Freezing oyster mushrooms is one way of harvesting your favorite mushrooms for the winter.
Oyster mushroom freezing at home
The benefits of freezing
Among the methods for harvesting fungi at home, methods of freezing oyster mushrooms for the winter are among the most effective:
- If you store frozen mushrooms in the refrigerator’s freezer at the right temperature, they retain their natural structure, integrity and color.
- If you properly freeze oyster mushrooms in the freezer, they will retain the nutritional quality and natural smell.
Shelf life of frozen oyster mushrooms is 6 months for heat-treated and 12 months for fresh-frozen. At the same time, it is easy to track the expiration date if packets are marked with freeze dates. Optimum temperature condition - -18 ° С
Stored in ice cream, they act as a semi-finished product, convenient for the subsequent preparation of various culinary dishes. In contrast to pickling and canning, it is possible to prepare the product by freezing portionwise, which facilitates subsequent use, limited by the amount required for one meal. The percentage of useful substances and biological value contained is almost at the fresh level.
Freeze preparation
Sorted items are suitable for freezing in the freezer:
- without yellow spots and mechanical damage on the mushroom hat,
- fresh, without pungent odor,
- not overgrown, young, with juicy white pulp, strong structure and blue-gray hat.
Overgrown mushrooms are not suitable for harvesting, because they have a fibrous structure and a fresh taste of mushroom pulp, which acquires hard-to-survive rubber in the process of preparation.
Mushroom age is easily determined by the size of the cap. In an overgrown specimen, its diameter reaches 15-30 cm.
The leg of these fungi contains the least amount of healthy substances, they are inferior in taste to mushroom pulp and are tough in structure, therefore they are not often used for freezing, but cut completely or leaving short stumps.
Before freezing, they are cleaned of excess debris by washing (but not soaking) in running water and subsequently carefully drying.
If there is no opportunity to freeze mushrooms at home on the day of their collection or purchase, they are stored in the refrigerator, without first cleaning and without washing, whole, not cut into pieces. This allows you to keep fresh.
The main methods of freezing mushrooms
There are several basic ways to freeze mushrooms at home.
Raw
Mushrooms can be frozen raw
Freezing fresh oyster mushrooms means preserving almost all the nutrients and ensuring their suitability for food for a long time.
Raw often freeze whole, cutting only large specimens. The product is laid out on a tray or other flat container (plate, board) in a uniform layer and placed for 24 hours in the freezer, setting the maximum possible cooling mode.
After a day, the mushrooms are taken out and prepackaged in the required quantity, subsequently sent for storage in a refrigerator for ice cream products.
Boiled
It is permissible to freeze oyster mushrooms at home after their heat treatment, including boiling. This method allows you to eliminate doubts about the quality of freshness of mushrooms and is suitable for cases when their integrity is broken, and the appearance is lost.
Before boiling, they are cut into small pieces, then they are thrown into boiling salted water and boiled for 5 minutes. Water is drained. The cooled mushrooms are packaged in batches and laid for long-term freezing in a refrigerator, where frozen products are stored.
Fried
Fans of fried oyster mushrooms for their subsequent use in pies, pancakes and pizza are suitable for freezing mushrooms after their preliminary frying. Fry them in vegetable or butter for 20 minutes. to complete evaporation of the fluid secreted by the mushrooms and the appearance of a golden crust. Cooled packages are portioned and laid for long-term storage in a refrigerator for frozen foods.
Conclusion
There are several ways to freeze oyster mushrooms at home for the winter. Each has its own advantages. You can freeze oyster mushrooms raw or boiled and fried. When stored in the refrigerator freezer, mushrooms retain gastronomic qualities and health benefits.
