How to freeze raw and cooked mushrooms at home
Freezing mushrooms can replace methods such as drying or making pickles as a preservation technique. You can store mushrooms raw or after cooking them in the freezer.
As you know, mushrooms cannot be stored in the refrigerator for more than a week, because after this time the mushrooms gradually turn black. If your consumption of mushrooms is high and you are interested in preserving their taste and texture for a long time, it is recommended that you learn the basic methods of properly storing mushrooms. There are three ways to do this, you can dry them, make mushroom pickles with them, or freeze them.
Of course, you should note that each method of preserving mushrooms has its own advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of freezing mushrooms is that it is very easy to make and the mushrooms retain their flavor and texture. Join us for a review of the best ways to freeze raw and cooked mushrooms.
Freeze raw mushrooms
Mushrooms can be frozen raw or cooked, although raw and frozen mushrooms have a shorter shelf life (about a month in the freezer) and should be consumed sooner.
First, wash and clean the mushrooms well with cold water and let them drain, then put the fresh mushrooms in freezer bags and try to remove excess air as much as possible. Another thing you can do is to write the date of freezing on the packaging, this will remind you not to keep these packages in the freezer for too long.
Methods for freezing cooked mushrooms
Here we describe three suitable ways to freeze cooked mushrooms:
1. Steam Freeze Mushrooms
This method preserves the texture and flavor of the mushrooms for longer. To do this, pour 1 teaspoon of lemon juice into 2 cups of water and steam the mushroom pieces with the resulting steam. Depending on the size of the mushroom pieces, this will take 3 to 5 minutes. After making sure that they are completely cooked, let the mushroom pieces cool, then put them in an airtight container and put them in the freezer.
2. Freezing mushrooms by frying
First, clean the mushrooms. If you don't plan to use fresh mushrooms within a week, you'll want to freeze them to preserve them. Start by cleaning the mushrooms under water and then air-drying them, spreading them out on paper or a towel to absorb excess water.
Lubricate the vegetables with mushrooms. When the mushrooms are almost dry, clean them with a paper towel or a stiff brush. This causes some contamination to be removed.
Fry the mushrooms. At this stage of freezing the mushrooms, before frying the mushrooms, chop them and mix them with a tablespoon or two of olive oil and a little salt and pepper.
Let the mushrooms cool. When the mushrooms have finished cooking, let them cool before freezing, and spread them out on a plate to cool.
Freeze in plastic bags. Once the mushrooms have cooled, store them in plastic bags and freeze. Cooking before freezing prevents it from absorbing too much moisture.
Some believe that by roasting the mushrooms, they will retain a stronger flavor for long-term storage in the freezer. Of course, this issue depends entirely on the type of oil or butter used.
3. Freezing raw mushrooms using the blanching method
Below, we teach an excellent method by which you can easily freeze mushrooms and use them for at least a month or two.
Wash and chop the mushrooms.
Pour water into a saucepan and let it boil.
Add a little salt and a little white vinegar to the water.
Pour the mushrooms into boiling water and boil for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, drain the mushrooms and immediately place them in cold water with ice cubes.
Then drain again and let the water drain completely.
Now you can pack whatever you want and keep it in the freezer; This method of freezing mushrooms is the best option for preserving mushrooms without turning black.
Important points in freezing mushrooms
Buy healthy, undamaged mushrooms (they're still in the early stages of opening their bones).
The best way to store mushrooms that have been removed from cellophane is to put them in paper bags and put them in the refrigerator. Do not put the mushrooms in a freezer bag as they will become soft and spoiled sooner due to sweating. Mushrooms stay healthy for up to four days in the refrigerator, but after that they lose their freshness.
By placing the mushrooms in a paper envelope, you can keep them healthy for up to a week.
Mushrooms must first be cleaned, and then washed. Cultivated mushrooms can be eaten raw, but most mushrooms should be eaten cooked.
Mushrooms are used fresh, canned, dried and frozen.
The conclusion
Although the taste of mushrooms is desirable to many people, but because a large part of the soft tissues of mushrooms is composed of water and protein, if this food is not stored or cooked thoroughly, it can be very harmful to health; Therefore, before doing anything, you should be careful to choose healthy and fresh mushrooms for freezing, and avoid choosing mushrooms that have spots or are dried out.
