How much to soak honey mushrooms before cooking. Frozen honey mushrooms for the winter

First of all, honey mushrooms need sort, sort by size and clean from garbage. Only fresh, young, hard, not spoiled mushrooms are suitable for freezing. Dry mushrooms need to be frozen, so washing them is not recommended.

Some mushrooms blanch before freezing, but honey mushrooms recommend freezing raw. Blanched honey mushrooms after freezing will have a deformed appearance, and after defrosting they will lose their shape, since when frozen they were full of moisture. If you were going to cook mushrooms or soup, there is nothing wrong with that. But if you plan to fry them, honey mushrooms should not be blanched before freezing.

If you are afraid to freeze raw mushrooms, you can still boil them in salted water before freezing. But in this case, after boiling, you must surely throw the mushrooms in a colander, let the water drain, and then transfer the mushrooms to a towel that absorbs the remaining moisture. Honey mushrooms can only be frozen after they are completely dry.

So, completely peeled mushrooms, sorted by size, need spread in one layer on a plastic tray for freezing. If you put the mushrooms in layers, when frozen, they can stick together and deform, in addition, the freezing process itself will last longer. Therefore, it is better to freeze them in one layer, and only then lay them out in storage containers. Place the drip tray in the deep freezer (-18 degrees Celsius). If you do not have a pallet, you can put the mushrooms in a plastic bag, but again - in one layer.

When the mushrooms freeze, put the frozen mushrooms in plastic bags or plastic containers. Try to pack mushrooms so that one bag or container is enough just for cooking one dish: thawed mushrooms must not be re-frozen, therefore, each serving of mushrooms should be fully used.

Place the containers with frozen mushrooms in the freezer. Frozen mushrooms can be stored for six months, after this period they can not be used for food.

How to cook frozen mushrooms?

Frozen honey mushrooms can be cooked, fried, stewed, used for making soups, caviar and other dishes. The main thing is to remember one important rule: immediately after defrosting, it is necessary to subject the mushrooms to any type of heat treatment. You can’t defrost honey agarics and leave them in the refrigerator for later. Incidentally, this applies not only to home-made frozen mushrooms, but also to frozen mushrooms bought in the store.

Frozen honey mushrooms can be fried or stewed without defrosting: Just put frozen mushrooms in a pan and cook until excess liquid evaporates. Home mushrooms should first be boiled because they were not washed before freezing. Therefore, it is better to boil the mushrooms in salted water for 5-10 minutes and discard in a colander, and only then you can fry or stew them until cooked.

Frozen honey mushrooms can be just like ordinary mushrooms. Before pickling, they must be boiled within 10 minutes after boiling, the broth is drained, and only then boiled directly in the marinade.

If you want to enjoy delicious mushroom dishes in winter, be sure to freeze these mushrooms for the future: this will not take so much effort and will allow you to significantly diversify your diet in the cold season.

Freezing mushrooms is the best way to procure them for the future. Honey mushrooms are especially good for this purpose, which can be collected in the autumn in the forest or purchased in a store. It is very important to know how to freeze honey mushrooms so that they do not lose their appetizing appearance and taste in the cooking process.

Why are honey mushrooms good to freeze?

There are many ways to harvest mushrooms, the most common of which are pickling and freezing. But if pickled products can not be put in all dishes, then frozen perfectly complement soups, fries, main dishes, pizza, etc.

Of all types of mushrooms, honey mushrooms are an excellent option for storage in a freezer. They are dense enough to maintain their shape and do not absorb much moisture. For freezing, whole, unspoiled, medium-sized specimens must be selected. If honey mushrooms were bought at the store, you can not wash them before freezing.

If you pick mushrooms in the forest, follow these rules:

since honey agarics grow in families, first rake the foliage, and then cut several fungi at once;
so that honey agarics do not have to be washed from the ground, clean them immediately during harvesting with a knife and lay them down with their hats;
try to pick small and medium sized mushrooms: they are younger and better amenable to freezing.

Shelf life of honey mushrooms is no more than six months (or a year with a deep freeze mode - 18 degrees). After this time they need to be used, otherwise the mushrooms will lose their taste and freshness.

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How to freeze mushrooms for the winter?

Depending on what dishes you will use mushrooms in the future, choose the method of freezing. Before you put the mushrooms in the refrigerator, arrange them in portions. When re-freezing, honey agarics become unsuitable for eating, so you need to immediately use a thawed product.

If the mushrooms are stored raw, they better retain their shape and are suitable for any dishes. In boiled form, honey mushrooms lose their former appearance and are suitable only for soups or caviar. If you are going to fry mushrooms, it is better to freeze them raw.

Another way of freezing is fried mushrooms. They can be used as an additive to porridge, potatoes or meat.

Is it possible to freeze honey mushrooms raw?

The main rule for wet freezing of mushrooms is not to wash them before sending them to the freezer. If the fruits are very dirty, you can quickly rinse them and dry them on a towel. Excess moisture is not needed during freezing, as it forms ice and takes up space in the refrigerator.

Put prepared mushrooms in 1 layer on a plastic tray. It is not recommended to lay in several layers, since mushrooms can stick together and deform.
Set the freezer to deep freeze.
If there is no pallet, you can use a plastic bag, however, honey mushrooms should also be laid out in 1 layer.
When the fruits freeze, they can be folded into a plastic bag in a convenient shape.

Boiled mushrooms

Blanched mushrooms will not look presentable, but are quite suitable for making soups and caviar. The advantage of this type of freezing is that boiled mushrooms take up little space in the freezer. If you have a small refrigerator, it is best to pre-boil them in salted water.

Put a pot of water on the gas and boil.
Pour mushrooms with a slide, because during cooking they decrease in size.
Boil for 5 minutes and remove mushrooms with a slotted spoon.
Pour mushrooms with fresh water and cook for another 2 hours.
Strain, dry on a towel and cool.
Put in food containers, cover with a lid or cling film.
Put in the freezer.

Fried mushrooms

Fried mushrooms are an unusual way of freezing, but they can be immediately added to the finished dish. It is enough to warm them up a little - and the delicious gravy or roast is ready.

Wash mushrooms and dry on a towel.
Fry in a pan without adding oil until the mushrooms give away the juice.
At the end of cooking, add a little vegetable oil and fry until golden brown.
Transfer honey mushrooms to a colander to make the butter glass.
Place the mushrooms in a food container and cover.
Place in the freezer.

How to defrost mushrooms?

Proper defrosting can affect the quality and consistency of the dish. It should occur gradually at room temperature. It is undesirable to put mushrooms for this purpose in the oven or microwave.

Raw mushrooms should be completely thawed and dried, and then cooked. You can put frozen fruits in soups. If in the future honey mushrooms are supposed to be pickled, they need to be boiled for 10 minutes, and then boiled in a marinade.

If the mushrooms are boiled in the freezer, they must first be thawed and only then used in cooking. Fried honey mushrooms also need to be defrosted and only then heated in a pan.

The best way to harvest mushrooms for the winter is considered to be freezing.

Honey mushrooms are great for this purpose. They can be collected in the autumn in the forest, or purchased in a store.

To preserve all the qualities and appearance of the mushrooms, it is important to properly process them. How to freeze honey mushrooms for the winter?

As already mentioned, mushrooms are considered the best kind of mushrooms for freezing. By their consistency, they are dense, therefore, after defrosting they will not lose their shape. Another advantage is that they do not absorb much moisture.

Only whole mushrooms, without rotten parts, are suitable for freezing. By size, it is best to choose medium. Purchased fresh mushrooms in the store before freezing can not be washed in water.

For harvested mushrooms in the forest, there are several rules:

Before you collect them, you need to carefully scrub the foliage with your hands, and only then start cutting off a few fungi. Remember that honey agarics grow families.
Save time at home. After cutting, immediately clean all impurities, and fold them in the basket with the hat down.
It is important to pay attention to size. They should be small - medium. Large honey mushrooms are poorly frozen.

Fungi are stored frozen for no more than 6 months. Otherwise, the taste and aroma of the finished mushrooms can not be noticed.

The process of processing and preparing mushrooms is laborious:

First of all, we sort out, remove the damaged and worms.
Mushrooms must be whole. We sort by size, for more convenient and quick freezing.
Small ones are used in whole, and large ones are cut. It is for this reason that it is important that honey agarics are of the same average size.
Put in a colander and rinse under running water. We leave until the water drains completely.

Freezing Raw Mushrooms

Not everyone knows that freshly picked mushrooms, as a rule, are frozen raw and whole.

Subjected to deep freezing, mushrooms do not change their appearance. As a rule, they can be added to stews, to make stew or to cook a delicious, fragrant soup, etc. Prepare in the same way as freshly picked.

Rinse under water is not worth it, since excess moisture during defrosting will make them watery and not so tasty.

If the mushrooms are very dirty, then in this case it is recommended to wipe them with a damp towel.

If rinsing under running water is indispensable, then honey mushrooms are spread on a dry baking sheet and wait until all excess moisture has evaporated. Instead of a baking sheet, you can use a dry, clean towel.

We put the dry mushrooms in a single thin layer on a clean, dry food spread, put in a freezer and freeze. After we pour the ready mushrooms in a plastic bag and remove them back.

Boiled mushrooms, the rules of freezing

You do not know how to boil honey mushrooms for freezing. It is very simple, but it is worth remembering that the appearance of boiled mushrooms will not be presentable. They are mainly used for cooking first courses and appetizers (for example, caviar).

The main plus of this type of mushrooms is that they will not take up much space in the freezer.

So, consider the technology of the correct freezing of a product:

We process the main ingredient - sorted, cleans dirt, rinse.
Pour water into the pan, add table salt and bring to a boil. After laying honey agarics. During cooking, they will decrease in size, therefore, put them in a pan with a small slide.
We wait for boiling and maintain on medium heat for 5 minutes.
We transfer the mushrooms with a slotted spoon to a clean pan, pour new water and continue cooking for another 2 hours.
After the time has passed, we filter it, put it on a towel and wait until they completely cool down.
We portion in small plastic bags and put in the freezer.

Freeze roasted honey mushrooms

The use of fried mushrooms for freezing for the winter is considered an unusual way.

Their advantage is that you can immediately add to an already prepared culinary dish.

Enough to defrost and warm a little.

Defrost Rules

If the product is thawed incorrectly, the taste and appearance of the finished dish can be impaired.

Defrost must be carried out at room temperature and gradually. The use of microwave ovens and other devices is strictly prohibited.

There are several nuances of defrosting a product:

Raw mushrooms must be completely thawed, dried a little in the fresh air, and only then start cooking. In the preparation of the first dishes, it is allowed to lay non-thawed mushrooms.
For pickling fresh frozen mushrooms, they must be thawed, boiled in boiling water for a quarter of an hour, and only then add to the marinade.
The boiled type of product is first thawed first, and only then used in cooking.
With fried mushrooms, similar actions are done, only before adding to the dish, they are heated in a pan and used for their intended purpose.

Now you know how to freeze honey mushrooms at home for the winter, and to choose the method of freezing, it is important to decide where the mushrooms will be used.

With proper observance of the rules, you can enjoy mushrooms throughout the winter time.