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Harvesting mushrooms for the winter freezing. How to freeze mushrooms

It is known that according to their structure, fungi are divided into marsupial, tubular and lamellar. The first group is the smallest, and it includes the rarest mushrooms - truffles, along with morels. But the other two groups are very rich in their constituent species. The difference between them is in the structure of the underside of the cap, where the spore chambers are located. In tubular fungi, respectively, they look like a porous surface, which is why such fungi are also called spongy.

In lamellar, the lower part of the cap is folded, from many thin plates, between which there are spores. Why do we need these classifications? It's simple - only spongy mushrooms can be frozen raw, for example, ceps. The fact is that the porous surface of the cap, which is the main edible part, absorbs water well during cooking and gives it poorly. Therefore, if you first dip the boletus or boletus, as well as porcini mushrooms, into boiling water, then they will have to be squeezed out so that they do not become watery, and this will not affect the quality of the product in the best way.

But lamellar species should just be boiled, and mushrooms should be boiled for at least half an hour, otherwise you will have an upset stomach after defrosting and preparing a hot dish from them. Other mushrooms also need to be cooked for at least 10 minutes. All types of marsupial mushrooms should be boiled before freezing, and then squeezed, and then rinsed in running water to get rid of harmful gelvellic acid.

Video: Freezing mushrooms

Rules for preparing mushrooms

Having collected mushrooms in the forest, without delay, sort them out and discard the wormy ones, as well as previously unnoticed spoiled ones, since they are in any case unfit for consumption, and you should not freeze them. Next, you need to choose the youngest, oldest and sluggish for fresh storage unsuitable, it is better to immediately boil and fry them. All mushrooms you select should be firm and firm to the touch.

In no case do not sort out a large collection, if there are a lot of gifts of nature, immediately put most of them in the refrigerator and work with small portions - cut mushrooms quickly lose their freshness. If everything does not fit in the refrigerator, put it briefly in a cool cellar. Those types of mushrooms that are undesirable to cook before freezing (tubular) should be rinsed in running water and cleaned of dirt and debris.

But try to avoid long contact with moisture, otherwise it will be quickly absorbed by the spongy surface, which will cause the product to be watery after defrosting. Small mushrooms can be frozen whole, but large ones are best cut into slices, which, however, should not be too thin. Those mushrooms that are pre-boiled should become soft enough, but if the legs are still too hard, it is better to cut them off and make broth from them.

Video: Cooking white mushrooms

Freezing methods, as well as the secrets of defrosting

Let's start with harvesting fresh forest products (or buying from the market). To begin with, as already mentioned, the mushrooms need to be cleaned of debris and washed, but at the same time they should not be kept in water for long. We put our blanks in the freezer (small white ones can be whole, others are better in sliced form) without a bag or container, but simply spreading it in an even layer along the bottom, you can on a small pallet or dish.

And only after an hour and a half, when the porous surface of the cap hardens, you need to transfer everything into a container or into a plastic bag, it is advisable to squeeze the air out of the latter before closing.

Those mushrooms that you previously boiled are first removed in a colander or on a sieve so that water is completely drained from them. By the way, heat treatment of tubular species is also allowed, in particular, porcini mushrooms, but, as mentioned earlier, moisture must be slightly squeezed out of them. And if after honey mushrooms the broth merges, then the broth after the whites can be used for soup - it contains all the useful substances that are characteristic of mushrooms. No need for boiling. When the blanks have cooled, carefully transfer them to containers or bags and send them to the freezer. And finally, the most interesting. If the first 2 methods involved the preparation of practically semi-finished products, now let's move on to an almost finished product (which, however, still requires bringing it to full readiness). So, lightly boiled mushrooms are placed in a frying pan with heated vegetable oil and lightly fried until they acquire a slight hardness. In the process, they may brown or darken slightly - this is quite normal for ours, especially if they are white. Let cool and transfer to containers. You can pre-hold in a colander to glass the oil, especially if you fried in olive oil, as it freezes in the refrigerator in flakes.

As for the defrosting of mushrooms, it should proceed in the same way for any method of harvesting by cooling. First of all, remember that in no case should you defrost quickly, otherwise the mushrooms will become soft and watery. Transfer the container (if you want to use the whole serving) or some of its contents from the freezer to any other compartment of the refrigerator that maintains a higher temperature. It is advisable to keep the workpiece there for about 8-10 hours (for example, at night) and only then defrost for another hour at room temperature. In no case should mushrooms be frozen the second time, therefore, if you are not going to use the entire portion, take exactly the right amount.

Spend some time on the same day and prepare yourself a fragrant treat for the winter. After all, it's terribly nice to cook in the winter, for example, mushroom risotto or julienne and show off to the guests the autumn trophies of the "quiet hunt" stored in the freezer.

Mushrooms can perfectly spend time in the freezer almost until the next season, although they rarely succeed, they are very tasty.

I have been freezing mushrooms this way for 8 years, I read it in some culinary magazine. The method is simple, and the mushrooms are guaranteed to be well stored, and in addition, they completely retain their taste and aroma. In cooked form, it is almost indistinguishable from freshly harvested.

We grow white, Polish, mushrooms, boletus. I froze all these mushrooms, and with all of them the result is equally good.

As soon as I return from the forest, I start cleaning the mushrooms. I cut off the rough bases of the legs, clean the mushrooms from adhering needles and leaves. Then I wash them very quickly one at a time, without holding them under running water for a long time, so that the mushrooms do not get soaked with water, like a sponge. Spread the washed mushrooms on a towel and dry.

Now the mushrooms need to be cut. You can leave the very small ones whole, cut the rest into such slices as you usually cut them for cooking, so that you can then use the mushrooms directly from the freeze, without subjecting them to additional manipulations.

While I’m chopping mushrooms, a large pot of water boils on the stove, it’s a big one, about five liters. The water boils and you can start the process of harvesting mushrooms.

I freeze mushrooms, as well as fruits and berries, on glass cutting boards, and then transfer them to storage bags. I dip portions of chopped mushrooms into boiling water and blanch for 2 minutes. I take it out with a slotted spoon and lay it out on the boards. When it cools down I put it in the freezer. After about five hours, the mushrooms will freeze and you can transfer them from the boards to bags, tucking them with a knife.

What does blanching give? Firstly, it additionally disinfects the mushrooms before storage, and secondly, the ice crust keeps the mushrooms juicy and prevents them from drying out during freezing.

When I need to cook something from frozen mushrooms, I do the following. If mushrooms are needed for soup, then I put them directly without defrosting. And if for frying or some kind of dish, then I pre-boil frozen mushrooms in a slow cooker for a couple of about 10 minutes, and after that you can fry, stew, etc.

Mushrooms in dishes are mainly observed in summer and autumn - everything is explained by the season. But there are ways to preserve the product and all useful trace elements for a long time - it is to freeze them. Next, the features of how to freeze raw mushrooms or already cooked will be considered in detail.

The best way to preserve the nutrients and value of a product is to freeze it. Unlike other blanks, mushrooms will not lose their shape, color, texture, vitamins and trace elements in the composition. The method also has a positive effect on the mood of the hostess - for harvesting, it is enough just to clean the hats, if the type of mushroom requires it, and place it in a container.

Freezing advantages and disadvantages

Often, professional chefs use frozen mushrooms, as they know all the benefits of harvesting. Positive factors include the following:

A minimum of time to prepare the product - as already described above, the mushrooms are simply cleaned of contaminants and placed in the freezer. You can pre-boil or stew the workpiece, then after defrosting it will take less time to cook the dish.
Freezing is a sure way to preserve all the benefits of the product.
It is allowed to store the frozen workpiece for up to a year - then it is better to get rid of the product, since, after defrosting, it will lose its texture.
After defrosting, raw mushrooms can be cooked immediately - they do not have to be soaked for faster cooking.
Mushroom taste will be preserved during freezing, both in the raw product and in the finished semi-finished product.
The thawed product can later be salted or pickled.

The disadvantage lies in the peculiarities of storing the product in a frozen form. It is important to observe the temperature regime here, since deviations from the norm will lead to loss of appearance and taste.

Mushrooms suitable for freezing

chanterelles;
honey mushrooms;
boletus;
Champignon;
boletus.

If they are not there, then you can take the second most popular varieties, which almost retain their taste characteristics:

waves;
russula;
boletus;
mushrooms;
oyster mushrooms.

To a greater extent, attention should not be paid to the variety and taste, but to follow the rules of freezing and subsequent storage.

How to choose and prepare mushrooms

The following factors should be included in the rules for choosing and preparing a product for freezing:

it is better to pick mushrooms in the forest, but if this is not possible, they buy a fresh product in a supermarket;
often in the store you can buy fresh oyster mushrooms and champignons - when choosing, they pay attention to the absence of painful points (these are traces of worms), the product should not be withered;
mushrooms are cleaned before freezing - they remove all debris and the top film from the hat (if it is required), then the whole mass is washed under running water;
after washing, give time to dry the workpiece on a towel - it is not recommended to freeze the product with water;
if there is a desire to freeze already cooked mushrooms, it is necessary to subject them to heat treatment within a day after collection.

These are the basic steps in preparing a product for freezing. It is important to remove all wormy specimens, for which large ones are cut into several pieces.

Freezing utensils

If there are no containers, you can use bags (special vacuum, for freezing, or simple) - they also remove, if possible, all the air from them. It should be understood that when stored in bags, the product may lose shape. Storage will not affect the appearance if the workpiece is crushed.

If freezing will take place in bags, it is better to spread the product on a tray beforehand and place it in the freezer. After the mushrooms are frozen, you can put them in a bag - this way you can freeze the mushrooms without losing their appearance and shape.

Refrigerator preparation

Freeze the product in the freezer, which is previously cleared of ice on the walls and door. If storage takes place in a container, it is enough to place it in a horizontal position in the chamber on any shelf. If packaged in bags, they are placed on a separate shelf, laying out the workpiece in one layer.

Freezing methods at home

Mushrooms can be frozen fresh, boiled and even with broth. The type of product in the future will partially determine the method of their preparation, therefore, before making a decision, you should choose the most correct one.

raw mushrooms

Among the frozen ones in the supermarket, you can only find raw semi-finished products. It is easy to make such a blank at home, following the following sequence of actions:

Prepare the product for freezing.
Spread on a tray in a single layer and place in the freezer. If a container is used, pack the workpiece tightly and put it in the freezer as well.
Set the freezer to the lowest temperature for 12 hours of freezing.
After that, the temperature is reduced to the set value and everything is distributed into bags.

Salty

It is possible to freeze salted mushrooms, which is often chosen to save an open can of the product. To do this, you need to perform the following steps:

Drain the contents of the jar into a colander.
Rinse under running water while removing peppercorns, if present, and other additives.
Dry in the standard way - laying them out on a towel.
The dried product must be frozen by any of the above methods.

Boiled

boiled mushrooms after defrosting are faster to cook, so housewives prefer to pre-prepare. It is also recommended to use the presented actions in the case when the appearance of the product is somewhat spoiled - there are breaks in the caps or damage received during cleaning.

To properly freeze the boiled product, it is recommended to do the following:

Put a pot on fire at the rate of 5 liters of water per 1 kilogram of product. Water can be salted, or discarded, depending on taste preferences.
The workpiece can be put into the water in advance, without waiting for the water to boil.
Boiling the mushrooms until fully cooked, the housewives are faced with the dryness of the product in the finished dish. It is enough to boil for 5-10 minutes.
Next, take out all the mushrooms with a slotted spoon and let them dry.

You can freeze without pre-drying, but then it is better to use containers for this.
Blanched
Frozen blanched blanks are great for further soup preparation. They will retain their shape, color, taste and useful microelements; with the help of pre-treatment, it is possible to completely clean the mushrooms from dirt.
To freeze pre-blanched blanks, you will need to do the following:
Prepare a pot of water with the required amount.
Wait until it boils, pour the prepared product into the water and wait for it to boil again.
Then boil for 2 minutes.
Turn off the heat and drain the contents of the pot into a colander.
Wait until the water is completely drained and put the workpiece in containers for freezing and storage.

Mushrooms can be blanched whole or chopped. Water can be slightly salted, but not overdone, so that during the subsequent preparation of the dish the product does not turn out to be oversalted.
Stewed
It is preferable to eat stews immediately, but some housewives prefer to prepare healthy bags for the winter in order to reduce the cooking time of the main dish. It is required to stew in compliance with the basic recommendations that will help preserve the original appearance and taste of the product:
The workpiece is cleaned of dirt and soaked in a solution of citric acid - a teaspoon of citric acid in powder form is added to a liter of water. Keep the product in the solution for no more than 7 minutes.
At this time, the pan is heated, where you should pour a little vegetable oil.
Put the workpiece in a preheated pan and simmer for 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly. You can add onion for better taste. Stew open with onions for 2-3 minutes.
Next, cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes, salt and pepper the mushrooms.
After the time has elapsed, the fire is turned off and left to infuse and cool completely.

If mushrooms are planned to be used for cooking various dishes, it is recommended to drain the oil and the resulting juice. Otherwise, freeze as received and use the blank for sauces.
fried
It turns out an excellent preparation of fried mushrooms, but they are not cooked in a pan so that they do not dry out during subsequent heat treatment. For frying, they are crushed - it is better to do this in thin layers. It is required to pour a little oil into the pan and heat it, place several pieces of mushrooms in one layer on the surface of the dish.
It is enough to fry thin and small layers for 4-5 minutes, larger ones - up to 10 minutes. Then everything is cooled and placed in containers for freezing.
Mushrooms with broth
Here they use the broth from cooking the product. For freezing, containers are used in which packages are placed in such a way that the edges will cover the sides of the containers used. Mushrooms are poured into them along with the broth.
The workpiece is removed in the freezer until frozen. Then the package is taken out and stored without a container throughout the winter. Use frozen semi-finished products with broth for making soup.

What temperature is needed to freeze
Storing mushrooms in the freezer involves temperature control at -18 degrees. This is the only way to fully preserve the appearance of the product and its useful properties.

Terms and rules of storage of the frozen product
To prevent mushrooms from losing their original appearance and texture, it is recommended to follow the following storage guidelines:
the shelf life is not limited, but mushrooms should not be kept in the freezer for more than a year - they lose their taste;
should be stored separately from meat products and semi-finished products - if this is not possible, then the mushrooms are tightly wrapped in a bag;
frozen bags should not be thawed and then re-frozen - this will lead to a loss of texture, the product will become slimy and tasteless.

It is required to store in a working freezer, which will keep a constant temperature of -18 * -19 degrees.
How to defrost mushrooms
To defrost the product without losing its taste, the following recommendations must be observed:
it is better to defrost in the refrigerator;
from the freezer, the workpiece is transferred to the refrigerator for the night, having previously laid it in a container or plate;
you can, without defrosting the workpiece, add it to a pot of soup or to a frying pan;
do not use a cup of water for defrosting - this will lead to excessive moisture ingress, which will cause the taste to be lost;
you can place the used workpiece package in water for defrosting, but only so that moisture does not get inside.

Freezing and storing mushrooms is not difficult if you follow all the rules and recommendations. It is important to determine exactly the method of preliminary preparation, which is influenced, first of all, by the type of product and the options for subsequent preparation.

Kira Stoletova

People in the summer-autumn period do a lot of homework for the winter. The methods chosen for this are very different: salt, sour, marinate. To store vegetables and berries all winter, many began to use freezers. Freezing mushrooms is also practiced by housewives.

Raw mushroom preparation

Tubular mushrooms can be frozen, but they do not need to be boiled. The fact is that the lower hat layer is porous (its second name is spongy) and is able to retain a lot of water. If such mushrooms are boiled, then in winter, after defrosting, a shapeless watery mass will be obtained. There is another option for harvesting: boil the mushrooms, and then squeeze them well and let the remaining water drain. In this case, frozen fruit bodies will keep their shape and look more appetizing in the dish.

Irina Selyutina (Biologist):

Often, when “implementing life” of a recipe, you can read: “Use a solution of such and such a concentration.” But not everyone remembers from the school chemistry course what kind of animal this is - "concentration". Therefore, just take into account that if you want to prepare a 1% solution of a substance, then you need to take 10 g of this substance (for example, table salt) and dissolve it in 1 liter of water (or 100 g in 10 liters). To obtain a 2% solution, take 20 g of the substance per 1 liter of water, etc.

Fruiting bodies (except small ones) are cut into pieces. Everything is put in a colander for several hours and dries up, or raw mushrooms are dried with a towel. The prepared mass is distributed into packages (containers) and frozen. The temperature in the freezer should be from -18 ° C and below. At high temperatures, it will not be possible to freeze mushrooms for the winter, the fruits will begin to rot. So that the fruiting bodies do not stick together, they are laid out in a thin layer on a flat surface and kept until hardened in the chamber. After a few hours, frozen mushrooms are placed in a container or bag.

The name of the type of fresh fruiting bodies, the date of freezing and the shelf life of frozen mushrooms are written on the container. The container is completely filled. The less air there is inside, the longer the frozen mushrooms will last. The same goes for packages. The remaining air should be squeezed out of them so that the freezing is of high quality.

Preparation of boiled (fried, stewed) mushrooms

There are different ways to freeze mushroom mass. Fruit bodies can be boiled, stewed, fried and even baked.

For cooking, the mushroom mass should be carefully sorted out, sorted by type, size. Then cut into pieces. Boil for 5-10 minutes in boiling water. The leg of the fruit bodies is tougher, it is cut into smaller pieces. It is better to throw away the blue or blackened leg. Frozen fruit bodies should be clean and firm.

Move the boiled mushrooms to a colander, let the water drain and dry. When cool, squeeze them lightly, divide into pieces and put in bags. Food frozen in this way takes up much less space in the chamber than food in containers.

The broth remaining after the mushrooms must be poured out, and the liquid in which white and redheads were cooked is used to prepare first courses. Some do freeze stewed mushrooms. For this you need:

clean products;
wash;
boil in salted liquid;
add spices, vegetables;
simmer ¼ h;
cool;
pour into containers along with the liquid to the very top so that there is no air left;
place in the freezer;
set -18 ° C and below;
shelf life in the freezer is no more than 3 months.

By the way. Before laying the mass, the container can be lined with polyethylene. Then, after freezing, you can easily remove the briquettes (they are placed in bags) and you can use the container for other purposes.

Freezing forest mushrooms for the winter is also carried out in a fried form. In this case, both tubular and lamellar types are used. Processing is as follows: the mushroom mass is cleaned of debris, washed several times with water; dried, then cut into plates or cubes, fried for 20 minutes until golden brown in a small amount of vegetable oil, without spices. Freezes only when chilled.

Such mushrooms are ready to be eaten immediately after being removed from the chamber. They are added to soups, salads, stewed cabbage, fried potatoes, make stuffing for pies and more.

Mushrooms baked in the oven on a baking sheet are well stored in the freezer. To do this, they are laid out in an even thin layer, vegetable oil is not used. After baking, the mushroom mass is cooled to room temperature and frozen in portioned bags. Many people use plastic containers, cups and so on.

Such mushrooms in a conventional freezer do not deteriorate for about 3 months. The shelf life is extended under certain storage conditions:

maintaining the desired temperature;
package integrity.

Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
When putting mushrooms prepared for freezing in bags, do not forget that 1 bag = 1 dish. Therefore, make half of the packages of 300-500 g, and half - of 0.5-1 kg.

Attention! Only young, unspoiled by insects and rot fruiting bodies are subject to freezing. Quality products will last much longer.

Defrost Rules

You need to take care of defrosting fresh mushrooms in advance (usually in the evening). Prepare a bag with fruiting bodies by putting it overnight on the bottom shelf in the refrigerator. The next day, it is enough to hold the frozen mushrooms at room temperature for an hour. In this case, it is advisable to place them in a colander with a tray so that the melted liquid does not spread.

Defrost preferably in this way. Otherwise, many useful substances will be lost. Boiled or fried freshly frozen fruit bodies are immediately added to cooking dishes. They no longer need additional processing.

The traditional way of preparing mushrooms for the winter is to freeze whole or chopped mushrooms directly in the freezer. Everything is simple here. To do this, we select fresh, young, healthy mushrooms, clean them, cut them if necessary and put them in the refrigerator for storage. The shelf life with this method is 6-8 months. But with this method of freezing, a large space of the refrigerator is occupied. This is appropriate when you have a separate large freezer. And if not? Below are three simple but effective ways to freeze mushrooms for the winter. These methods will help not only to balance the place in the freezer, but also significantly save time during further cooking.

Blanching (or scalding) mushrooms

This method allows you to preserve the color, structure and taste of mushrooms as much as possible, kills bacteria, and allows 100% cleaning of mushrooms from dirt. Blanched mushrooms keep in the refrigerator for up to 12 months. They are great for cooking first courses. For example, if you are preparing mushroom soup, throw the required amount of frozen blanched mushrooms into the pan 20 minutes before the end of cooking and that's it, you will not need more additional actions with mushrooms.

To prepare mushrooms for the winter by blanching, we need a large saucepan. Pour water into the pan at the rate of 5 liters per 1 kg. fresh mushrooms and put on fire. While the water is heating, prepare our mushrooms, wash and cut into slices of the required size. As soon as the water boils, pour the mushrooms into the water and wait for it to boil again. After boiling, we wait 2 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and filter the mushrooms through a sieve. Leave the mushrooms to cool in cold water. We filter the cooled mushrooms and loosely (so that it does not open from expansion during freezing) we lay out in a pre-prepared container (containers, freezer bags, jars). It is advisable to select the container capacity from the planned quantity for the preparation of one dish.

The ideal container for freezing mushrooms (and not only) is a package made of kraft cardboard, which is 100% natural material. Inside, such a package is fully laminated, due to which it has moisture and grease resistance, additionally providing a higher safety of the product compared to plastic or polypropylene containers. The transparent window in these boxes is also eco-friendly, made of biodegradable film based on corn starch. You can buy kraft cardboard containers inonline store(for example, in thisshop).

Mushroom Steaming

Compared to blanching mushrooms, this method allows better preservation of flavor and a better structure. To preserve the color of the mushrooms, it is necessary to soak them for 5-7 minutes in water with the addition of citric acid (based on 1 liter of water, 1 teaspoon). We will need a pan with a lid and a grate that provides a distance of 4-5 cm from the bottom of the pan (you can use, for example, a pan with special grates for cooking Buryat national dishes, or something like a double boiler). Pour 3 cm of water into the pan, so that it does not cover the holes on the grate, put the mushrooms on the grate, close the lid tightly and put on fire. After boiling, the mushrooms should be steamed for 3 minutes. If you are using whole mushrooms, the steaming time should be increased to 5-6 minutes. Take out the mushrooms, cool in cold water, strain, put into prepared containers. Remove the containers from the freezer. The shelf life of such mushrooms is up to 12 months. The use of frozen and steamed mushrooms is versatile, in most mushroom recipes.

Roasting mushrooms

The method consists in quickly frying the mushrooms in a small amount of oil over high heat. Due to the presence of oil in the recipe, the shelf life is reduced to 8 months, but the densest structure of the fungus is obtained.