How to freeze mushrooms for the winter in the refrigerator at home with photos and videos

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 trace elements for a long time - it is to freeze them. The following will discuss in detail the features of how to freeze raw mushrooms or already cooked.

Why freeze mushrooms

The best way to preserve the nutrients and value of a product is to freeze it. Unlike other blanks, mushrooms will not lose their shape, color, texture, vitamins and trace elements in the composition. The method also has a positive effect on the mood of the hostess - for harvesting, it is enough just to clean the hats, if the type of mushroom requires it, and place it in a container.

Advantages and disadvantages of freezing

Professional chefs often use frozen mushrooms because they know all the benefits of harvesting. Positive factors include the following:

1. Minimum time to prepare the product - as already described above, the mushrooms are simply cleaned of contaminants and placed in the freezer. You can pre-boil or stew the workpiece, then after defrosting, less time will be spent on cooking.
2. Freezing is a sure way to keep all the benefits of the product.
3. Frozen billets can be stored for up to a year - then it is better to get rid of the product, because after defrosting it will lose its texture.
4. After defrosting, raw mushrooms can be cooked immediately - they do not have to be soaked for faster cooking.
5. Mushroom taste will be preserved when frozen, both in the raw product and in the finished semi-finished product.
6. Thawed product can be further pickled 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 a loss of appearance and taste.

Frozen mushrooms

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

• chanterelles;
• honey mushrooms;
• boletus;
• mushrooms;
• boletus.

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

• waves;
• russula;
• ceps;
• butter;
• saffron milk caps;
• oyster mushrooms.

To a greater extent, one 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

The following factors should be attributed to the rules for selecting and preparing a product for freezing:

• it is better to pick mushrooms in the forest, but if this is not possible, they buy the product fresh in the supermarket;
• often in the store you can buy fresh oyster mushrooms and champignons - when choosing, pay attention to the absence of painful points (these are traces of worms), the product should not be wilted;
• mushrooms are cleaned before freezing - they remove all debris and the top film from the cap (if it is required), then the whole mass is washed under running water;
• after washing, give time to dry the blank on a towel - it is not recommended to freeze the product with water;
• if there is a desire to freeze already cooked mushrooms, it is necessary to subject them to heat treatment within a day after harvest.

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

Utensils needed for freezing

Mushrooms are recommended to be frozen in closed plastic containers. When laying out, fold the product as tightly as possible to eliminate air from the dish.

If there are no containers, you can use bags (special vacuum, for freezing, or simple) - they also remove, if possible, all the air from them. 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 spread the product on a tray beforehand and place it in the freezer. After the mushrooms are frozen, you can put them in a bag - this way you can freeze the mushrooms without losing their appearance and shape.

Preparing the refrigerator

Freeze the product in the freezer, which is previously cleared of ice on the walls and door. If storage takes place in a container, it is enough to place it in a horizontal position in the chamber on any shelf. If packaged in bags, they are placed on a separate shelf, laying out the workpiece in one layer.

Methods of freezing at home

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

Raw mushrooms

Among the frozen ones in the supermarket, you can find only raw semi-finished products. It is easy to make such a blank at home, following the following sequence of actions:

1. Prepare food for freezing.
2. Spread on a tray in a single layer and place it in the freezer. If a container is used, pack the workpiece tightly and put it in the freezer as well.
3. Set the freezer to the lowest temperature for 12 hours of freezing.
4. After the temperature is reduced to the set value and everything is distributed into bags.

It is recommended to set the maximum temperature in case of harvesting the product in the forest. It is important to consider the presence of a dense texture and large sizes.

S alty

Freezing s alted mushrooms is possible, which is often chosen to save an open can of the product. To do this, you need to do the following:

1. Put 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 - laying them out 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 s alty taste. It will be enough to add onion, vinegar or vegetable oil to them to resume the original dish.

Boiled

Boiled mushrooms are faster to cook after defrosting, so housewives prefer to pre-prepare. obtained during cleaning.

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

1. Put a pot on fire at the rate of 5 liters of water per 1 kilogram of product. Water can be s alted or left out, depending on taste preferences.
2. The workpiece can be put into the water in advance, without waiting for the water to boil.
3. Boiling mushrooms until fully cooked, housewives are faced with the dryness of the product in the finished dish. It is enough to boil for 5-10 minutes.
4. Next, take out 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 blanks are great for further soup preparation. They will retain their shape, color, taste and useful trace elements, with the help of pre-treatment, you can completely clean the mushrooms from dirt.

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

1. Prepare a pot of water with the required amount.
2. Wait for a boil, 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 pot into a colander.
5. Wait until the water is completely drained and put the workpiece into containers for freezing and storage.

You can blanch mushrooms both whole and chopped. You can s alt the water a little, but do not overdo it, so that the product does not turn out to be overs alted during the subsequent preparation of the dish.

Stewed meats

Stews are preferable to eat immediately, but some housewives prefer to prepare he althy bags for the winter to reduce the cooking time of the main dish.It is required to stew in compliance with the 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 - a teaspoon of citric acid in powder form is added to a liter of water. Keep the product in solution for no more than 7 minutes.
2. At this time, heat the pan, where you should pour a little vegetable oil.
3. Put the workpiece into a preheated pan and simmer for 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly. You can add onion for better taste. Stew with onion open for 2-3 minutes.
4. Next, cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes, s alt and pepper the mushrooms.
5. After the time has elapsed, the fire is turned off and left to infuse and cool completely.

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

Fried

It turns out an excellent preparation of fried mushrooms, but they are not cooked in a 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. It is required to pour a little oil into the pan and heat it up, place several 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. Then everything is cooled and placed in freezer containers.

Mushrooms with broth

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

The workpiece is put into the freezer until frozen. Then the package is taken out and stored without a container throughout the winter. Use frozen convenience foods with broth to make soup.

What temperature is needed to freeze

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

Terms and rules for storing frozen food

In order for the mushrooms not to lose their original appearance and texture, it is recommended to follow the following storage guidelines:

• shelf life is unlimited, 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.

Storage is required in a working freezer that will keep a constant temperature of -18-19 degrees.

How to properly defrost mushrooms

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

• defrost better in the refrigerator;
• from the freezer, transfer the workpiece to the refrigerator for the night, after putting it in a container or plate;
• you can, without defrosting the workpiece, add it to a pot of soup or a frying pan;
• do not use a cup of water to defrost - this will lead to excessive moisture ingress, causing the taste to be lost;
• you can place the used blank 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 determine exactly the method of preliminary preparation, which is influenced, first of all, by the type of product and the options for subsequent preparation.

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