Mushrooms are undoubtedly a very tasty and nutritious product. But you shouldn't forget about the danger either. When harvesting mushrooms for the winter, you need to choose methods that ensure complete sealing of the container. Some housewives simply fry the mushrooms (even without using salt!), Put them in glass jars and fill them with oil. This is not a good option: as a result of fat oxidation, the mushrooms will taste unpleasant. And that's not the worst part! Such mushrooms cost nothing to seriously poison. After all, a layer of oil and a lack of oxygen is a favorable environment for the growth of spores of botulinus microbes, which produce a deadly poison. You should be aware that these spores cannot be completely eliminated by washing, boiling or frying. Some of them will still remain on the mushrooms put in the jar. The whole challenge isso as not to provoke their activation. To do this, you need to carefully monitor the sterility of containers and lids. Otherwise, botulism cannot be avoided.
Safe ways to store mushrooms:
1) Frozen mushrooms should be kept in the freezer in plastic wrap bags. At the same time, it does not matter by what technology they were frozen: fresh or pre-cooked. Freezing allows you to preserve the taste and beneficial properties of the mushrooms for 12 months. That is, stocks should be sufficient until the onset of the new season.
2) Dried mushrooms also retain all vitamins and minerals, but are rather capricious in terms of conditions. They should be kept in paper or cloth packaging in a dry, well-ventilated and not too cold place. It is also worth remembering that dried mushrooms perfectly absorb foreign aromas, therefore it is recommended to store them separately from garlic, onions, seasonings and spices. On average, dried mushrooms can be used without fear of health for two years. But it should be borne in mind that with a long shelf life, the amount of protein in them decreases.
3) Pickled mushrooms must be stored in a subfloor, cellar, refrigerator or basement, that is, in a sufficiently cold and dark place. The container should be only glass, and the lids should be metal (with a food-grade coating to protect the contents, otherwise the risk of poisoning increases many times over) or also glass. They should fit snugly against the can and not let air in from the outside. With glass lids, marinades are stored longer - up to two years, while metal limits this period to only a year. This fact is quite understandable: the contents of a can reacts to metal much faster than to glass. That is, mushrooms begin to secrete life-threatening toxins, such canned food is strongly discouraged.
4) Salted mushrooms can be kept in different containers. For example, an oak barrel, an enamel pot, or a glass jar. For the safety of the product, oppression is required. The mushrooms must be completely immersed in liquid (brine). The best place to store mushroom pickles is a cellar or refrigerator, and the optimum temperature is from + 5 to + 6 degrees. Even subzero temperatures are not scary for them, so jars of mushrooms are often placed directly on the balcony. But it is always worth remembering that mushrooms harvested by this method deteriorate very quickly. Therefore, you need to eat them quickly, until the lovingly made blanks are not covered with nasty mold. Well, and don't salt too many mushrooms.
5) Mushroom caviarstored in a cool place and in sterile glassware. It is not difficult to prepare this delicacy. It is fried in oil until the liquid has completely evaporated and immediately, without waiting for cooling, is laid out in containers. From above, everything is poured with hot vegetable oil and closed with lids. Then the banks need to be sterilized. For this, metal dishes with a fairly wide neck (for example, a saucepan or bowl with high sides) are suitable. At the bottom, you need to put a cloth napkin, pour hot water, put jars of caviar in it and add more water so that its level reaches the level of caviar. Then bring the liquid to a boil. The sterilization time depends on the volume of the container. For example, for a half-liter jar, five minutes is enough, but a liter container must be sterilized for at least ten minutes. Then the covers are screwed tightly,and jars of caviar are sent to cool in a warm place. You don't need to sterilize mushroom caviar, but then you can keep it only in the refrigerator. This workpiece also tolerates the harsh conditions of the freezer. But this option has its own subtleties: salt quite a bit (a teaspoon of five liters) and put it in a plastic container, which, unlike glass, is not afraid of low temperatures.
6) For mushroom powder , a sealed container made of metal or glass is best suited - it does not change moisture indicators, so the powder will retain its useful properties and mushroom taste for a long time without impurities. This type of workpieces "loves" darkness, humidity not higher than 75% and air temperature 18 ° - 20 ° С. Slightly worse for storing powder are wrapping paper with an additional layer of parchment, laminated paper or cellophane. In them, the moisture content of the powder changes over time. For example, after four months it increases by 15-30%, and after six months of storage it again decreases by 13-16%.
Summary
So, there are several technologies for preserving mushrooms, but those that involve sterilizing the container and its contents are safer. In addition, with this treatment, the mushrooms retain their nutritional value and even acquire a particularly pleasant taste and aroma. Mushroom preserves are a great way to expand your winter menu and enrich your diet with proteins, amino acids, vitamins and other healthy substances. So picking mushrooms in the summer and trying to save them is a wise and forward-looking decision.