Mushrooms are always tasty and nutritious. They can be both an appetizer, and the main ingredient of the first dish, and a component of a delicious sauce. In the autumn rainy season, when the mushroom season begins, many hostesses procure them for the future in various ways: pickle, dry or freeze. This article will focus on the last option to preserve this goodies. You will learn in what ways you can freeze mushrooms, as well as how to properly prepare them for this procedure. Armed with knowledge and get ready for the harvest season.
For long-term storage, only whole young mushrooms not affected by pests are suitable. Arriving from the forest, carefully sort through the contents of the basket, putting aside for further processing only the most beautiful specimens. You will not be able to freeze them immediately. First you need to clean them from the ground and debris, then rinse and dry with a towel.
How to freeze raw mushrooms?
After they dry out, large specimens must be cut into pieces no thinner than 5 millimeters, small ones are left in their original form. Next, arrange the mushrooms in bags or pans. It is important to know that after thawing this product must not be re-frozen. It spoils from this and acquires an unpleasant taste and aroma. Therefore, pack in one container the number of mushrooms, which you will continue to use at a time. If you pack a workpiece in a bag, then try to squeeze out all the air when twisting it. If the packing takes place on plastic containers, then lay them to the top. Alternatively, you can freeze the mushrooms first by spreading them on a plank in the freezer, then collect them already in a solid bag and send for further storage. After thawing in a natural way at room temperature, the prepared product will taste and smell the same as fresh.
How to keep boiled mushrooms for a long time? To freeze!
Remember how to properly complete such a workpiece. Prepare fresh mushrooms as described above and toss in boiling water. Boil them for five to seven minutes. Fold in a colander and leave to cool completely. Keep in mind that salt is not necessary. Next, lay the mushrooms portionwise in bags or pans and send to the freezer. If in the future you plan to introduce such a preparation into the first dish, then you can freeze it together with the broth. Make sure that products such as meat or fish do not “adjoin” it in the refrigerator. After defrosting, such mushrooms can be fried, soups, sauces, snacks can be prepared from them.
How to freeze fried mushrooms?
Are you surprised that this dish can be saved in the freezer? You can, you just need to properly prepare this semi-finished product for long-term storage. To do this, fry the mushroom slices in vegetable oil until light golden brown. Again, you don’t need to sprinkle the product with spices and salt, you will do this after defrosting while directly preparing the final version of the dish. After frying the mushrooms, put them on a paper towel, pat the excess oil and let cool. Then pack the workpiece in containers and freeze. A variety of dishes can be prepared from such a semi-finished product: roast, soup, pizza, Julien appetizer and others.
It turns out that mushrooms can be frozen not only fresh. This product in boiled or fried form can be a good find for the hostess, if you need to cook something delicious very quickly.