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The mushrooms are harvested in coniferous forests in late summer or early autumn. These mushrooms are known for their unique appearance and taste. Another feature of them is associated with the fact that they quickly deteriorate. Therefore, you need to know about the ways to save mushrooms for the winter.
Features of storing saffron milk caps
There are 2 main storage methods. You can keep the mushrooms fresh after harvest. However, the shelf life is short. Another option is to make blanks for the winter.
First, you need to clean the harvested crop from contamination. The procedure should be carried out with caution, as mushrooms are very sensitive to mechanical stress, and they are easily damaged. Therefore, they must be collected, transported and washed very carefully.
Any container can be used for storage. It is best to choose a low container, since it will be more convenient to extract mushrooms from it, and the likelihood of damage is reduced.
How to keep mushrooms for a day
It is recommended to process the harvested crop immediately after returning from the forest. But if there is no opportunity to immediately start harvesting, you can save the mushrooms until the next morning.
To keep the mushrooms fresh for a day, they do not need to be rinsed first. One has only to clean it from dirt, then place it in a non-metallic container and close it with cling film. This prevents foreign odors from being absorbed. The container is placed in a refrigerator. At the same time, it is not recommended to put mushrooms in close proximity to herbs, onions, garlic or other products with a pungent odor.
Another method of preservation involves heat treatment of saffron milk caps.
Cooking steps:
- Clean mushrooms from contamination.
- Place them in a container (whole or crushed).
- Bring to a boil in salted water.
- Cook for 5-10 minutes, adding a pinch of citric acid to the water.
- Drain the water through a colander and leave to drain.
After cooking, you can store mushrooms in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. But it should be borne in mind that heat treatment affects taste and can negatively affect them.
How to keep mushrooms for the winter
You can save for a long time only in the form of various blanks. There are a lot of preservation recipes, so you can choose the most suitable way to preserve mushrooms for the winter.
The classic version is cooking by frying. After heat treatment, the finished dish is rolled up in jars, and it is stored for many months.
For cooking you will need:
- mushrooms - 1 kg;
- vegetable oil - 2 tbsp. l .;
- salt - 2 tsp
Mushrooms are pre-washed and crushed to the size required for comfortable storage in a jar. After rinsing, be sure to let the liquid drain so that water does not get into the pan.
Cooking steps:
- Spread the mushrooms in a dry preheated frying pan.
- You need to fry for 3-5 minutes, allowing the secreted liquid to evaporate.
- Then add vegetable oil and fry for 10 minutes.
- Cover the pan with a lid and reduce the heat.
- Simmer for 30 minutes, add salt and cook for another 5-7 minutes.
The finished dish is placed in pre-prepared jars. There should be 2-3 cm to the top.This space is filled with oil left over from frying. If there is not enough of it, an additional portion should be heated in a pan.
A proven sterilization method is steam treatment.
Filled cans are rolled up with lids and left to cool. It is recommended that you cover them with a blanket or cloth so that the heat does not escape too quickly. After cooling, the conservation can be moved to the basement or another place where it is convenient to store fried mushrooms for the winter.
An alternative is stewing with tomato paste and vinegar. The recipe for such an appetizer is very popular, also because it allows you to preserve the original taste for a long time.
Ingredient List:
- mushrooms - 1 kg;
- tomato paste - 200 g;
- water - 1 glass;
- sugar - 1 tbsp. l .;
- bay leaf - 3 pieces;
- vegetable oil - 4 tbsp. l .;
- vinegar - 2 tbsp. l .;
- salt - 1-1.5 tsp;
- black pepper - 3-5 peas.
Pre-boil the fruits in water for 10 minutes. Then the water is drained, and the mushrooms are placed in a pan with vegetable oil.
Cooking steps:
- Fry for 10 minutes.
- Add water mixed with tomato paste.
- Cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Salt, vinegar, sugar, pepper and bay leaf are added to the dish.
- Stew for another 10 minutes, then pour into jars and close.
Another option involves salting. It is necessary to rinse the mushrooms, place them in a non-metallic container with the caps down. They are sprinkled with edible salt in layers. You can put something heavy on top to compress them. Then more mushrooms will fit into the container.
Primary salting lasts 14 days at a temperature of 10-20 degrees. After that, the container is taken out for a month and a half to the cellar, where the temperature is up to 5 degrees. This method allows you to store mushrooms in the refrigerator or basement for up to 1 year. You can also see another recipe for pickled mushrooms for the winter.
Freezing is considered a universal preparation method. Any modern refrigerator is equipped with freezers, in which it is very convenient to store mushrooms. The procurement process is very simple. It is enough to place the pre-peeled mushrooms on a tray. It is placed in the freezer for 10-12 hours, and then the frozen product is transferred to a bag or container. The date of preparation is indicated on the packaging.
Also, mushrooms can be frozen boiled. They are placed in a saucepan of boiling water for a few minutes. Readiness is evidenced by the fact that the mushrooms settle to the bottom. Then they are removed from the water, cooled, laid out in bags or containers and frozen.
If you need to store the mushrooms until the next day, they should be placed in the refrigerator raw or boiled. However, if you want to preserve for a long time, then drying is one of the solutions.
Small specimens can be harvested as a whole, while large ones are recommended to be crushed into several parts. You cannot dry large and small mushrooms together, otherwise they will dry unevenly.
It is necessary to preheat the oven to 45-50 degrees. Spread the mushrooms on a baking sheet in a thin layer. When the mushrooms stop sticking, you can raise the temperature to 80 degrees. At the same time, it is recommended not to close the oven door completely so that the fruits evaporate. Periodically, you need to turn the mushrooms over so that they retain their natural color and do not burn out.
Dry mushrooms are not fragile, but slightly elastic, which is noticeable when bent. If they stretch strongly, this indicates that it is not completely dry. The fact that the mushroom is overdried is indicated by its fragility and hardness. Such a product will not last long and may soon become moldy.
How many mushrooms are stored
The shelf life of mushrooms depends on numerous factors. The main among them are the methods of procurement and compliance with the recipe.
The best way to preserve saffron milk caps for the winter is conservation. This is due to the fact that this method preserves the taste.Methods such as salting, drying and freezing produce long-lasting mushrooms.
They can be stored for up to 2-3 years, depending on climatic conditions. But the taste will be very different from fresh or canned mushrooms. Therefore, it is recommended to eat fresh mushrooms, and, if necessary, make preserves.
Conclusion
After a successful trip to the forest, any mushroom picker has a question about how to save mushrooms for the winter. They can be kept fresh for no longer than 1 day, as they quickly begin to deteriorate. Therefore, it is recommended to make conservation from such mushrooms. They can also be salted, frozen or dried. These methods allow you to preserve the harvested crop for a long time at home.
