Before you start to think "what an odd gift to give to someone," I'll tell you that I requested this.
I received 3 packages of dried mushrooms, one shiitake, one tea tree, and one mixed mushrooms from my son and daughter-in-law.
I love mushrooms, especially in the cooler months of the year. If you recall, last year I received a mushroom growing kit. While it was very fun, the mushrooms were all ready in a short period. I thought this year I'd like to try dried mushrooms, as I can pace myself with them and have a longer period to enjoy the mushrooms.
I've been rehydrating a large handful or two at a time in a quart canning jar after rinsing, in room temperature water on the counter overnight. The following morning, they're ready to use. At this point, I move the jar to the fridge. The rehydrated mushrooms keep in water in the fridge for about 5-7 days.
When I want mushrooms, I scoop out a few, slice them, then sauté in butter/olive oil and add some dried thyme, and a pinch of salt.
The liquid itself makes a nicely flavored broth. I add some salt, onion and garlic powder, and heat for a delicious hot beverage. Some of the nutrients leach into the water, so using the water as broth allows me to get the full nutritional benefit from the mushrooms.
I've been enjoying the mushrooms with breakfasts and lunches. I love sautéed mushrooms over toast, as is for a side dish, or mixed into other foods.
You may be wondering how they differ from fresh mushrooms. These are slightly more earthy and intense in flavor (but only slightly), and a bit chewier. When I go to use them, they don't need cooking, just heating. They're very delicious.
Here's the real benefit to dried mushrooms, they keep for a long time in the dried state. So I can use a few now and then a couple of weeks later, use a few more, without worrying about any sort of expiry and wastage of mushrooms not used in time.
Sounds like the perfect gift. It helps sometimes if we don't make people guess what we might want for a gift. :) I like the richness that some mushrooms can add to a dish, but I don't think I like them as much as you do. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteHi Live and Learn,
DeleteI have always loved mushrooms, even as a picky eater as a child, I still loved mushrooms. I've often wondered if there is some nutritional benefit that my body needs that I get specifically from mushrooms.
Yes, making wish lists has been very helpful in our family. It's so much easier to shop for someone if they can tell you what sorts of things they'd enjoy receiving.
Oh boy... Right down to the rabbit hole ;-) As I forage A LOT of mushrooms, I need ways to preserve them, too. I usually freeze mushrooms. Yellow chanterelles dot't dehydrate nicely, they tend to go tought and chewy after rehydrating, and we (mostly my kids) don't like them that way, so they go to the freezers. But there's a limit how much mushrooms I can stuff to my freezers (I have three...) Porchinis are easy to dry and they are easy to rehydrate. Some other mushrooms are easy to dry, especially ones with thin flesh. I keep some of them whole, but I usually grind most of them to coarse powder - that takes a lot less space! but it's also very easy to use: I just add spoonfull of mushroom powder to soups/sauces...
ReplyDelete(I just remembered I might have told you about my green powder, it seems like I'm drying everything and then grinding them to oblivion...)
Ulvmor/Northern Europe
Hi Ulvmor,
DeleteYou are so lucky to live in an area that is rich in wild mushrooms, and that you know which ones are safe to eat. May I ask -- what kitchen tool have you found to be best for grinding greens and other foods to make powders?
Hi Lili, yes, I'm very lucky to live where I live! (well... we had -15C/5F yesterday, didn't feel especially lucky while walking the dog...)
DeleteI'm using a basic blender - it was quite cheap, and initally I was using it to do smoothies for kids, but it works fine for dried greens and mushrooms. I make houmous/hummus with it, too. Not so great on that, I need to push down/mix chicpeas several times before they start to form a "liquid" that blends better.
Sometimes I do use mortar and pestle (a heavy marble one) for small amounts, but I rarely do anything in small amounts 😂
Ulvmor
Hi Ulvmor,
DeleteBrrrr, that sounds cold.
Oh okay. Thanks for adding this info. I have some dried sorrel leaves that I'm thinking of making into a powder to add to smoothies and soups. I'll try our blender. Thank you!
I love mushrooms too...! But occasionally even I find myself scrambling to use them up in time -- so this sounds like a great way of being able to enjoy mushrooms as desired here and there on 'your' time. As for dried/drying mushrooms, a few years back I did once stumble across a truly amazing sale of fresh mushrooms at a discount store -- 16 oz boxes of fresh white button mushrooms on sale for only .25 cents each, sheer madness...!!! I snapped up so many boxes -- hesitating only slightly because I didn't have a real clear plan at the time as to how best process them all. I ended up pulling out my dehydrator and drying the bulk of them, which worked like a charm and the dried mushroom pieces so tasty reconstituted into sauces, risottos, gravies, casseroles and so on (and of course leaving me wishing I had purchased even *more* boxes!). Doubt I'll ever run across such an amazing deal again, but if I should I'll know exactly what to do, lol....
ReplyDeleteHi,
DeleteWhat a great sale you found on those mushrooms! I've been in that same mental place where I wasn't sure how much of a great deal I should snap up and not having a clear plan how I would preserve them. Although you may wish you'd bought more at that time, you did well to buy what you did and then preserve them. Drying was a great way to maximize your savings.
I've also sautéed mushrooms in butter then frozen them to save the last of a package before they become slimy, sharing in case you don't want to get out your dehydrator for just a few remaining mushrooms.