen bags in a completely dry place. At high humidity, mushrooms absorb water vapor and can become moldy. During long-term storage, they need to be checked for moisture from time to time: if the caps have lost their fragility and become plastic, then the entire batch should be dried in the oven at a temperature of + 70 ° C.

Video recipes

We offer several video recipes tested by mushroom lovers.

Pickled

How to quickly clean small mushrooms

Dried in jars

Caviar of three types from mushrooms

Kira Stoletova

One of the most popular varieties of mushrooms are honey mushrooms - they retain their original taste when fried, pickled and salted. Proper pre-treatment Honey mushroom is an important step that is mandatory before cooking, because pieces of earth, blades of grass and leaves accumulate on mushrooms.

Primary processing in the forest

To facilitate the subsequent stages of cleaning, it is worth starting the process right at the time of collection. This will take time, but there will be less work at home. Worm and damaged specimens should be weeded out of the basket. Dirt, earth, needles and adhering twigs are removed from the bottom of the leg with a sharp knife, and I cut off the bottom. Be sure to cut off the part that is spoiled by the moth. It is not necessary to remove the wavy collar on the leg - this does not affect the taste of the cooked dish. The same applies to skirts, a transparent film under the leg.

the mycelium is carefully cut off from the lower half of the leg. The film is removed from the cap. If the mushroom is cut, and not plucked, then you will not have to remove dirt and rhizome residues from the base of the mushrooms. The tastiest part is the caps, so you can get rid of the stem and not process the dirtiest part of the mushroom.

home cleaning technique

Immediately after walking through the forest, the harvested crop is sorted. Fresh mushrooms, torn from the mycelium, begin to darken quickly. Processing should not be postponed for more than 3 hours after collection, because. mushrooms spoil very quickly. Do not leave them in the package. Properly clean Honey mushrooms immediately upon arrival from the forest. If for some reason timely cleaning is not possible, the crop is dipped in cool water with the addition of a spoonful of citric acid and the same amount of table salt.

To properly clean Honey mushrooms, you will need a sharp knife, a colander and a sponge. The latter is needed to wipe the legs and hats. Dirt is cut off from the bottom with a knife, in some cases the entire bottom is cut off. Before cleaning, the legs are separated from the hats.

All damaged places are eliminated. The rim under the hat is removed or washed off with a stream of water. After all the mushrooms are thoroughly washed (if not dried). Young mushrooms do not need to be cleaned.

The next steps will vary, it depends on the method of preparation. Cleaning will require a sharpened compact knife, a hard-bristled toothbrush, and a piece of soft cloth.

1. Honey mushrooms for drying. In this case, the contact of mushrooms with water is excluded - the absorbed moisture will not completely evaporate from them, therefore, high-quality drying will not take place. With the help of a brush, the plates under the hat are carefully combed - bugs can sit there. Remove the remaining sand with a soft cloth.
2. For marinating. You will need to pre-soak in liquid for 40 minutes (but you can’t keep it for more than one hour - then honey mushrooms will lose some of their taste). Instances for this method of processing are selected healthy and large. The skirt is removed. Then the products are washed under a cold stream for no more than 3-5 minutes. Newly grown mushrooms need to be soaked in water with salt for half an hour before washing. The next step is boiling in salted water for about 40 minutes. After all the procedures, it is allowed to start processing.
3. For freezing. This processing method requires freshly harvested specimens. Mushrooms for freezing are selected carefully, damage is unacceptable. With a stiff brush, the mushroom is cleaned of dust particles, branches, etc. Small mushrooms do not need to be cut into small pieces. Mushrooms are not washed in water.

Washing technique

Immediately after the mushroom picker has finished processing the fruits, he washes them under cool running water using a colander. To wash the mushrooms and get rid of the skirt, the pressure is increased.

Washed fresh mushrooms should not be left overnight. If after harvesting there is no time to immediately start cooking, the crop is poured with boiled water for 20 minutes, laid out along a colander, doused with cool water and put in the refrigerator. Such a thermal procedure ensures the safety of honey mushrooms and guarantees their long-term storage.

Soaking mushrooms

Soaking is done after pre-treatment in the forest and before cutting the bottom of the legs and washing under water. The purpose of soaking is the final disposal of worms. It will take 1 tsp. salt per 1 liter of water (as a preventive measure - half a spoon). The salt should completely dissolve in the liquid. After the mushrooms are filled with a solution, the worms will float to the surface. The soaking time and the form of processing depend on the size of the mushrooms:

• salting: soaking in a steep saline solution for 2 hours;
• cooking: the procedure is optional, the focus is on cleaning and washing the mushrooms;
• pickling: the crop is soaked for 30 minutes or doused with boiling water, immediately after which it must be processed;
• frying: no soaking required;
• drying: contact with water is contraindicated.

Conclusion

Processing Honey mushrooms after harvesting consists of several stages, the technique of execution of which depends on the method of preparation. Following the instructions, the mushroom picker is able to clean the crop from litter without damage. High-quality processing will allow you to prepare a delicious delicacy from the collected honey mushrooms.