Chaga: how to clean and prepare for drying, storage at home

Harvesting birch chaga is practiced not only for personal purposes - some build a successful and profitable business on chaga. In order for the birch tinder fungus to bring maximum therapeutic and financial benefits, you need to know how to properly harvest it.

Features of harvesting chaga mushroom

Before harvesting the mushroom, first of all, you need to decide on the time of collection. Theoretically, you can cut chaga throughout the year, but in practice, it is usually done in spring or autumn:

1. In autumn and spring, birch outgrowths contain the most medicinal substances, respectively, harvesting is most justified.
2. It is more difficult to harvest the mushroom in winter due to frost and snowdrifts. Snow drifts make it difficult to get to the tree, and the mushroom itself is much harder than in the warm season, and requires a lot of effort to harvest. It also takes longer to dry winter birch growths during harvesting.
3. In the summer, you can get close to the trunk of a birch without any problems, but another difficulty arises. The dense foliage of trees often hides the growths on birch trunks, making them harder to see.

Traditionally, they go to the autumn forest for birch polypores during the period of active foliage, when the trees are exposed, and it becomes easier to find growths. The mushroom can be harvested in March-April, after the main snow melts, but before the foliage blooms.

You need to cut off chaga growths located high above the ground

How to properly prepare chaga

Harvesting is a fairly simple process, but when carrying out it you need to take into account several rules:

1. It is necessary to collect the mown tinder fungus only on living trees, the mushroom located on the fallen trunks or stumps does not have special valuable properties.
2. You need to cut mushrooms located in the upper part of the tree for harvesting, it is better not to touch the growths near the ground, their medicinal value is minimal. Useful birch chaga should be at least one meter from the ground, and preferably higher.
3. The most useful are birch polypores, which are located on the same tree in a group.
4. The build-up is difficult to separate from the birch trunk. It must be chopped down with a small hatchet or a very sharp wide knife. The incision is made vertically, ideally, it should run parallel to the trunk of the tree and separate the tinder fungus from the birch right at the place where the mushroom joins the trunk.

Chagovy build-up is separated from the trunk by a vertical incision

How to process chaga

Immediately upon returning from the forest, it is necessary to properly clean the chaga at home. If you do not plan to use birch tinder fungus immediately, then the processing is as follows:

• the build-up with a sharp knife is beaten off and cleaned from loose areas of a light color - in the place where it came into contact with the tree;
• with a wide strong knife or a small hatchet from the build-up, they chip off the lumpy black bark that covers the mushroom from above;
• the remaining brown solid part is cut into small pieces of 3-5 cm in diameter, it is most convenient to store the tinder fungus in this form.

After processing, the birch tinder fungus must be dried for harvesting. This can be done in several ways, which one to choose depends on the purpose for which the dry product is needed.

How to make a drying chamber for chaga

If the harvesting of the beveled tinder fungus is carried out in large volumes, then it is most practical to build a dryer for chaga in the country or in the house. It is quite simple to do this:

1. The main thing that is required to create a drying chamber is a small room in which there is a stove, fireplace or electric oven.
2. Indoors, you will need to install a high-quality door that prevents the penetration of drafts. If there are windows in the chamber, it is necessary to install sealed double-glazed windows that do not allow air to pass through when closed.
3. All cracks, cracks and other holes in the walls and corners must be sealed with a sealant, and the walls themselves must be upholstered with insulation, which will help maintain a stable temperature. You can brick the room from the inside, it will help keep the heat coming from the fireplace or stove.

At the last stage in the room, you will need to build metal shelves on which the workpieces will be located.

Harvesting in the drying chamber is very simple - the processed tinder fungus is placed in large volumes in the room, the oven is heated and during the next few days the temperature is maintained at an even temperature for uniform drying.

For drying chaga raw materials, you can equip a special dryer

With very large volumes of workpieces, you can also build a spacious dryer on a site that is more like a garage in size. For it, you will need to lay the foundation, then assemble the frame from an aluminum profile and metal sheets, equip heat and waterproofing. Drying is carried out with a heat gun.

The large dryer helps to quickly process large volumes of raw materials. However, its construction is profitable only if there is a business based on the sale of birch tinder fungus in bulk quantities.

How to dry chaga at home

If the harvesting of birch chaga is carried out for personal purposes and in small quantities, then specially equipped dryers will not be needed. It is better to dry the mown tinder fungus under normal conditions - this can be done in several ways:

1. Natural drying. The process takes a lot of time, but more useful substances are retained with such a preparation - valuable compounds in the composition of the mushroom are not destroyed. For natural drying, wood growth, chopped into small pieces, is laid out on sheets of thick paper and placed in a dry and well-ventilated place. It is necessary to properly dry birch chaga in the shade, away from direct rays of the sun; in summer, verandas or tables under canopies are well suited, and in winter, shaded window sills. If the conditions are met, the mushroom will dry completely in 2-3 weeks.
2. In the oven. This method is faster, although some of the nutrients in the composition are lost during its use. Chaga raw materials must be laid out on a baking sheet or wire rack, and then put in an oven heated to only 50 ° C. The door must be left open for the entire drying time, and the process takes 8-10 hours.

Also, raw materials can be dried using a special electric dryer. In this case, you will need to set the temperature of the device to no more than 40 ° C and place the birch tinder fungus in special trays for 7-8 hours. From time to time, it is recommended to rearrange the trays from place to place so that drying occurs more evenly.

For private use, it is more practical to dry chaga in the fresh air or in the oven.

How much chaga loses in weight when drying

The exact weight reduction of chaga during drying depends on the time and intensity of drying, as well as on how much water was contained in the freshly cut tinder fungus. But on average, after drying, the build-up loses about 10-20% of its mass and becomes noticeably lighter.

How to store chaga properly

If the raw material after harvesting is not planned to be used immediately, then it should be stored. It is necessary to keep dried raw materials in paper bags, cardboard boxes or wooden containers. It is important to note that the container cannot be sealed with a lid, air must be accessed, otherwise the mushroom will lose its beneficial properties.

For storage, birch tinder fungus is placed in a dark place with a low level of humidity. At room temperature, the mushroom feels quite comfortable, but you do not need to put it in the refrigerator.

Shelf life of chaga

The shelf life of chaga after harvesting depends on the processing method. Dried raw materials are stored longer - this is another reason why drying is recommended to be carried out immediately upon returning from the forest.

Chaga raw materials retain valuable properties after drying for 2 years

How much dry chaga is stored

Dry birch tinder fungus is able to retain valuable properties for 2 years. But how much chaga is stored in dry form depends on compliance with the storage rules. Therefore, you need to carefully monitor the conditions, the humidity is required low, the harvested mushroom must necessarily "breathe" fresh air. The appearance of dampness in the container is unacceptable; in such conditions, mold will quickly develop on the mushroom.

How much fresh chaga is stored

The shelf life of fresh raw materials is much shorter - only about 3-4 months. That is why it is recommended to subject the mushroom to the processing and drying process as soon as possible. If you leave a fresh tinder fungus in a place that is not suitable for temperature and humidity, it can become moldy and lose its useful properties.

It is also recommended to process raw materials faster because over time, the hard bark on the surface of the build-up becomes more rigid. It will be more difficult to clear the stale mushroom, and the process will take longer.

Fresh chaga raw materials are stored for a short time - only a few months

Harvesting birch chaga as a business

The medicinal properties of chaga are recognized not only by folk, but also by official medicine and homeopathy. Therefore, chaga raw materials are in great demand in the Russian and foreign markets. Russia annually sells more than 1 million kg of birch chaga, mainly buyers are China and Korea. The birch tinder fungus is also in demand within the country, which makes it possible to create a profitable and interesting business based on the harvesting of birch outgrowths:

1. To create a successful business, you will first need to resolve the issue with the procurement of raw materials. Depending on the size of the business, you need to either find a sufficient number of mowed tinder fungi close to home, or acquire reliable suppliers.
2. For business development, you will also need to equip a spacious dryer in your country house or in a country house, or several at once, if the business develops well. It is unprofitable to dry a birch mushroom by home methods, if the raw materials are for sale, the process will go too slowly.
3. Before starting a business, it is recommended to find regular wholesale buyers for raw materials in advance. This is also rarely accompanied by difficulties - both Russian buyers and clients from China and Korea are interested in chaga.

The business of procurement and sale of chaga is quite profitable and allows you to receive about several hundred rubles of profit every month.

If you wish, you can also sell chaga in retail volumes, for example, through the appropriate forums on the Internet.The profit from such a business will not be high, but retail sales will allow you to get rid of excess chaga and, moreover, get a nice cash bonus.

Chaga harvesting business can be very profitable

Conclusion

Harvesting birch chaga is not only useful, but also potentially profitable. The valuable properties of the cut tinder fungus are used for treatment, and chaga can also be sold in retail and wholesale volumes. The procurement process itself looks quite simple, subject to the basic rules.

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