Honey mushrooms differ from their mushroom counterparts in their rich taste and aroma. It is not surprising that they are so popular in our country. Mushroom soup, pizza, pies and, of course, young potatoes fried with honey mushrooms are, on the one hand, simple, but unusually mouth-watering dishes. In addition, mushrooms allow you to diversify the lean menu.
So honey agarics are dried, salted, pickled and caviar is made from them. And of course, every housewife wants to keep the mushrooms frozen.
Do honey mushrooms freeze for the winter
Honey mushrooms, like many other products, are perfectly stored in a frozen state. They have a dense structure, not too watery and can be at sub-zero temperatures for about 12 months. So they retain their natural smell, taste and nutrients. And what is especially nice, this method of long-term storage requires much less effort than, say, traditional pickling. In addition, pickled mushrooms can not be put in all dishes because of the sharp spices, while frozen ones are perfect for soup, and for julienne, and for pie.
Collection
Before freezing mushrooms mushrooms for the winter, you need to collect them. Experienced mushroom pickers easily cope with this task, but beginners have to make more efforts. After all, it is important not only to find the mushrooms, but to make sure that they are edible. The most reasonable solution is to pick up a partner who is familiar with the topic and is an ardent fan of quiet hunting.
If this is not possible, then you should be twice as careful: the real honey agaric has a tan hat, concave in young individuals, but flatter in adult specimens. On the back of the hat there are yellow or brown plates, on top of the mushrooms there is a coating of spores. On the cut, honey agarics are white and have a pronounced, pleasant mushroom smell. The leg must have a skirt in the form of a ring. Hats are scaly.
Important: at the slightest doubt, you must refuse the collection!
All the charm of honey agarics is that they grow as a whole family. And if you find a good place, you can collect a couple of buckets of mushrooms, literally without leaving the place.
It is necessary to collect honey mushrooms quickly, but accurately. Cut mushrooms or gently twist, without jerking. The second method is preferable. Avoid getting leaves and twigs in a bucket or basket - the less debris, the less mushrooms will be remembered during transportation.
Sorting and cleaning
Before freezing honey mushrooms for the winter, you need to carefully sort them out. Despite the fact that in the forest, wormworms are rejected immediately, at home it is necessary to once again check each mushroom for holes and larvae. Small mushrooms can not be cut, but large ones can be divided into several parts. Particular attention should be paid to the hat: if the mushroom’s leg is clean, this does not mean that the mushroom on top is just as good.
During the sorting, you can at the same time sort the mushrooms by size: honey mushrooms of the same caliber look more advantageous in any dish. In addition, smaller copies can be cooked less.
Honey mushrooms also need to be cleaned of debris: sometimes it’s enough just to knock on the hat to shake off everything unnecessary, but more often the mushrooms are washed in plenty of warm water and then dried on a towel.
How to freeze honey mushrooms fresh for the winter?
When freezing foods, I want to keep them as fresh as possible. And therefore, eliminate or minimize heat treatment. And therefore, many are interested in how to freeze honey mushrooms fresh for the winter.
It’s worth saying right away that you can freeze mushrooms without heat treatment. So they will more fully preserve their unique flavor, which they will subsequently give to the dish. Whereas during pre-cooking, part of the taste is lost.
Recipe: sort and sort the mushrooms, rinse them and soak for half an hour. Then dry on a towel and lay on a baking sheet in one layer. To freeze in a freezer at a temperature of -18-20 ° C. After lay out in portioned packets or containers.
An important rule: you must freeze fresh mushrooms immediately, directly on the day of collection.
How to boil honey mushrooms for freezing?
Too many people do not trust mushrooms that have not been cooked. And although many housewives calmly keep honey mushrooms freshly frozen in the freezer, most prefer to boil them all the same.
The most incredulous cooks boil honey mushrooms twice: the first time they wait until they boil and boil for about twenty minutes, and then change the water, add salt and dip the mushrooms in boiling water for another 10-15 minutes. Most people boil honey mushrooms once, the cooking time after boiling is 15-20 minutes. Some believe that these mushrooms should be boiled in a small amount of water (1 cup in a 5-6-liter pan), for no more than 10 minutes, with the addition of salt and bay leaf. And this broth is subsequently frozen and used to make soups and sauces.
Based on the fact that honey agarics are also suitable for freezing, the cooking process is presented as a method of more compact storage of mushrooms: after heat treatment they give a lot of water and lose a lot in volume.
How to freeze honey mushrooms for the winter in the refrigerator after boiling: recipe
After cooking, mushrooms should be washed with cold running water (so they immediately cool down) and put in a colander. Allow time to drain all excess water. Dry 30 minutes on a towel. Lay out on a baking sheet in one layer and put in the freezer. Packed in portioned packets after complete freezing.
Caviar from honey mushrooms
How to freeze honey mushrooms for the winter? There are different recipes, but one of the most popular is the preparation of mushroom caviar. In the classic version, mushroom caviar is chopped mushrooms with spices and necessarily with garlic, packed in jars.
But there are other ways. For example, to save space in the freezer, you can twist fresh honey mushrooms and store them for 3-4 months in this form. This product can be taken out at any time, fried and used as an addition to mashed potatoes or as a filling for pies.
There is another option, how to freeze honey mushrooms for the winter in the form of caviar. To do this, it is necessary to sort out the mushrooms and soak them in cold water for 30-40 minutes. Then boil them in salted water for 15 -20 minutes. When cooking, do not forget to carefully descale. Then throw the mushrooms on a sieve or in a colander, rinse them with cold water, allow time to drain all excess liquid.
After honey agaric, you need to twist, salt and mix with a little good olive oil. Such caviar is immediately ready for use and after defrosting does not require thorough heat treatment.
Fried mushrooms in oil: preparation and storage
How to freeze honey mushrooms for the winter fried? This is much easier to do than it seems: mushrooms are boiled as for normal freezing, and then fry in a pan until all the liquid has evaporated and a light golden crust is formed. Next, the semi-finished product should cool to room temperature, after which honey mushrooms are laid out in portioned containers and filled with fat.
The disadvantage of this method of storing mushrooms is that such a product can be stored for no more than 3 months, while ordinary boiled mushrooms can be deep frozen for up to 1 year.
Freezing and storage
How to freeze honey mushrooms for the winter in the refrigerator after all preparations?
- We freeze in the freezer, after setting the thermostat to the lowest temperature. In ordinary household freezers, this indicator does not exceed -25 -. You should be aware that frequent temperature fluctuations do not benefit the unit and shorten its service life.
- After complete freezing, the semi-finished products can be transferred to a warmer chamber with a temperature of -9 ° C. However, if possible, it is better to leave them in the deep freeze compartment, this increases the shelf life.
- Ideally, you need to have a separate freezer for deep-frozen foods: this way you can not only maintain the ideal temperature, but also avoid the appearance of an extraneous smell in mushrooms.
- Store mushrooms and other convenience foods in a separate freezer compartment.
- You need to know how to freeze honey mushrooms for the winter for the longest possible storage: remember that fried caviar or mushrooms are stored for no more than 3, maximum 4 months, while boiled caviar is suitable for use after a year.
- Never freeze food repeatedly, which is why it is so important to store mushrooms in the freezer immediately in portioned containers.
- Sign the packages. So you can immediately find out in what form these specific mushrooms are stored and how much they already lie.
Cooking
It is important to know not only how to freeze honey agarics for the winter, but also how to properly prepare them after defrosting. Here you should be guided by a simple rule: the less the mushrooms were cooked before freezing, the more they need to be boiled (fried, stewed) in a dish. For the rest, you can rely on your culinary imagination, since frozen honey mushrooms can be an ingredient in hundreds of different dishes.
So, now you know how to freeze honey mushrooms for the winter. Recipes and tips are simple, and easy for anyone to repeat.
Have a nice quiet hunt and bon appetit!