How and for how long should dried and fresh mushrooms be soaked before cooking?

To fully enjoy the unforgettable taste, you need to know how to prepare dried mushrooms, how to soak them in water and how long it will take. Fresh mushrooms are also soaked, but not all. It is important to adhere to technology so that the caps do not become soggy. Read on for step-by-step instructions on how to prepare dry and fresh mushrooms.

Why do you need soaking?

Mushrooms are widely used in cooking. They are healthy, satisfying, and have a bright forest aroma. Most often, fresh harvest or dry preparations are used in dish recipes.

Before you start cooking, the mushrooms are cleaned, washed, and sometimes also soaked. What is it for?

Fresh mushrooms of certain types are bitter. When soaked, the unpleasant taste disappears. In addition, worms often appear in the caps and legs. Water forces parasites to leave their edible home.
Dried mushrooms are soaked before cooking so that they swell and become soft. In addition, the procedure allows you to subsequently chop them and cut them however you like (straws, circles, quarters). And some types of mushrooms, such as white mushrooms, are not washed before drying. In this case, soaking makes it possible to straighten the caps and wash them thoroughly.

What fresh mushrooms need to be soaked?

All freshly picked mushrooms, which are classified as lactiferous and lamellar, are soaked in water.For soaking, it is correct to use a cold saline solution (70 g of salt per 1 liter of water). In this case, 2-3 times a day the liquid must be drained, the mushrooms washed and refilled with a fresh portion of water and salt. Soaking can last from 1 to 5 days. A whitened color indicates readiness.

Types that need to be soaked:

chanterelles;
milk mushrooms;
waves;
bitters;
saffron milk caps;
valui;
whites;
pigs;
earrings;
floodplains.

It is better not to soak other types of mushrooms, but to clean, rinse and immediately use them. In this case you need to know how to peel mushrooms, since, for example, butternuts are completely cleaned dry, since when wet they become slippery and tend to escape from your hands. If for some reason you can’t start cooking right away, you can pour cold water over the crop and store it in the refrigerator overnight.

Regardless of whether the mushrooms were collected independently or purchased at a retail outlet, they must be sorted before soaking. If there is the slightest doubt, the specimen should be put aside from those you know well and not eaten.

How to soak dried mushrooms?

Dry mushrooms are a fragrant reminder of warm summer and generous autumn. They are easy to store in this form. They do not take up much space, and when soaked they expand 6–10 times. That is, if the recipe calls for adding 300 grams of fresh mushrooms to a dish, then the dry equivalent will be 50 grams.

How to soak dry workpiece?

Pour the mushrooms into a clean container, add water and rub thoroughly with your hands. Drain the liquid.
Pour water over the mushrooms in a ratio of 1 to 10. Leave for 1–8 hours.

What water should you soak dried mushrooms in?

To soak mushrooms, use clean water at room temperature.To speed up the swelling process, you can warm it up slightly.

Under no circumstances should you pour boiling water over a dried product. This way you will get a fragrant liquid, but the mushrooms themselves will become tasteless and tough.

If you need to quickly add an ingredient to a dish, it would be better to grind the dry preparation and use it as a seasoning.

How long should you soak mushrooms for soup?

A tasty broth is of great importance for soup. When dried mushrooms are soaked, they release most of the nutrients and flavor into the water. Therefore, it is not drained, but filtered and used in cooking. If the mushrooms are dirty, then fill them with water 2 times. The first time - for 30 minutes to rinse thoroughly.

How long does it take to soak before cooking the soup?

Minimum – 2 hours.
Maximum – 8 hours.

Woody Chinese mushrooms, which are sold in briquettes, take longer to soak than others. You can absolutely safely leave them in water overnight.

In general, it is correct to navigate not by time, but by the degree of increase and softness of the mushrooms. If they are cut into thin slices, then the process can take much less time - 10-15 minutes.

The liquid after soaking often has sediment in the form of particles of dirt and sand. Therefore, only the upper transparent part is taken for the broth, and the rest is drained.

How long should you soak mushrooms for frying?

Dried mushrooms are also soaked before frying. But in this case it is important not to overexpose them in water.

After what time should you start frying? The correct answer is in 2–3 hours. After this time, the mushrooms should be thoroughly rubbed with your hands, rinsed with running water and drained in a colander.

If you plan to use dried porcini mushrooms for frying, experienced chefs recommend using full-fat milk instead of water.How tasty and juicy boletus mushrooms are! The soaking process takes the same amount of time. Beforehand, the mushrooms are thoroughly washed and the milk is boiled.

So, soaking mushrooms is not a difficult task. The main thing is to know what kind of water they should be in. It is best to use clean water at room temperature. The duration of the procedure may vary. If these are dry preparations, then it is correct to focus on appearance. Have the mushrooms swelled, gained fullness, become soft? It's time to start cooking!