If there are no questions about mushrooms collected personally in the forest - they need to be washed and cleaned of needles, blades of grass, small insects and soil, then the question remains with the store ones. They look so clean and fresh that the question naturally arises - do they need to be washed and cleaned?
Why peel and wash mushrooms?
Regardless of where the mushroom was found - in the woods or on the shelves of the store, it must be washed under running water. Why? In the forest "inhabitants", in addition to natural debris, insects and pests can live. Mushrooms grown under artificial conditions differ from their natural counterparts in the cleanliness of their hats and legs, but they also grow in a substrate that is far from sterile. Various microscopic organisms can live on them. Do not forget about dust, it is everywhere. In addition, while champignons make their way from the garden to the shelves, they will go through the many hands of workers.
Rinse young specimens well enough under water. Rinse the mushrooms collected in the forest, they must be additionally cleaned of the earth, insects and other debris and remove the top layer, which may contain harmful, toxic substances. The mushroom absorbs them from the environment.
Do I need to soak the champignons?
These mushrooms not only contain a large amount of water, but also, due to their structure, absorb it very quickly, which reduces the shelf life of the product and negatively affects the taste. therefore keep them in water for a long time, much less soak before heat treatment. The younger and stronger the mushroom, the longer it can undergo “water procedures” without loss of quality. This applies to a store product.
After washing, experts recommend wetting them with paper towels and drying them for an additional 15 minutes on an ordinary dry towel, this will help quickly remove excess moisture and prevent them from softening.
Forest mushrooms are soaked for a very short time in concentrated saline cold solution - 15 minutes are enough for insects or pests to crawl out, hiding inside the mushroom body. And also the procedure will facilitate easier removal of contaminants.
How to wash mushrooms?
To wash the champignons, take a bowl or basin. Warm water is poured into a suitable container and the mushrooms are lowered. They stand them for 15 minutes, they are taken out and thrown into a colander so that the water is faster than the glass. Then wipe each instance with a damp cloth, update the slice. From large mushrooms, they additionally clean the film with a knife. They are washed again.
Mushrooms brought from the forest must be subjected to heat treatment. After washing, they are placed in a pan with salted water and boiled for 5 minutes. Then the water is drained, and they continue to work with the mushrooms.
Preparing champignons before harvesting
Mushrooms are prepared in different ways. It depends on which heat treatment method is selected.
Frying
Mushrooms are not washed before frying, otherwise they will absorb excess water. They are cleaned with a brush, wiped with a damp cloth, and damaged and darkened areas are removed. Mushrooms processed in this way are obtained with a beautiful golden crust and crispy.
Cooking
Mushrooms wash well under running water, and cut the leg. Flaws are not removed, because in the dish they will be invisible.
Roasting
Large caps are usually used for baking, from which all plates are removed. They are satisfied with short water procedures, adding 1-2 tbsp to the water. l wheat flour. It acts as an abrasive substance that helps to mechanically clean the hats from the "skin".
Freezing
For this treatment, fresh mushrooms are used, all the darkened parts are cut off from them. Then they are washed and dried. It is better to cut the mushrooms immediately into slices, sprinkling them with lemon juice, and wrap in cling film. In this form, they are sent to the freezer. If a frozen product is used to make soup or stew, then it is not necessary to defrost it. Complete defrosting negatively affects the appearance of mushrooms. They lose their structure and darken.
Drying
Mushrooms should not be washed before drying, otherwise they will darken, and the drying time will increase significantly, which is fraught with the development of various molds on the surface. Before cooking, dried mushrooms are soaked in water. This is enough to remove dust from them. Therefore, only high-quality specimens are selected for drying, without damage.
Fresh mushrooms
Real foodies prefer to eat raw champignons. Quality mushrooms are harmless to human health. Before use, they are thoroughly washed, well dried and cut off all damaged and darkened places. To destroy all pathogenic microorganisms on the product, it is sent for a few seconds to a heated oven or oven.
In addition to washing, some mushrooms require cleaning. It is most convenient to take a knife with a sharp, thin blade, which is convenient to clean the hats from the inside. You will also need a brush and wet wipes.
Important Rules
To properly prepare the mushrooms, adhere to the following rules:
- Cleaning mushrooms always begins with sorting them. In the process of which all damaged specimens are thrown away, as well as mushrooms with patches of rot.
- Be sure to cut the legs - regardless of where they were grown. When harvested in greenhouses, they are cut and stacked immediately in a bucket. As a result, dirt gets into the legs. Collecting champignons in the forest, experienced mushroom pickers turn them out of the mycelium, so the remains of mycelium and soil remain on the legs. When pruning, the legs adhere to the rules - the longer the mushroom has been stored, the more part of the leg is cut off.
- Spoiled places are cut. Darkened areas on the leg are carefully scraped off with a knife. Only healthy parts of the mushroom are eaten.
Forest mushrooms are quite fragile and pre-treatment can violate their integrity in order to increase their density. Before cleaning, they must be placed in warm water for 20 minutes, then removed and subjected to the necessary procedure.
Methods for cleaning champignon
The process of cleaning mushrooms depends on the age of the fungus and the place of its growth.
Button
The cap of such mushrooms does not exceed 2 cm in diameter. It is covered with a very thin skin and does not need to be cleaned. Preparing young mushrooms will not take much time. It is enough to brush off the remnants of soil or substrate with them and rinse well in running water. Their legs are so small that they are barely visible from under the hat, they are trimmed.
Old or large champignon
These champignons differ from young counterparts in the size of a hat; it usually exceeds 5 cm in diameter and is covered with dense skin. During heat treatment, it does not soften, so that it is not felt in the dish, it is first removed. Do this as follows:
- First, brush away the adhering dirt with a brush.
- Then they remove the "skin" with a sharp knife, carefully picking up the edge of the hat and pulling it to its middle.
- Refresh the cut legs. If the mushroom has been lying in the refrigerator for several days, then the entire dried part is cut off, since it will be felt in the dish. Cooks legs with a hardened "skin" are completely removed.
- Mature mushrooms open, and “skirts” form on their legs. They have no effect on taste, but some people believe that they look ugly and cleaned.
- The plates under the hat - and the older the mushroom, the more saturated brown they can be cleaned. But remember that they give the dish mushroom aroma and taste.
Cleaning champignons in the forest
Fans of the “silent hunt” clean mushrooms immediately in the forest. The torn mushroom is cleaned of natural debris and earth with a food-free, non-rigid brush. Gently, with cleaning movements without pressure, they remove dirt and sort them. Forest mushrooms are stored in the refrigerator for no more than 5 days.
Shop mushroom
With these mushrooms, usually no problems. They have already gone through the initial cleaning and sorting. They are washed, legs are cut again, and damaged areas are cut. Depending on age, peels are removed from hats and legs. They don’t store the purchased mushrooms, but immediately put them into the “business” on the first day after purchase.
A quick way to clean from experts
Professional chefs have secrets that allow you to quickly clear mushrooms:
- so that all the dirt instantly leaves the mushroom, experts recommend soaking them for 20 minutes in hot water;
- large hats can be easily cleaned from the “skin” with emery coarse paper, but it will often have to be washed in water because it quickly “clogs”;
- if scalded with boiling water, the peel is easily removed by hand.
Reviews
Each hostess in the matter of cleaning and washing champignons adheres to their opinion. Some do not accept washing mushrooms at all, while others, on the contrary, carefully wash them.
Larisa, 53 years old, Tomsk. I wash the mushrooms, but quickly so that they do not absorb a lot of water. If necessary, I evaporate water from them. For this, I put them in a pan - without anything and put on fire. No problems have ever arisen.
Catherine, 32 years old, Crimea. All my mushrooms, I clean and boil. I collect them myself. Mushrooms, they, like sponges, absorb everything from the earth and from the air. And now there is such an ecological situation that you don’t know what to expect already. Therefore, I soak and boil, and then cook.
Polina, 35 years old, Moscow. A familiar cook told me that mushrooms should not be washed, and it is better to eat young mushrooms as food. There are no problems with them at all. From washing they have only taste deteriorate. Simply rub with a damp cloth. And during heat treatment, all microbes with bacteria will die anyway.
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So, although champignons are recognized as the safest mushrooms, they are recommended to be washed. Clean-looking, they may contain microorganisms and chemicals. Therefore, it is important to adhere to the basic rules for washing and cleaning champignons, and only after thorough preparatory work do you start cooking.