ᐉ How to freeze oyster mushrooms for the winter

Pros of freezing

Among the methods of harvesting oyster mushrooms at home for the winter, they are considered the most effective because:

If you store frozen mushrooms in the freezer of the refrigerator at the proper temperature, they retain their natural structure, integrity and color.
If you properly freeze oyster mushrooms in the freezer, they will retain their nutritional quality and natural flavor.

The shelf life of frozen oyster mushrooms for consumption is 6 months for heat-treated ones and 12 months for freshly frozen ones. At the same time, it is easy to track the expiration date if you mark the packages with the dates of freezing. The optimal temperature for storage is -18°C.

Stored frozen, they act as a semi-finished product, convenient for the subsequent preparation of various culinary dishes. Unlike pickling and canning, it is possible to prepare the product by freezing in portions, which greatly facilitates subsequent use, limited to the amount required for one meal. The percentage of nutrients and biological value contained is maintained almost at the fresh level.

How to freeze oyster mushrooms at home

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So, how to properly freeze oyster mushrooms for the winter so that the mushrooms retain their taste? To freeze oyster mushrooms at home, you need to select fresh and young specimens, without mechanical damage. It is important to remember: if the mushrooms look good before freezing, then they will remain so after thawing.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with simple and effective recipes showing how to freeze oyster mushrooms for the winter.

To do this, it is necessary to “inspect” all the mushrooms: damaged, rotten and dry ones should be discarded.

Rinse the oyster mushrooms under running water and place on a kitchen towel to drain thoroughly.

Cut the mushrooms into slices or slices, place them on the surface in an even layer and let them dry a little more.

Transfer to a baking sheet or cutting board and place in the freezer for 4 hours. This is done to prevent the mushrooms from sticking together into one solid piece.

After the specified time, transfer the oyster mushrooms to plastic bags or plastic food containers with lids and put them back in the freezer.

Preparing to Freeze

Samples sorted according to the following criteria are suitable for freezing in the freezer:

no yellow spots or mechanical damage on the mushroom cap;
fresh, without any pungent odor;
not overgrown, young, with juicy white flesh, strong structure and a gray-blue cap.

Overgrown mushrooms are not suitable for harvesting, because they are characterized by a hard-fiber structure and mushroom pulp that is bland in taste, which acquires a rubbery, difficult-to-chew consistency during the cooking process.

Mushroom age is easily determined by the size of the cap. In an overgrown specimen, its diameter reaches 15-30 cm.

The stem of these mushrooms contains the least amount of healthy substances; they are inferior in taste to mushroom pulp and are hard in structure, so they are often not used for freezing, but are cut off completely or leaving short stumps.

Before freezing, oyster mushrooms are cleaned of excess debris by washing (but not soaking) in running water and subsequently drying thoroughly.

If it is not possible to freeze mushrooms at home on the day they are collected or purchased, they are stored in the refrigerator, without first peeling or washing, whole, not cut into pieces. This helps maintain freshness.

Features of preparing mushrooms for freezing

You can freeze fresh oyster mushrooms, but before the process you need to remove excess moisture from them. From the cold they will increase in volume, gain weight and become inedible.

Before the freezing process, it is also necessary to clean the products from debris - to do this, just rinse them with running water and dry them. Even the damaged ones were fixed. You can use broken ones.

Advice! Rinse quickly, preferably in a colander, so that they do not have time to absorb excess moisture. If the mushrooms are not too dirty, just wipe them with a dry towel.

Oyster mushrooms lose their taste after repeated heat treatments. Therefore, it is advisable to cook fresh mushrooms in portions so that if they are defrosted, not all of them will spoil. This method also facilitates the further use of fresh oyster mushrooms in cooking. They are often frozen whole, with only the larger ones cut into pieces.

If it is not immediately possible to process fresh oyster mushrooms and freeze them, they should be placed in the refrigerator or other cool place. It can also be spread on dry absorbent paper. Then they won't be wrong. During this storage period they should not be washed or cut into pieces.

Basic methods of freezing mushrooms

There are several basic ways to freeze mushrooms at home.

Raw

Mushrooms can be frozen raw

Freezing fresh oyster mushrooms means preserving almost all the nutrients and ensuring their suitability for food for a long time.

Raw ones are often frozen whole, only large specimens are cut into pieces. The product is laid out on a tray or other flat container (plate, board) in an even layer and placed in the freezer for 24 hours.

After 24 hours, the mushrooms are taken out and packaged in portions in the required quantities, subsequently sent for storage in the refrigerator compartment for frozen foods.

Irina Selyutina (Biologist):

Nowadays, the so-called shock freezing of products is very often used, which can also be used when freezing mushrooms, in particular oyster mushrooms. This type of freezing is good because it does not cause changes in the structure of the products stored and frozen in this way, after defrosting, they practically do not differ from fresh ones. To do this, the mushrooms are laid out on a flat surface in the freezer, which is turned on at full power. The mushrooms are kept at such a low temperature for 1 hour, then placed in bags and stored at normal freezer temperatures. By the way. Conventional freezing means placing the product in a freezer at a normal temperature of -18°C.

If you are freezing wild oyster mushrooms, then preparing them for this procedure is somewhat different from preparing for freezing mushrooms purchased in the supermarket. The mushrooms are cleaned of forest debris that could get on the surface of their caps and leaves, and then wiped with a dry cloth. Only very dirty oyster mushrooms are washed under running water and allowed to dry on a towel.

Boiled

It is also possible to freeze oyster mushrooms at home after heat treatment, including boiling. This method eliminates doubts about the quality of freshness of mushrooms and is suitable for cases where their integrity is compromised and their appearance is lost.

Before boiling, they are cut into small pieces, then placed in boiling salted water and cooked for 5 minutes. The water is drained. The cooled mushrooms are packaged in portions and placed for long-term freezing in the refrigerator compartment where frozen foods are stored.

Fried

For lovers of fried oyster mushrooms, the method of freezing mushrooms after preliminary frying is suitable for their subsequent use in pies, pancakes and pizza. Fry them in vegetable or butter for 20 minutes until the liquid secreted by the mushrooms has completely evaporated and a golden brown crust appears. The cooled ones are packaged in portions and placed for long-term storage in the refrigerator compartment for frozen foods.

How to defrost mushrooms correctly

Mushrooms are perishable foods. After collection or purchase, they are immediately processed and sorted by type. Each is frozen separately and in different ways: tubular - in raw form, marsupial and lamellar - in boiled form. Whole, elastic, young specimens are selected. After sorting, they are cleared of debris, and the lower part of the stem is cut off if it is in the ground. Contaminated caps are cleaned with a knife or sponge. Cut off all insect-damaged areas and dark spots.

Before freezing raw mushrooms, wipe or wash with water, do not soak. Then lay them out on a paper towel to dry. If you plan to boil or fry them before freezing, pre-soak them in salt water so that all the dirt is soaked off and hidden worms come to the surface. Then they are washed in cold water and placed in a colander to drain excess moisture.

To get a quality product, adhere to the following rules:

Only whole, undamaged specimens are used for freezing.
Do not soak raw before freezing. When frozen, excess moisture crystallizes and destroys the structure of the mushroom.
To maintain the shape of whole mushrooms, they are frozen on a tray and then placed into storage containers.
To preserve color, blanching is used before freezing.
The storage container is filled completely, leaving a minimum amount of air. This preserves the natural mushroom flavor.
To protect the product from foreign odors, use airtight storage containers.
Instant freezing allows you to preserve vitamins and nutrients to the maximum.
Thawed product cannot be re-frozen. Therefore, mushrooms are frozen in small single portions.
When freezing a cooked product with broth, the taste and aroma are preserved.
Defrost mushrooms on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator - this way they retain their taste and smell.

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.

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.

Which oyster mushrooms are suitable for freezing: selection rules

An excellent way to store oyster mushrooms for the winter is to freeze them. But it should be noted that not all mushrooms are suitable for this.

In order for the product to retain all its taste and commercial properties during the freezing process, before sending it to the freezer, you should select high-quality specimens:

It is better to take young mushrooms with white flesh, as they are more juicy, tender and soft. Overripe fruit bodies with large caps are rigid, have virtually no taste and become “rubbery” during cooking;
the cap should not have yellow spots, their presence indicates staleness;
Oyster mushrooms should emit a pleasant, mushroom aroma. If they have a sharp, unpleasant, musty odor, then it is better to refuse to purchase such mushrooms.

The leg of this species is quite hard and tasteless, so it is not suitable for consumption. When buying oyster mushrooms, it is recommended to look at how well the stem is cut - it should be cut completely or as short as possible

Selection and preparation of oyster mushrooms for freezing

For freezing, you need to select fruiting bodies without signs of spoilage, that is, without yellowish spots on the upper and lower sides of the cap. Cracking along the edges is also a sign of mushrooms that are not fresh.

In addition, fairly young mushrooms should be frozen, which are determined not so much by their smaller size, but by the color and texture of the pulp: it should be juicy, elastic, white at the break. This is the main sign by which they decide whether collected or purchased oyster mushrooms can be frozen.

The stem of this species is hard and fibrous, so it is better to cut it extremely short, almost at the cap itself.

Oyster mushrooms are distinguished by the fact that debris practically does not stick to their surface. Therefore, fruiting bodies ripened in the forest and cultivated independently can simply be wiped with a damp cloth. It is better to rinse purchased oyster mushrooms well to remove any contamination that may have remained after the technological processing of commercial mushroom plantations. Then dry the mushrooms well with a paper or regular towel.

Is it possible to freeze oyster mushrooms raw?

Oyster mushrooms can be frozen both raw and boiled . Immediately before sending them to the freezer, they must be thoroughly cleaned of dirt, rinsed and excess water removed, which, firstly, makes the workpiece heavier, and secondly, has a detrimental effect on the taste of the product.

Freshly frozen fruiting bodies can be preserved for one to two years . However, they cannot be subjected to secondary freezing, since they lose all their beneficial properties. For ease of storage and further preparation, it is recommended to package the mushroom mass in portions, placing it in a separate container or bag.

If fresh mushrooms cannot be frozen on the day of purchase, then they should be placed in the refrigerator for storage, without peeling, cutting or washing them, so that they can remain fresh longer.

Do I need to boil oyster mushrooms?

Before preparing any dish, experts recommend boiling oyster mushrooms. Heat treatment helps make the taste richer and the fruits themselves more enjoyable. In addition, the liquid draws out accumulated harmful substances from the mushrooms.

Fresh harvest is stored in a closed container or glass jar for no more than two weeks. After this time they cannot be eaten. Once boiled, you can leave it in the refrigerator for two days. For longer storage, experienced cooks pickle or freeze oyster mushrooms.

Oyster mushrooms are grown on an industrial scale all year round

Step-by-step recipe for freezing for the winter at home

There are different ways and recipes for freezing oyster mushrooms. Some cooks prefer to store food fresh, while others prefer to store it boiled or fried . But you should understand that the shelf life of the product will depend on the freezing method. Experts recommend sticking a marker with the freezing date on each container of mushrooms, which will allow you to clearly control the expiration date.

Fresh

To preserve raw oyster mushrooms, you should select young, whole specimens without signs of damage, cracks, or rot . It is important to understand that what mushrooms look like before they go into the freezer, this is what they will look like after defrosting.

Next, it is recommended to perform a number of simple steps:

Rinse the raw materials thoroughly, place on a paper napkin (towel) to drain off excess water.
Cut large mushrooms into pieces, place them on a wire rack in one tier, and let them dry completely.
Place the mushroom raw materials in an even layer on a baking sheet and place in the freezer for 3-4 hours until each specimen is frozen.
After the specified time, remove the oyster mushrooms from the chamber and place them in a plastic container or bag. Return to freezer.

Boiled

Many housewives prefer to freeze boiled mushrooms . This storage method is suitable for those who want to protect themselves if there are any doubts about their freshness. In addition, it is recommended to preserve boiled oyster mushrooms that have lost their presentation or are broken.

The process of boiling fruit bodies is simple and is based on the following steps:

Clean the mushrooms from dirt, rinse under running water, and cut into arbitrary pieces.
Boil water in a saucepan, add 1/2 tsp. salt.
Place the raw materials into boiling water and cook for 5 minutes.
Filter the boiled oyster mushrooms and let cool.

After the mushroom mass has cooled completely, it needs to be placed in a thin layer on the board to dry. Then the mushrooms are laid out on a baking sheet covered with cling film and placed in a chamber for 3-4 hours until completely frozen . The prepared product is then packaged in food containers or placed in polyethylene bags and sent to the freezer.

In order for the mushrooms to acquire a pleasant aroma and spicy taste, they can be boiled not just in salted water, but in a special marinade prepared from (per 2 kg of mushroom raw materials):

salt: 2 tbsp. l.;
citric acid: 1/2 tsp;
laurel: 5 pieces;
allspice and black pepper: 4 pieces each.

Boil the mushrooms in 1.5 liters of water for a quarter of an hour, then add the spices described above and boil the raw materials for another 15 minutes.

Fried

Fried oyster mushrooms can be frozen. Implementing such a storage method is no less simple than the previous two.

To do this you should:

Sort mushroom raw materials, clean and rinse. Cut large specimens into pieces.
Fry the oyster mushrooms in vegetable oil for 15–20 minutes until the liquid has completely evaporated. It is recommended to add a little salt to the mixture during frying.
Place the fried mushrooms on a baking sheet to cool.
Place the cooled product in containers or food grade polyethylene bags.

How to freeze oyster mushrooms

When frozen, they can be stored for up to 1 year without losing their beneficial properties and taste. How to freeze mushrooms correctly? For freezing, you need to select only fresh oyster mushrooms, if possible without mechanical damage.

The better it looks before freezing, the better it will be after defrosting.

Before placing the mushrooms in the freezer, they need to be cleaned of dirt, being careful not to get them too wet so that they do not pick up excess moisture, which will turn into ice. Then the mushrooms must be divided into small portions and placed in plastic bags, trays or containers - this is necessary for ease of use in the future, so as not to defrost everything at once, but only the right amount. Now we carefully lay everything out in the freezer.

Damaged, broken, out of shape, but fresh mushrooms can be frozen after lightly boiling them. To do this, they need to be cut into small pieces and placed in boiling water. It does not take long to boil, about 5 minutes. Then they should cool on their own or in a 1% solution of citric acid at a temperature of 4-5°C. It cools the mushrooms and, accordingly, stops the thermal effect on their delicate cellular structure. This process also speeds up the freezing process.

Immediately before freezing, strain off the solution in which the cooling took place. If this is not done, then when exposed to low temperatures, water crystals, expanding, will rupture the fungal cells, and the integrity of the fruiting bodies will be compromised. After straining, put the mushrooms into bags. Oyster mushrooms boiled and packaged in this way can be placed in the freezer. Frozen mushrooms can later be used for frying.

Industrial freezing of oyster mushrooms

You can also freeze lightly fried oyster mushrooms. To do this you will need a hot frying pan and a small amount of vegetable oil. The mushrooms must be chopped and fried until all the moisture has evaporated from them. After which they need to be allowed to cool. Then package it, just like in all other cases, and put it in the freezer.

There is another way to prepare oyster mushrooms for freezing. To do this, you need to cut them, place them on a baking sheet and place them in the oven. This method is good because it doesn’t even require vegetable oil, and the mushrooms are cooked in their own juice. After all the moisture has been released from the oyster mushrooms, they need to be allowed to cool, packaged in convenient packaging and frozen.

Frozen mushrooms can be immediately thrown into boiling water and boiled

Shelf life of frozen oyster mushrooms in the freezer

How you freeze oyster mushrooms will determine their shelf life. With proper preparation of the product and proper adherence to temperature conditions, its storage period is:

fresh - up to 2 years;
boiled - up to 1 year;
fried - up to 12 months.

It should be remembered that the temperature in the freezer should be within -18°C. Before sending the raw materials for freezing, experts advise marking the containers, indicating the date of preparation of the mushrooms and the harvesting method .

Storing oyster mushrooms in the refrigerator

Freshly picked (purchased) oyster mushrooms can be kept on the refrigerator shelf for up to 3 days. In addition, they should not be soaked beforehand.

Oyster mushrooms, like most other mushrooms, quickly absorb moisture, which leads to their rapid souring and the development of mold.

To prevent this from happening, they are quickly washed in running water or wiped with a damp cloth, then dried on a towel, and only then sent to the refrigerator, placed in a wide container and covered with a napkin.

At a temperature of 2°C, these mushrooms will remain fresh for 3–5 days.
To slightly extend the shelf life, oyster mushrooms are wrapped in paper and placed in tightly closed containers. With this method, oyster mushrooms can be stored for up to 10 days.
Vacuum-packed mushrooms usually have a shelf life of 5-7 days on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.

Note! If you are going to cook a dish of hanger mushrooms in a week, it is best not to buy food in advance. These mushrooms are freely available all year round, and it is better to buy them fresh than to expose yourself and your loved ones to the risk of poisoning from stale products due to improper storage.

Defrosting Instructions

In order for the product to retain its aesthetically attractive appearance and excellent mushroom taste, it must not only be properly frozen, but also defrosted.

There are several technologies for defrosting the product:

Slow defrosting . This method is considered the most correct and useful. Although it takes a lot of time, it allows you to get mushrooms that have retained their original appearance and taste. It is recommended to transfer frozen raw materials from the freezer to the refrigerator and leave for 12 hours. In the morning, when the oyster mushrooms have defrosted naturally, they should be placed in a colander. When the excess liquid has drained, the product can be used for subsequent cooking.
Fast defrosting . If you need to defrost mushrooms fairly quickly, you should place the container with frozen specimens in the microwave and heat them in the defrost mode. Of course, this method is less useful than the previous one, it negatively affects the external and taste qualities of the product, but it is quite efficient.

How to defrost without losing taste

The first way to defrost is on the refrigerator shelves. In a few hours, the mushrooms will thaw and be ready for further use.

Fresh oyster mushrooms can be defrosted at room temperature, but for this procedure they need to be placed in a colander so that they do not spoil if they lose moisture. The speed of the process will depend on the room temperature and the amount of products. Average time – 4 hours.

It is not recommended to defrost fresh oyster mushrooms in the microwave, as they will lose a significant part of their vitamins and nutrients. If the device has a special slow mode for such cases, then the procedure is acceptable.

Instead of defrosting, boiled foods can be immersed in boiling water for a few minutes.

Possible freezing problems

During freezing, you may encounter a number of problems that can be avoided if you follow the recommendations of specialists:

Excess moisture . Before putting mushrooms in the freezer, they must be thoroughly cleaned of dirt and rinsed with a small amount of water. You should not wet the fruiting bodies too much, as they quickly absorb moisture, which, when frozen, adds extra weight to the workpiece, and also negatively affects the taste.
Freshness of the product . It is necessary to select only fresh specimens without significant damage, mold or rot. Mostly all oyster mushrooms should be intact, minimal damage is allowed. If the mushrooms have broken and lost their presentation, but remain fresh, it is recommended to boil them before freezing.
Temperature regime . As noted above, mushroom raw materials should be frozen at a temperature of approximately -18°C. Increasing temperature indicators shortens the shelf life of the product. So, if mushrooms are stored below -10°C, they must be consumed within 3 months.
Large volumes . Re-freezing of the product is not allowed. That is why, before sending them to the freezer, mushrooms should be packaged in portions, indicating the date of freezing on the container.

In addition, housewives often face the problem of changes in the taste and color of oyster mushrooms after they are defrosted.

If the oyster mushrooms turn yellow/green after defrosting

In some cases, after thawing oyster mushrooms, a change in their color is observed - they become dirty green or with a yellow tint. In most cases, the reason for this is improper preparation of the product before freezing or incorrect defrosting method . As for the latter, the color change may be due to thawing of the mushrooms at room conditions.

The reasons why mushroom raw materials have acquired an unpleasant color may be:

excess moisture during freezing;
insufficient cleansing of fruiting bodies from contaminants;
temperature changes during storage;
presence of pests in fresh mushrooms.

If oyster mushrooms taste bitter after defrosting

Another common problem that can arise after thawing oyster mushrooms is a bitter taste. The reasons may lie in improper preparation of the product before freezing:

raw materials should be thoroughly cleaned of debris, dirt, and swamps;
mushrooms should not have rotten or spoiled areas. All dubious places must be removed, because even a small rotten specimen can ruin the entire workpiece;
before sending the raw material to the freezer, it can be soaked for 2 hours in cold water;
Before freezing, the product must be as dry as possible, free from moisture.

One of the most effective rules that guarantees the absence of bitterness in thawed oyster mushrooms is to boil them before freezing.

But even if all the above recommendations did not help rid the product of the bitter taste, you can do it like this:

Boil water in a saucepan, add 1 tbsp. l. salt and 1/2 tsp. lemon juice.
Add the mushroom mixture to the liquid and simmer for 15 minutes over low heat.

Such processing will have a positive effect on the taste of the product.

Freezing oyster mushrooms at home is quite quick and easy. At the same time, the freshly frozen product fully retains its valuable qualities, active biological substances and mineral components. During winter, such semi-finished products can become excellent raw materials for quickly preparing tasty, aromatic and extremely healthy dishes.

Freezing boiled oyster mushrooms for harvesting for the winter

How to prepare oyster mushrooms for the winter by freezing if you boil them first?

For this we will need the following products and spices:

oyster mushrooms – 2 kg;
salt – 2 tbsp. l.;
bay leaf - 5 pcs.;
lemon acid - ? tsp;
allspice and black peppercorns - 4 pcs.

Place a pot of water on the stove and let it boil.

Peel the mushrooms, cut them and throw them into boiling water.

Let it boil for 15 minutes and add all the spices, including salt and citric acid.

Stir well and give another 15 minutes for the mushrooms to boil with the spices.

When the oyster mushrooms settle to the bottom, use a slotted spoon to remove them into a colander to allow the water to drain.

Excess liquid in frozen mushrooms is not allowed, as it gives them more volume.

Place the drained mushrooms on a wooden board and let dry thoroughly.

Transfer to a tray lined with parchment paper or just a plastic bag.

Place in the freezer for 3 hours at – 18°C.

After the mushrooms are frozen, transfer them to bags, dividing them into portions.

Before you cook anything from frozen mushrooms, you need to transfer them from the freezer to the refrigerator.

If you plan to use oyster mushrooms for soup or pizza, then you can put them in a frying pan while still frozen.

Advantages of the method

Currently, there are many different ways to prepare mushrooms for future use at home. But freezing remains the most popular. Thanks to this method, you can preserve the natural aroma and special taste of mushrooms, and also not damage their natural structure, which is especially important for oyster mushrooms.

It is about them that will be discussed further. When you collect a large number of mushrooms, or you manage to buy them at a good price, then knowledge of how to freeze fresh oyster mushrooms will be more useful than ever.

Frozen, such a product can be sent for storage for a period of 6 to 12 months , depending on its initial processing. They will be a kind of semi-finished product, which can later be used to prepare first and second courses, as an ingredient for filling pizza, pies and pancakes, as well as for preparing pates, etc.

Comparing freezing food with other storage methods, for example, drying or canning, the first method has many advantages :

This method can be implemented in a fairly short time, the process is not difficult, and the product can be stored in the freezer for quite a long time.
Thanks to this method, the taste, color, aroma and structure of mushrooms can be preserved as much as possible.
The content of vitamins, sugars and minerals in frozen foods is almost the same as freshly picked ones.

To understand the full value of this method of harvesting mushrooms, it is enough to compare canning with freezing.
The first option takes approximately 40% of the biological value of mushrooms, and freezing takes less than 20%. Also convenient for the housewife will be the possibility of small portion preparation. Without any problems, you can freeze 100-200 grams of mushrooms, so that later it will be more convenient to cook for the family for one meal, but in the case of canning, this option will be impractical and difficult to implement.

How to choose the right mushrooms for freezing

Before putting oyster mushrooms in the freezer, you need to carefully select suitable mushrooms .

At the time of purchase, you should inspect the product for yellow spots on the cap. If this occurs, then the mushrooms are not suitable for freezing, since during the cooking process their taste and smell will not be the most pleasant.
It is also recommended to pay attention to the smell of mushrooms, which will be the most reliable indicator of their freshness. If there is a strong, unpleasant aroma, you should not buy the product.
You also need to pay attention to the presence of cracks on the caps. If they are, then this will also indicate that the specimens are not fresh.
The legs of oyster mushrooms contain a very small amount of useful elements; moreover, they are tasteless and most often hard. So you need to pay attention to how well the mushrooms were trimmed. The legs of high-quality oyster mushrooms should either be completely cut off or be very short.
The age of an oyster mushroom can be determined by the size of its cap. Overgrown mushrooms are not as beneficial for the human body as young ones; moreover, they usually have insipid, fibrous flesh, which becomes almost “rubbery” after cooking. It is better to buy young mushrooms, which contain more vitamins. These oyster mushrooms are juicy and soft, and their flesh is white.

How to choose and prepare oyster mushrooms for freezing

Before freezing mushrooms, you need to select them correctly and then prepare them.

So, about the important rules for choosing a product:

Inspect the oyster mushrooms for the presence of yellowish spots on the surface of the cap. If such defects are detected, you should discard the mushrooms, since they are not suitable for cooking or freezing.
The color should be blue-gray and uniform.
You should pay close attention to the smell. A specimen unsuitable for freezing has a pronounced unpleasant odor.
Cracks along the edges of the caps also indicate that the product is not fresh.
Inspect the legs and their length. A high-quality mushroom should have the following shape: an intact cap and a short stem.
You should not buy old, overgrown mushrooms. Visually determining this factor is very difficult. Once you break the mushroom cap, if the flesh is white, soft and juicy, then you can safely opt for this product.

How to prepare before freezing

Before freezing oyster mushrooms at home, you need to know how to properly prepare mushrooms for such a process .

First, you should double-check the mushrooms for damage, leaving only high-quality specimens for freezing. A healthy product should have a uniform grayish-blue color.
If it is not possible to freeze them on the day of purchase, then you can leave the mushrooms in the refrigerator for a while. It is important not to cut them or wash them so that they remain fresh longer.
Before freezing, you need to clear the product of debris, rinse it under running water and dry it thoroughly. It is not worth freezing wet specimens, as their structure may be damaged and the nutritional quality of the pulp will be reduced.

Tips and tricks

Before freezing mushrooms, it is necessary to remove excess water from them: once frozen, it will make the preparation heavier and more voluminous, in addition, the nutritional quality of the pulp will deteriorate.

You can store frozen fresh oyster mushrooms for up to a year. To keep track of the expiration date, it’s a good idea to put a note with the freezing date in the container or bag of mushrooms; you can also indicate it on a sticker by gluing it on top.

Thawing of oyster mushrooms and re-freezing is not allowed. To make it more convenient to use the preparation, the mushrooms should be divided into portions, each of which is sufficient for preparing a specific dish.

Freezing methods: step-by-step instructions

Let's look at the most popular methods for freezing oyster mushrooms. It is worth understanding that the duration of storage depends on the method of freezing the product, as well as its pre-treatment. It is recommended to put a sticker on each bag of frozen mushrooms indicating the date of freezing. This technique will help track the expiration date of food.

Fresh

When answering the question whether it is possible to freeze oyster mushrooms raw, it is worth answering that it is not only possible, but also highly recommended. Such mushrooms will be as healthy as possible and can also be stored for quite a long time.

The procurement process consists of a number of simple steps:

First you need to determine in what form the mushrooms will be stored. If necessary, you can cut them in advance, but it is best to leave them whole. Only large specimens should be cut, and only if there is not a lot of space in the freezer.
Next you need to prepare trays or flat large plates.
Place raw mushrooms on trays in an even thin layer and place it all in the freezer for a day. The temperature in the freezer for this period should be set to the coldest possible setting.
The next day, you need to take the food out of the freezer and pack it into portioned bags. The bags should be tied and placed back in the chamber, but the temperature regime can already be maintained at the one that is usually set.

Boiled

Also, some housewives prefer to boil oyster mushrooms before freezing them . Whether this should be done is something everyone decides for themselves. But this method allows you to play it safe if there are doubts about the freshness of the original product. This method is also suitable for cases where the mushrooms for some reason have broken or lost their appearance.

First you need to peel and cut the mushrooms into pieces.
Then you need to boil water and throw the prepared product into it. Cook oyster mushrooms for no more than 5 minutes.
Next, let the mushrooms cool and drain off excess water.
Now all that remains is to put the boiled product into containers or food bags and send them to the freezer.

Fried

Fried oyster mushrooms can also be frozen. Implementing this method is no less simple than the previous ones.

First of all, you need to clean and rinse the mushrooms.
Next, fry the product in vegetable oil for about 20 minutes. You will need to adjust the exact time yourself. You need to fry them until all the excess moisture has evaporated.
Next, the mushrooms should be left to cool, then packaged in bags and stored in the freezer.

Mushrooms prepared in this way will be an ideal ingredient for preparing the filling of pies, pancakes, pizza, etc.

How to pickle oyster mushrooms in jars for the winter: recipe

We offer you several options for pickling mushrooms. First, a very quick recipe for half a kilogram of oyster mushrooms:

2.2 liters of water
100 g salt
3 peas each of black pepper and currant leaves

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Author of the article: endocrinologist Anna Vladimirovna Popova. Pickling:

Separate the mushroom cap from the stem and rinse with water.
Add 50 g of salt to 2 liters of water in a saucepan and, after boiling, place the oyster mushrooms in the liquid.
After 7 min. Pass the mushrooms through a colander to drain all the liquid.
Now pour 200 g of water into the pan and add the rest of the salt and other ingredients there.
Boil for 5 minutes.
Pour the liquid into a new container, first passing it through cheesecloth or a sieve to retain the spices.
Bring to a boil again and cool.
Place the mushrooms in a jar and fill it to the top with brine.
Within a week, such mushrooms are ready for consumption and are also perfectly stored in winter.

Pickling oyster mushrooms

We also offer you a method that takes longer, but if you are preparing mushrooms for the winter, then it is perfect. For 2 kg of oyster mushrooms you need:

250 g salt
3 bay leaves and clove buds each
7 black peppercorns

This method is called cold and consists of the following steps:

Cut large mushrooms into pieces, leave small and medium ones whole.
Pour salt into the bottom of the bowl and place the mushrooms with the smooth side facing the salt.
Sprinkle the mushrooms again with salt and add another layer of mushrooms. Continue until you run out of mushrooms. But the last thing on top must be salt.
Cover with gauze and place pressure on top. In this position, the mushrooms should be kept at a temperature no higher than 25°C for 5 days.
After this, the container with mushrooms must be placed in the cellar for 40 days.

By the new year, the mushrooms will be ready to eat. Don't forget to put them on the holiday table.

Mushrooms are very tasty

An unusual and popular recipe, mushrooms with the addition of thyme and coriander. In this case you need:

300 g oyster mushrooms
3 garlic cloves
10 g thyme
7 pcs coriander seeds
6 black peppercorns
Salt
2 tbsp olive oil

Salting:

Pour washed and trimmed mushrooms with water and boil until they boil.
Drain the water, refill with clean water and after boiling, boil for 20-30 minutes.
Place sliced garlic, thyme and pepper and coriander on the bottom of a sterilized jar.
Layer the oyster mushrooms with salt and pour oil on top.
This product should be kept refrigerated, but the mushrooms are ready for consumption on the second day.