The nutritional value of chanterelles and their beneficial properties have a maximum concentration in the first five hours after collection. If you do not rework or place chanterelles during this time for storage, they begin to accumulate metabolites and gradually lose their best qualities.
How to store mushrooms chanterelles, in order to avoid the negative impact on them of time? The most accessible way is to put the product in the refrigerator.
How much can you store chanterelles in the fridge in a fresh state?
If you have few mushrooms, and you plan to eat them soon, then the vessel with the product can simply be put on the shelf in the refrigerator compartment. Within a day the chanterelles will definitely remain fresh, just as many can be stored under such conditions. Although in practice, many housewives store chanterelles and up to three days.
How to store chanterelles in a freezer?
To save mushrooms chanterelles for the winter, it is better to freeze them. It is not recommended to wash them before this, as they will quickly absorb moisture and become watery. This will lead to excessive formation of ice during freezing. It is enough simply to sort out the forest product and wipe it with napkins, at the maximum cleaning it from sand and dirt. If you still decided to do chanterelles, then they need to be spread on the towel and very well dried. Prepared specimens must be placed in special trays or packages for freezing and placed in the freezer compartment. Frozen chanterelles perfectly preserved for a year before the new collection.
Many people are faced with the fact that after freezing the chanterelles have a bitter taste. This happens, often, if the summer was arid, or grew mushrooms in the fir grove. To get rid of the undesirable bitterness of chanterelles before freezing it is necessary to boil. Only here it should be done in the first hours after collection. Chanterelles for this purpose are initially washed, poured with water, and after boiling they boil no more than twenty minutes. As soon as the mushrooms have sank to the bottom, we pour them into a colander, let it drain, and lay out to dry on a towel. Only after that we put the product in a package or container and send it to freeze.
Portions of mushrooms during freezing should be such that they are enough for one cooking. Re-freeze already thawed chanterelles is not recommended. They lose their taste and useful properties.
How to store dried chanterelles?
The most optimal way to store chanterelles, along with freezing is to dry them. Before drying, mushrooms are not washed, but only sorted, rid of debris, and wiped with a clean cloth. The legs are not used for drying - only hats. And it is necessary to choose young and elastic specimens. They string on a thick thread or spread out on a grate and wither slightly under direct sunlight. After this, the workpiece can be placed in the oven or electric dryer for vegetables for several hours. The optimum temperature during the entire drying cycle is 60 degrees.
Ready dried chanterelles bend well and do not break. Do not miss this moment, otherwise the product will overdry and will be suitable only for the preparation of mushroom powder.
Keep dried chanterelles better in paper bags or tissue bags in a dry and well-ventilated place. Mushrooms absorb the odors well, therefore, choosing a nook for them, we take this fact into account. Under the right conditions, dried chanterelles can be stored for several years. Ideally, for long-term storage, dried chanterelles are best rolled into sterile glass jars. To do this, we fill the containers with mushrooms, lubricate the inner side of the lid with alcohol, set it on fire, turn it over the jar and immediately roll it up.