TOP 10 recipes for freezing mushrooms for the winter at home in the refrigerator, shelf life

Mushrooms in dishes are mainly observed in summer and autumn - everything is explained by the season. But there are ways to preserve the product and all useful microelements for a long time - this is to freeze them. Next, we will discuss in detail the features of how to freeze raw mushrooms or already cooked ones.

Why do you need to freeze mushrooms?

The best way to preserve the nutrients and value of a product is to freeze it. Unlike other preparations, mushrooms will not lose their shape, color, texture, vitamins and microelements in their composition. The method also has a positive effect on the mood of the housewife - to prepare it, you just need to clean the caps, if required by the type of mushroom, and place them in a container.

Advantages and disadvantages of freezing

Often, professional chefs use frozen mushrooms because they know all the benefits of preparing them. The positive factors include the following:

1. Minimum time for preparing the product - as described above, the mushrooms are simply cleaned of contaminants and placed in the freezer. You can first boil or stew the workpiece, then after defrosting it will take less time to prepare the dish.
2. Freezing is a sure way to preserve all the benefits of a product.
3. Frozen products can be stored for up to a year - then it is better to get rid of the product, since it will lose its texture after defrosting.
4. Once defrosted, raw mushrooms can be cooked immediately - there is no need to soak them for faster cooking.
5. The mushroom taste will be preserved during freezing, both in the raw product and in the finished semi-finished product.
6. The defrosted product can later be salted or pickled.

The disadvantage lies in the peculiarities of storing the product frozen. It is important to observe the temperature regime here, since deviations from the norm will lead to loss of appearance and taste..

Mushrooms suitable for freezing

It is recommended to freeze mushrooms, which best retain their taste and nutrients. These include the following varieties:

• chanterelles;
• honey mushrooms;
• boletus;
• Champignon;
• boletus mushrooms

If they are not there, then you can take the second most popular varieties, which almost retain their taste characteristics:

• waves;
• Russula;
• White mushrooms;
• boletus;
• saffron milk caps;
• oyster mushrooms

To a greater extent, you should pay attention not to the variety and taste, but to follow the rules of freezing and subsequent storage.

How to choose and prepare mushrooms correctly

The rules for selecting and preparing a product for freezing include the following factors:

• it is better to pick mushrooms in the forest, but if this is not possible, purchase the product fresh in the supermarket;
• You can often buy fresh oyster mushrooms and champignons in the store - when choosing, pay attention to the absence of painful spots (these are traces of worms), the product should not be wilted;
• Clean the mushrooms before freezing - remove all debris and the top film from the cap (if this is required), then wash the entire mass under running water;
• after washing, give the product time to dry on a towel - freezing the product with water is not recommended;
• If you want to freeze already cooked mushrooms, you need to heat them within 24 hours after collection.

These are the main steps in preparing a product for freezing. It is important to remove all wormy specimens, for which large ones are cut into several parts.

Dishes needed for freezing

It is recommended to freeze mushrooms in sealed plastic containers. When laying out, you should fold the product as tightly as possible to eliminate air from the dish.

If there are no containers, you can use bags (special vacuum bags for freezing, or simple ones) - they also remove, if possible, all the air. It should be understood that when stored in bags, the product may lose its shape. Storage will not affect the appearance if the workpiece is crushed.

If freezing will take place in bags, it is better to first lay out the product on a tray and place it in the freezer. After the mushrooms are frozen, you can put them in a bag - this way you can freeze the champignons without losing their appearance and shape.

Preparing the refrigerator

The product is frozen in the freezer, which is first cleared of ice on the walls and door. If storage occurs in a container, it is enough to place it horizontally in a chamber on any shelf. If packaged in bags, they are placed on a separate shelf, laying out the workpiece in one layer.

Freezing methods at home

Mushrooms can be frozen fresh, boiled, or even with broth. The type of product will partially determine the method of their preparation in the future, therefore, before making a decision, you should choose the most correct one.

Raw mushrooms

Among the frozen ones in the supermarket you can only find raw semi-finished products. A similar preparation can be easily made at home, following the following sequence of actions:

1. Prepare the product for freezing.
2. Place on a tray in a single layer and place in the freezer. If using a container, pack the workpiece tightly and also put it in the freezer.
3. Set the freezer to the lowest temperature for 12 hours of freezing.
4. Afterwards, the temperature is reduced to the required level and everything is distributed into bags.

It is recommended to set the maximum temperature when collecting the product in the forest. It is important to take into account the presence of a dense texture and large sizes.

Salty

It is possible to freeze salted mushrooms, which is often chosen to preserve an open jar of the product. To do this you need to do the following:

1. Drain the contents of the jar in a colander.
2. Rinse under running water, while removing peppercorns, if any, and other additives.
3. Dry in the standard way - by laying them on a towel.
4. The dried product must be frozen using any of the above methods.

Further, after defrosting, the workpiece will have a characteristic salty taste. It will be enough to add onions, vinegar or vegetable oil to them to resume the original dish.

Boiled

Boiled Mushrooms are quicker to cook after defrosting, so housewives prefer to do preliminary preparation. It is also recommended to use the presented actions in cases where the appearance of the product is somewhat damaged - there are broken caps or damage received during cleaning.

To properly freeze a boiled product, it is recommended to do the following:

1. Place a saucepan on the fire at the rate of 5 liters of water per 1 kilogram of product. The water can be salted or omitted, depending on taste preferences.
2. The workpiece can be placed in water in advance, without waiting for the water to boil.
3. When boiling mushrooms until fully cooked, housewives are then faced with the dryness of the product in the finished dish. It is enough to boil for 5-10 minutes.
4. Next, remove all the mushrooms with a slotted spoon and let them dry.

You can freeze without pre-drying, but then it is better to use containers for this.

Blanched

Frozen blanched preparations are excellent for further preparation of soup. They will retain their shape, color, taste and beneficial microelements; with the help of pre-treatment, you can completely clean the mushrooms from dirt.

To freeze pre-blanched preparations, you will need to do the following:

1. Prepare a pan of water with the required quantity.
2. Wait until it boils, pour the prepared product into the water and wait for it to boil again.
3. Next boil for 2 minutes.
4. Turn off the heat and drain the contents of the pan into a colander.
5. Wait until the water is completely drained and place the workpiece in containers for freezing and storage.

You can blanch mushrooms either whole or in chopped form. You can salt the water a little, but do not overdo it, so that when you subsequently prepare the dish, the product will not be over-salted.

Stewed

It is preferable to eat stewed stews immediately, but some housewives prefer to prepare healthy bags for the winter in order to reduce the preparation time for the main dish. Stewing is required in compliance with basic recommendations that will help preserve the original appearance and taste of the product:

1. The workpiece is cleaned of dirt and soaked in a solution of citric acid - add a teaspoon of citric acid in powder form to a liter of water. Keep the product in the solution for no more than 7 minutes.
2. At this time, heat the frying pan into which you should pour a little vegetable oil.
3. Place the mixture into a heated frying pan and simmer for 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly. You can add onion for better taste. Simmer with open onions for 2-3 minutes.
4. Next, cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes, adding salt and pepper to the mushrooms.
5. After the time has passed, turn off the fire and leave to infuse and cool completely.

If you plan to use the mushrooms for preparing various dishes, it is recommended to drain the oil and the resulting juice. Otherwise, freeze it as received and use it for sauces.

Fried

The result is an excellent preparation of fried mushrooms, but they are not cooked in a frying pan so that they do not dry out during subsequent heat treatment. For frying, they are crushed - it is better to do this in thin layers. You need to pour a little oil into the frying pan and heat it, place a few pieces of mushrooms in one layer on the surface of the dish.

It is enough to fry thin and small layers for 4-5 minutes, larger ones - up to 10 minutes. Everything is then cooled and placed in freezer containers.

Mushrooms with broth

Here they use broth from cooking the product. For freezing, containers are used in which the packages are placed in such a way that the edges cover the sides of the container used. Mushrooms are poured into them along with the broth.

The workpiece is placed in the freezer until frozen. Next, the bag is removed and stored without a container throughout the winter. Use frozen semi-finished products with broth to prepare soup.

What temperature is needed for freezing?

Storing mushrooms in the freezer requires temperature control at -18 degrees. This is the only way to fully preserve the appearance of the product and its beneficial properties.

Terms and rules for storing frozen products

To prevent mushrooms from losing their original appearance and texture, it is recommended to follow the following storage recommendations:

• The shelf life is not limited, but mushrooms should not be kept in the freezer for more than a year - they lose their taste;
• should be stored separately from meat products and semi-finished products - if this is not possible, then the mushrooms are tightly wrapped in a bag;
• Frozen bags should not be thawed and then re-frozen - this will lead to a loss of texture, the product will become slimy and tasteless.

It must be stored in a working freezer that will keep a constant temperature of -18 * -19 degrees.

How to defrost mushrooms correctly

To defrost a product without losing its taste, the following recommendations must be followed:

• It is better to defrost in the refrigerator;
• transfer the workpiece from the freezer to the refrigerator overnight, after placing it in a container or plate;
• You can add it to a pot of soup or a frying pan without defrosting it;
• Do not use a cup of water for defrosting - this will lead to excessive moisture, causing the taste to be lost;
• You can place the used workpiece package in water to defrost, but only so that moisture does not get inside.

Freezing and storing mushrooms is not difficult if you follow all the rules and recommendations. It is important to accurately determine the method of preliminary preparation, which is influenced, first of all, by the type of product and options for subsequent preparation.