Can you handle dried mushrooms? Have you ever found them to be tasteless and rubbery? Learn the correct procedure and how long to cook them.
What a Czech, he’s a mushroom picker
Even though the Czech nation is definitely one of the champions among mushroom pickers and we know very well how not only not to get poisoned, but also to secure a supply of mushrooms for a long time to come, to repeat what and how is always useful. And that’s not only if there are a lot of poisonous mushrooms growing right now or there is a champignon mushroom staring at you from the meadow, which is also edible only once, as they say among mushroom pickers with a sneer.
Having mushrooms available all year round is a big plus, which you will appreciate every time you think about mushroom sauce or perhaps a kulada. To do this, you need to not only collect them, but also dry them. You can also buy them, but it’s an expensive splurge.
If you don’t have experience with drying mushrooms, you can also learn something in this post from the YouTube channel Recipe of great ideas.
Source: Youtube
How to cook dried mushrooms
If you have already dried and stored your mushrooms, can you also cook dried mushrooms properly? The correct procedure involves soaking the mushrooms. Since we have deprived them of water, it is now advisable to rehydrate them, and therefore give them a bath in warm water for at least 20 to 30 minutes. Some leave the mushrooms to soak for an hour. If the mushrooms didn’t have time to absorb water and you cooked them straight away, they could remain hard and rubbery.
Do not pour out the water in which the mushrooms were soaked and use it when preparing food. Thanks to this, you won’t lose even a little bit of mushroom taste.
However, if you dry the mushrooms cut into very fine slices or even crush them, then you don’t have to worry about hardening. They absorb water extremely quickly.
Soaked mushrooms should be added to cooked food when the water or sauce is not boiling. A gradual heating that leads to a boil is ideal. This is because too quick exposure to heat leads to rubbery and under-flavoured mushrooms. You can also fry the mushrooms before adding them to the sauce.
It is advisable to cook dried rehydrated mushrooms for at least 10 to 15 minutes. The time depends on the specific species, because for example our mushrooms are rehydrated in about 20 minutes and then only need to be cooked for 10. However, for example, due to their harder structure, shiitake mushrooms need to be soaked for half an hour and cooked for at least 15 minutes. However, it is useful to taste the cooked mushrooms and test how soft they are.
Some mushrooms are firmer and fleshier
Czech mushrooms are famous for their tenacity. However, these mushrooms are not suitable for drying. If you are going to process them, then blanching and subsequent freezing is offered.
Mushrooms usually need to be heat-treated for about 10 to 15 minutes, while porcini mushrooms need a bit longer, namely about 15 to 20 minutes.
The longer and absolutely necessary cooking of the mushrooms rids them of the toxins that these mushrooms contain. Nevertheless, they are popular mushrooms and are used, for example, in mushroom stew. Their toughness is then clearly desirable, because they do not fall apart and do not soften too much.
Sources: culinaryhill.com, toprecepty.cz
