How long to cook mushrooms and how to do it correctly?

Why cook mushrooms

There are several types of heat treatment of harvested forest crops. Cooking is one of the simplest and most common methods. Why is it needed?

Firstly, mushrooms contain alkaloids that are hazardous to health. These are toxic compounds that should definitely be disposed of. Some types of mushrooms, for example, contain gilvelic acid. This is a powerful poison that has a destructive effect on the liver and kidneys and leads to death in 30% of cases. The poison is contained by strings - mushrooms very similar to morels. When cooked, it turns into liquid, so suspicious mushrooms are boiled in two waters, the first one must be drained, and the mushrooms are washed after it.
It is no coincidence that mushrooms are compared to a sponge. They instantly absorb all dirty and harmful substances from the environment, including radiation. Boiling helps reduce its level; with a single boil for ten minutes, the radiation level is reduced by 80 percent, and with a double boil, by 97 percent.
Cooking allows you to get rid of microscopic parasites, larvae, microorganisms, in general, to protect the human gastrointestinal tract as much as possible.
In addition, some types of mushrooms that do not pass the boiling water test may taste bitter. Therefore, you need to cook not only dangerous strings (which, in fairness, rarely end up in a mushroom picker’s basket), but also everyone’s favorite chanterelles, russula, milk mushrooms and even store-bought champignons.
How to cook mushrooms depends on their type. However, it is important to understand that when boiling, some of the nutrients and vitamins will go into the broth. Therefore, you need to pour a little water into the pan so that it only slightly covers the mushrooms.

Is it possible to grow floodplain yourself?

It is suitable for cultivation and breeding in artificial conditions - both indoors and outdoors. The technique is simple, you just need to follow a few technological rules. On a farm scale, almost no one does this, since the mushroom is not in great demand. However, amateurs can grow this variety for themselves if they wish.

The most important conditions are the required temperature and sufficient humidity. Poplar row fruits set at a temperature of no more than 15 °C. Such an environment can be created in a basement or cellar. However, it is better to breed sandpipers outdoors.

The process must contain the following phases:

First you need to make a substrate. To do this, combine 50 g of mycelium, a liter of water, 100 g of chalk and 5 kg of soil (preferably a turf layer of soil with rotted twigs, taken under a poplar).
Pour the mixture into boxes or boxes, add 5 cm of wet soil on top.
The soil with mycelium is laid out on the beds, and everything is covered with film to maintain high humidity.
The best temperature for mycelium germination is 20 °C.
When the soil is overgrown with it, the film is removed and the substrate is transferred to the shade. The first mushrooms will appear in a month and a half.
After harvesting, the soil is moistened, then soil is added.
Before winter frosts, the area with mycelium is covered with leaves or grass.
In the spring, when the air temperature reaches 10 °C, the beds are opened.

How to prepare mushrooms for cooking

Before you put the mushrooms in the pan, you need to prepare them: sort, clean, cut off all questionable places (brown spots, damage, parts infested with worms or slugs).

This must be done on the same day that the forest gifts were collected. If the mushrooms are old, you need to remove the bottom part of the cap.

If cooking is scheduled for another day, then the product should be stored in the refrigerator. In this case, the mushrooms are not washed, only the adhering leaves, grains of sand and grass are cleaned off with a knife.

Before boiling, the mushrooms can be rinsed with cold water, but quickly so that they do not have time to soak in water.

What can be prepared from rows?

The most common varieties of sandpipers found in central Russia are the green sandpiper (greenfinch), the gray sandpiper and the red sandpiper. They have dense fleshy flesh, slightly darkening at the break. Sandpipers usually grow in large groups.

They are good fried, especially if fried with onions and potato slices. They can be marinated by adding to the marinade, in addition to vinegar and black peppercorns, 2-3 clove buds and 1-2 bay leaves. Then the taste and aroma of spices will overwhelm the characteristic sweetish taste of sandpiper, which not some people like.

Since the rows are edible mushrooms, they do not require pre-boiling or soaking. But they must be thoroughly washed before cooking to remove sand and small debris.

Sandpipers are also good in salted form. Usually they are salted in a “cold” way, placing thoroughly washed mushrooms in a plate-like layer on top in sterilized glass jars or ceramic dishes, and sprinkling each layer with salt. When all the mushrooms have been laid, you should salt the top layer, put a clean cotton rag scalded with boiling water on top, put a wooden circle on it (made of deciduous wood, also scalded with boiling water), and press down with pressure. The container with mushrooms should be stored in the refrigerator or cold cellar. In a few days they will release juice and become very heavy. You will be able to eat such salted sandpipers in about a month and a half. Sandpiper soups are usually not cooked, as they turn out much worse than soups from many other types of mushrooms.

How long to cook fresh mushrooms

Mushrooms are boiled for several purposes: to freeze for the winter, prepare for pickling, or process before frying. Cooking time will depend on the type of mushroom. Readiness can be determined by external signs: boiled mushrooms will sink to the bottom of the pan if you lift it over the burner. Still, it is best to follow the cooking time recommendations. How long to cook mushrooms? Experienced chefs recommend the following order:

the champignons are cooked purely symbolically – for five minutes;
Fifteen minutes are enough for oyster mushrooms to be ready; large nests can be boiled for five minutes longer;
chanterelles and boletuses should spend 20 minutes in boiling water (the film is first removed from the boletus caps);
Russula, despite the name, should be cooked for half an hour;
Before boiling, porcini mushrooms must be thoroughly cleaned, the film removed from the cap, rinsed, and then cooked for 40 minutes;
boletus mushrooms are processed in the same way as porcini mushrooms, but cooked for 45-50 minutes;
Honey mushrooms are placed in water, brought to a boil, after which the first decoction is drained and filled with a new portion of water. Secondary cooking time – 50-60 minutes;
dense milk mushrooms are pre-soaked in cold water for an hour (add two tablespoons of salt per liter of water), then boiled for 15 minutes.

Cooking mushrooms is very simple. You need to put it in a saucepan, add a small amount of water, add salt and, after boiling, keep it in boiling water from five minutes to one hour, depending on the type. If mushrooms are processed for further frying, they need to be cooked for 10-20 minutes less than indicated in the basic recommendation. Then remove from the water, chop or grind in a meat grinder and use according to the main recipe.

A very tasty winter preparation will be made from boiled fresh mushrooms prepared according to the following recipe.

Ingredients:

two kilograms of fresh mushrooms;
one and a half liters of water;
a spoonful of salt (the amount of salt can be varied to suit your taste);
two black currant leaves;
head of garlic;
ten black peppercorns.

Preparation

First, you need to sort the mushrooms, clean off the forest dirt, and rinse them in small portions in a colander.

In a large bowl or saucepan, soak the entire amount of mushroom “meat” and add a portion of fresh cold water.

Place a small pressure in the form of a plate of suitable diameter so that all the mushrooms are under water.

After an hour and a half, rinse the soaked mushrooms again, chop the large ones, and leave the small ones whole.

Pour one and a half liters of water over the mushrooms and bring to a boil over high heat.

As soon as the water boils, reduce the heat, add pepper and salt, currant leaves and garlic.

Cook for 20 minutes, then remove the mushrooms with a slotted spoon and cool.

For winter freezing, place the cooled mushrooms in bags in small portions of about half a kilogram (exactly as much as you need for mushroom soup, frying with potatoes, making a pie, etc.) and place in the freezer. It is important that there is as little air as possible left in the bag of mushrooms.

Mushrooms frozen this way can be stored for one year.

With chicken fillet

Ingredients:

Chicken fillet – 400 gr.
Mushrooms – 200 gr.
Onion – 1 piece, medium size.
Carrots – 1 piece, medium size.
Garlic – 2 cloves, medium size.
Vegetable oil, salt and spices - to taste.

Cooking:

Rinse the meat in water, dry with paper napkins and cut into long strips.
Cut the mushrooms into medium-sized pieces.
Fry the meat in a frying pan in oil over medium heat until lightly browned.
Add mushrooms, diced onions and coarsely grated carrots to the meat, mix everything thoroughly, then add finely chopped garlic, salt and spices and mix everything again.
Fry everything together, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes until cooked through.

The dish is ready!

How long to cook dried mushrooms

Dried mushrooms are a real winter delicacy. From them you can prepare many delicious, aromatic, amazingly tasty first and second courses, baked goods, snacks and salads.

However, to restore the original properties of the mushroom, it is important to know how long to cook the mushrooms after drying.

Improperly prepared dried mushrooms lose both taste and pleasant texture and become too tough. First of all, they should be soaked in fresh cold water.

Four hours of soaking will be enough to restore the elasticity and volume of the mushroom slices. You don’t have to drain the water after soaking, because the mushrooms give it their amazing aroma and taste.

Of course, you need to focus on results. If the mushrooms were prepared incorrectly, the water will become dirty, cloudy, clogged with leaves, pine needles, and sand. You shouldn’t cook mushroom “meat” in this.

As a rule, porcini mushrooms are dried. However, you can dry boletus, boletus, morels, moss mushrooms, champignons, chanterelles, etc. How long should you cook dried mushrooms after soaking?

At least half an hour. You can check readiness by whether the mushrooms fall to the bottom of the pan after rising above the surface of the stove.

Depending on the degree of drying, it may take longer to cook the mushroom slices. To prepare a delicious decoction based on porcini mushrooms, you can use the following recipe.

Ingredients:

three hundred grams of dried slices of porcini mushrooms;
one and a half liters of water;
salt;
Bay leaf;
peppercorns (optional).

Preparation

Pour boiling water over the mushrooms so that all the slices are under water. You can press them down on top with a plate or lid.

After three to four hours, pour the swollen mushrooms into a pan of boiling water for the broth.

Throw in the bay leaf, pepper, and add salt to the broth to taste.

How long to cook dried mushrooms depends on the size of the slices and the degree of drying. If the mushrooms are coarsely dried, the cooking time should be 35-40 minutes. Thin slices will cook faster, literally in half an hour.

After the mushrooms are ready, they can be cut into smaller pieces and placed in a frying pan in heated oil. Cook mushroom soup using the broth.

With onions in a frying pan

This is the simplest recipe for making fried mushrooms, a base to which, if you wish, you can add any additional ingredients, such as various spices. Instead of champignons, you can, of course, use any other types of edible mushrooms, and if, when frying, add a little butter to the vegetable oil, the taste of the mushrooms will be more delicate.

Ingredients:

Champignons – 300 gr.
Onions – 200 gr.
Vegetable oil and salt - to taste.

Cooking:

Cut the onion into cubes and fry in oil in a frying pan until soft.
Next, place the mushrooms, cut into small slices, into the frying pan and fry over medium heat until the liquid has completely evaporated. The finished mushrooms will be covered with a pleasant golden crust.

The dish is ready!

How long to cook frozen mushrooms

You can cook the same wonderful dishes from frozen mushrooms as from fresh ones. They freeze champignons, boletus, white mushrooms, honey mushrooms, chanterelles - almost everything that can be brought from a successful mushroom hunt.

How long to cook frozen mushrooms? Before answering this question, you need to know how to prepare mushrooms for cooking.

The fact is that it is not possible to remove all the moisture from mushrooms before freezing: a small amount of ice will certainly form on them. You can’t throw mushrooms in this state into the pan, they will ruin the whole thing. Therefore, the mushrooms need to be defrosted first. You can do this in several ways:

microwave for a couple of minutes;
leave in a colander at room temperature and wait for natural thawing.

After the mushrooms have thawed, they must be washed in running water. Then everything is simple: add water to the mushrooms and put them on the fire. After boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covering with a lid. Be sure to stir from time to time and remove the foam with a slotted spoon.

How long to cook frozen mushrooms? For complete readiness, 20-30 minutes will be enough. The champignons will be ready in 15 minutes.

With potatoes and green onions

Ingredients:

Potatoes – 500 gr.
Mushrooms – 600 gr.
Green onion – 20 gr.
Vegetable oil, salt and spices - to taste.

Cooking:

Cut the fruit bodies into medium-sized pieces and fry in oil in a frying pan until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Halfway through the roasting process, add salt and spices to taste.
Wash the potatoes, peel them, cut them into cubes and soak them in water for 15 minutes to remove excess starch. Then fry it in a frying pan, separately from the mushrooms, adding salt and spices, until golden brown and softened.
Add mushrooms and chopped green onions to the potatoes, mix everything thoroughly, cover and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.

The dish is ready!

How to use boiled mushrooms and mushroom broth

Fresh, dried and frozen boiled mushrooms rarely become a separate dish. Usually they are boiled for pickling, pickling, freezing (if the mushrooms are fresh).

In addition, dried and frozen mushrooms are boiled to make soup, mushroom salad, filling in pies or pancakes, julienne, fried potatoes.

After cooking the mushrooms, the broth should not be poured out. This is a valuable food product, on the basis of which you can cook a light, aromatic soup or prepare a wonderful sauce for a meat or poultry dish.

The broth can be frozen in a plastic container or bottle. This is very convenient, because you can prepare soup or sauce with fresh mushroom broth at any time.