Frozen honey mushrooms: is it possible to freeze mushrooms raw, boiled and twisted and how to do it
To preserve food products for a long time, many housewives use a common method - they freeze food in the freezer. At home, you can freeze not only berries and fruits, but also mushrooms. In our case, small fruiting bodies with strong caps and legs are perfect for freezing. Frozen honey mushrooms will delight you with their taste and nutrients, regardless of how they are frozen.
Many lovers of mushroom dishes are wondering: is it possible to freeze mushrooms, and in what form to do it? Before answering this question, you need to know how to prepare mushrooms for freezing, so that later they will turn into a delicious dish?
Honey mushrooms, although they are small in size, are easy to clean. Since they practically do not grow on the ground, there is little forest debris on them. To clean them, cut off the bottom of the stem and remove the grass and leaves from the caps. Then rinse in water so that insects and their eggs come out of the plates and you can start heat treatment.
Is it possible to freeze mushrooms without boiling them in advance?
How to freeze fresh mushrooms for the winter? I must say that all the nutrients and vitamins contained in mushrooms in large quantities do not lose their value. Therefore, knowing how to freeze honey mushrooms, each housewife has the opportunity in winter to delight her loved ones and friends with delicious and healthy dishes from them. Minerals, copper, zinc, phosphorus, iron, protein, lecithin will be especially useful for those who suffer from their deficiency.
Honey mushrooms are not in vain very popular among culinary specialists. The exceptional taste of these mushrooms, aroma and crunchy structure cannot leave anyone indifferent. If you have frozen mushrooms for the winter, your family's menu will be enriched with many mushroom dishes. Note that these fruiting bodies can be frozen both fresh and boiled, fried and even twisted into caviar. Any dish can be prepared from frozen mushrooms: soups, borscht, sauces, pates, julienne. They can be pickled, salted, fried with potatoes, or pizza toppings. Frozen mushroom preparations from honey agarics will delight your whole family, which will be grateful for your efforts.
So, is it possible to freeze mushrooms without boiling them in advance? Dishes from frozen mushrooms are in no way inferior to counterparts from fresh mushrooms. To freeze mushrooms fresh, you must first prepare them for this process. The main thing is not to leave raw mushrooms for a long time, so that they do not deteriorate. Upon arrival home, the mushrooms should be immediately sorted out, cleaned of grass and leaves, cut off most of the leg and, if necessary, remove plaque from each cap with a dry sponge. Then put the mushrooms in bags in portions and put in the freezer. So that there is less work with mushrooms at home, it is advisable to clean them in the forest and remove the remnants of mycelium. Many mushroom pickers agree that this significantly saves time before freezing.
But is it possible to freeze honey mushrooms raw if you rinse them first? Note that in this matter, everyone acts as they wish. Of course, in order to get rid of the larvae of insects that settle between the plates of mushrooms, honey mushrooms are soaked for 20-25 minutes in cold water in the best way. Then they are laid out on a sieve or in a colander, the liquid is allowed to drain well and laid out on a clean kitchen towel. After the mushrooms are dry, they are laid out on a baking sheet in one layer and placed in the freezer, setting the lowest possible temperature. After 3 hours of freezing, honey mushrooms are packed in plastic containers or plastic bags, and then put back in the freezer, returning to normal temperature.
Is it possible to freeze fresh mushrooms for the winter?
How to freeze fresh mushrooms, and can they be pickled after thawing? Many culinary experts believe that frozen fresh mushrooms are excellent for further pickling. If you do not have time to immediately start this process, then it is better to put honey mushrooms in the freezer. The mushrooms are sorted out, cleared of forest debris and sorted by size. You can freeze all mushrooms, however, small specimens are suitable for pickling in the future.
Can honey mushrooms be frozen raw, if later they will be used as a filling for pies or pizza? The main factor of frozen mushrooms is that these mushrooms do not lose their attractive appearance after thawing. These mushrooms will look good in soups, mushroom goulash or salads. The taste of these mushrooms does not change at all even after defrosting. The same dishes are prepared from frozen mushrooms as from freshly picked ones.
Many housewives believe that raw frozen mushrooms are not credible. Therefore, they ask whether it is possible to freeze boiled mushrooms and what can be prepared from them? Everything will depend on what dishes you are going to use mushrooms after defrosting. Boiled hearth bodies are only suitable for frying, soups, caviar and salads.
How do honey mushrooms freeze after boiling?
How do honey mushrooms freeze after the boiling process? First, the mushroom harvest must be cleaned, the lower part of the leg is cut off and washed in cold water. Pour into an enamel pan, fill with water so that it completely covers the mushrooms. Allow to boil, add salt (for 1 kg of honey agarics 1 tbsp. L. Salt). Cook for 20 minutes over medium heat, constantly removing the foam that forms on the surface with a slotted spoon. Throw in a colander, allowing excess liquid to drain completely. Then spread on a towel and leave for 30 minutes. The dried mushrooms are laid out on a pallet in a thin layer. If the mushrooms are frozen in layers, then when frozen, they are deformed, and freezing will take longer. The freezer must be set at -18 ° C.
After deep freezing, honey mushrooms are laid out in plastic bags. The packaging should be such that the package is enough for the preparation of one dish. Note that honey mushrooms should not be re-frozen, as this spoils the quality of the product. Boiled frozen mushrooms can be stored in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Some believe that boiling honey agaric spoils their appearance, so they use blanching. In this case, the mushrooms are laid out in a colander and dipped in boiling water for a few seconds. Then proceed in the same way as after boiling.
Some experienced chefs make several blanks of frozen mushrooms. It turns out that you can even freeze twisted raw mushrooms. To do this, the cleaned fruit bodies are passed through a meat grinder, distributed in food plastic containers and placed in a freezer. This blank is perfect for sauces, mushroom pizza toppings and pies. In addition, it can be stewed and added to fried potatoes.
How to properly freeze mushrooms fried in oil?
Is it possible to freeze mushrooms fried in oil for the winter? Yes, and such mushrooms have a unique taste and aroma. However, these fruiting bodies are stored in the freezer for no more than 4 months. For frying, you can use vegetable oil, butter or a mixture of fats.
How to properly freeze mushrooms fried in oil? The mushrooms are peeled, washed, boiled for 15 minutes in salted water, laid back in a colander and fried in a deep frying pan until the liquid evaporates. Then the vegetable oil is poured and the mushrooms are fried until golden brown. The mushrooms are allowed to cool, packaged in containers and poured with fat. I would like to say that after defrosting, the fried mushrooms will be a homogeneous mass.However, this will not in any way affect the taste of the dish that will be made from this preparation.
What is the best way to cook frozen mushrooms?
It is worth noting that freezing is considered the best way to harvest mushrooms for the winter. However, many novice housewives ask themselves: how best to cook frozen mushrooms? As already noted, a wide variety of dishes are prepared from them, including borscht, soups, julienne, sauces, etc. For example, for frying and stewing, fresh mushrooms can not even be defrosted, but proceed immediately to heat treatment. Frozen fresh mushrooms can be boiled and pickled in a quick way. After 2-3 hours they will be ready and can be served to guests.
The frozen mass of fresh mushrooms rolled in a meat grinder is first defrosted, and then they do what they have planned. It can be fried and made as a filling for tartlets or pies. You can make a pate from it if you use a blender. To do this, it is fried in butter with the addition of your favorite spices and herbs.