In the autumn, after the rains, it is time to gather mushrooms. Those that are collected in the forest are much brighter in taste compared to champignons. Chanterelles, which will be discussed, are recognizable by their unusual appearance and are distinguished by excellent taste. They are usually dried, canned. But below we will talk about how to freeze chanterelles for the winter at home, because only this method of preparation is able to preserve as much as possible all the beneficial properties of mushrooms.
Mushroom preparation
Regardless of which method of harvesting will be chosen, they must be carefully bruised, cleaned of debris and soil, and remove rotten places. Then rinse well from sand and dirt, pay special attention to the back of the cap, where almost all the dirt accumulates. Mushrooms can not be soaked in water. The lower part of the legs must be cut. It is necessary to start processing chanterelles within the next 24 hours after their collection, as they deteriorate very quickly and toxic substances accumulate in them.
Did you know? In medieval France, it was believed that chanterelles increase libido, so they were necessarily included in the groom's menu.
Ways of freezing
There are two ways to freeze. The first is when the mushrooms are frozen fresh. This method allows you to preserve all the beneficial properties of mushrooms, vitamins and trace elements. The disadvantage of this method is that not all collected mushrooms are suitable for it. For raw freezing, young chanterelles with an undisclosed cap must be selected. Large specimens after this method of procurement acquire bitterness.
Important! Another advantage of freezing boiled mushrooms is that they take up less space, as they are reduced in size during the cooking process.The second method is freezing with pre-boiling. With this method, they do not mumble, but, unfortunately, during cooking they lose nutrients. There are a few moments why the chanterelles are bitter after freezing. Bitterness may occur if all the preparation steps, such as the removal of debris, rotten places, or long storage before freezing have not been observed. Also have a bitter taste mushrooms, collected in the dry season, or if they grew up in a coniferous forest.
Raw
To freeze chanterelles for the winter fresh, without cooking is very simple, consider how to do it:
- After sorting, cleaning and washing the mushrooms, fold them in a colander and let the excess water drain.
- Next, lay them in a single layer on a towel and let dry.
- After that, chanterelles can be immediately folded into packets and sent to the freezer. But to avoid possible gluing, you can freeze the mushrooms, spread them out in a single layer in the freezer, and after that you can collect and decompose them into bags for further storage.
Did you know? The largest harvest of chanterelles - more than 72 tons per year - is harvested in Latvia. And the largest mushrooms of this variety grow in California, their average weight is about 0.5 kg.
Boiled
In order not to bitter old large specimens, as well as mushrooms collected in the dry season, they resort to freezing them in boiled form. Consider how to cook chanterelles for freezing:
- Mushrooms should be poured with water, a little salt and bring to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes, collecting the foam.
- Next, fold the mushrooms in a colander, rinse with running water and spread on a towel to dry.
- After drying, place the mushrooms in a single-layer freezer and freeze. After freezing, put them in bags and put them back in the freezer.
How much can you store
Frozen chanterelles retain all their taste for 3-4 months, longer storage affects their taste. It is obvious that, wondering how much frozen mushrooms can be stored in the freezer, one should build on these terms and not keep them for more than 4 months.
Learn how to prepare milk, boletus and oyster mushrooms for the winter, and also how to pickle mushrooms.
How to defrost
Thaw the mushrooms at room temperature. After defrosting, drain the released liquid and start cooking.
Important! Thawed mushrooms must not be re-frozen..Despite the seeming simplicity of the freezing process, we hope that this article has helped to understand some of the nuances, for example, how to freeze mushrooms so that they do not taste bitter, or how much to cook chanterelles before freezing.
