How to properly freeze porcini mushrooms, boletus, honey mushrooms, saffron milk caps, chanterelles, and champignons?

I’ve been freezing mushrooms for 10 years now! We always collect a lot of them; we don’t have the energy to salt them and put them in jars. Through trial and error, I learned to freeze mushrooms for the winter in the freezer so that they are indistinguishable from fresh ones. I share recipes.

What's the best way to freeze mushrooms?

Before freezing, all mushrooms must be thoroughly cleaned, washed of sand and dried at least a little. This is a general rule. I will also add that for freezing it is better to select young specimens, and cook and eat old and large ones on the same day.

You can freeze mushrooms:

• fresh;
• boiled;
• toasted;
• evaporated in a frying pan.

There is a different approach to different types of mushrooms!

Some types perfectly retain their taste and consistency even after cooking, while others become rubbery and tasteless. The advantage of cooking is that mushrooms take up 5 times less space in the freezer.

Advice. You need to freeze mushrooms in portions so that you don’t have to defrost a large volume. Freezing them again will make them inedible. This is what you need to do: take out a portion and cook it right away. And let him keep the rest for himself.

By the way, about storage. When frozen fresh, the shelf life of mushrooms is reduced to six months. Then they wither, become bitter, and generally spoil. After heat treatment, the shelf life is longer.I use the preparations until the next mushroom season.

Porcini

It’s not for nothing that the porcini mushroom is called the king! It's good in any form. It can be frozen fresh, boiled, fried, evaporated. But I prefer the “fresh” option. After cleaning, I cut large mushrooms into pieces, and freeze small ones whole.

Lamellar mushrooms

The most difficult thing to freeze tasty is lamellar mushrooms. You need to rinse them well to remove sand. Fresh mushrooms cannot be washed perfectly. I used to boil them, but noticed that after freezing the taste deteriorates. I found another good way. Need to:

1. Pour boiling water over the lamellar mushrooms for 5 minutes.
2. Drain the hot water and add cold water.
3. Rinse the caps well. After boiling water, they will become elastic and easily cleaned of dirt. At the same time, the taste and aroma will not be boiled out.
4. After this, the mushrooms can be frozen. I put them in a colander, let them drain for 15-20 minutes, and pack them in bags.

In general, it is advisable to sort forest mushrooms by type. But if you collect a small amount, you can freeze the assortment. I clean them, wash them, and boil them in a small amount of water with salt and spices. Freeze in disposable cups along with the broth. Ideal for soups, julienne and sauces!

Chanterelles

Fresh frozen chanterelles may taste bitter. To prevent this from happening, you need to boil them for 5 minutes in salted water over high heat. The main thing is not to miss it. If you cook longer, the mushrooms will become tasteless.

Honey mushrooms

It is recommended to boil honey mushrooms for 5-7 minutes before freezing. But I like my recipe better:

1. Fry fresh honey mushrooms until golden brown in butter or sunflower oil.
2. Cool.
3. Freeze in small portions.

This method is ideal for mushrooms. In winter they smell very bright, just as tasty as in autumn.

Important! Mushrooms absorb odors very well. If possible, you should allocate a separate box for them in the freezer, and store them in thick, tightly tied bags (plastic containers).

Saffron milk caps

I really love saffron milk caps stewed in sour cream. So that they retain their special color, I cook them in water with vinegar before freezing. For a 3 liter pan, just add 1 tablespoon of 9% table vinegar. Cooking time – 10 minutes. Then I throw the saffron milk caps into a colander. After half an hour, the water drains and they cool down. Can be frozen.

Butter

Boletus is least suitable for freezing. It is better to marinate them. But if free time is short, you can do the following:

1. Rinse the butter thoroughly.
2. Throw into boiling water and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Drain in a colander.
4. Fry in a little oil.

If you freeze butternuts raw or boiled, then after defrosting they will soften greatly and become slimy.

Champignon

Although champignons are sold all year round, buying them in winter is not so profitable. I make a strategic reserve in the fall, and also in the freezer. These are simple and unpretentious mushrooms that, when frozen, do not lose either taste or smell.

Champignons can be frozen fresh, boiled, fried or evaporated. It is only important to immediately cut them for use in dishes.

• For the cutlets, I cook the champignons for 5 minutes in salted water and grind them in a meat grinder.
• For soup, I freeze it fresh, cutting it into slices.
• A universal way to prepare champignons is to steam them into pieces in a frying pan. You need to grease the frying pan with oil, heat it up, and evaporate the mushrooms over low heat, stirring. It is better not to add salt. Then I cool the mass and put it into bags.Evaporated frozen champignons are good for pizza, soup, and casserole pies.

Rules for defrosting mushrooms

To prevent frozen mushrooms from turning into mush and losing their flavor, you need to defrost them correctly!

You can't just leave them in a colander at room temperature. Moreover, there is no need to wash frozen mushrooms (they are washed and cleaned before freezing). The correct thing to do is:

• Add fried, boiled and evaporated mushrooms to the dish at the end of cooking.
• Place raw mushrooms immediately into boiling water or a dish and cook until tender. You can fry them or bake them with spices, onions, potatoes and whatever else your heart desires.

And finally. If I boil mushrooms before freezing, I never drain the broth, but fill 1-1.5 liters of bottle. In winter I prepare fragrant, rich soups based on it. The taste cannot be compared with broths made from dry and frozen mushrooms. Try it. You will not regret!